"I used Callaway's technicians to help with the design of a driver that will eliminate that left shot"

Phil Mickelson at the Hope, talking about what he's done to address the finish at Winged Foot:

I addressed it with Rick Smith and Dave Pelz who devised some devices to help me with the driving. Rick is helping me with why that happened; why after The Masters I was not able to pick up where I left off and get my swing back.

And then I used Callaway's technicians to help with the design of a driver that will eliminate that left shot because not only was it on 18, it was on 17 and it was all throughout the final round. And so we're working on designing a club that eliminates that, and I think we've got it right. So I'm excited about that.

Comments

[Jimmy]

Just from studying the two swings Phil refers to, I noticed how slow his right hip was in getting back to the ball. The muni slang for this move is belly block, Phil might want to address his diet when choosing a driver that matches his swing.

[Phil Y]

Phil,

Why go to all that trouble? Why not just hire another caddy who will place the ball wherever you want them to in the fairway?

I guess what you are really trying to say is that since the answer to how one of the great collapses ever could have happened is to correct equipment, that the cause of it must therefor be equipment and that it had nothing to do with you at all.

[Mike B]

The modern athlete, it's never their fault, got to blame something or someone.

[DAW]

Gee, tough crowd. When did the comments section here become a troll den? I'm no Mickelson fan, but perhaps commenters should try reading the linked article first.

There's no indication in that article that Mickelson blames the equipment for his failure in the US Open. It sounds like he has spent his offseason reviewing his 2006 disappointments and trying to come up with a plan to fix them. Isn't that exactly what we as golf fans would want him to do? Or would you prefer that he spend his offseason drinking beer in front of the tv and crying a lot, then spending his first interview in January ripping his clothes to shreds and shouting "Mea culpa, mea culpa!"

He specifically mentions (a) the blocked drives and (b) his fitness as being two areas that he decided to focus on during the offseason. He says he's working on (a) with technology, swing aids and swing instruction. Does that sound like he's "blaming the equipment?" He's also doing a lot of cardio work so that he won't tire late in the season. We'll see how it all works out.

[John B]

I think that the 'everyday golfer' is, rightly or wrongly, encouraged when a pro flubbs a hole or tournament...the everyday golfer thinks, "I'm not the only one who does that". Mick has been perceived by many for years to be the young spoiled brat...again, rightly or wrongly.

People will pile on Mick until he wins another major...he has to put the ghost of the US Open behind him, or it will continue to haunt him the rest of his career. Great athletes do that...even Palmer had his collapses, but he emerged to win more majors after the collapses.

[Glyn]

I think people are more disappointed in Phil not for his US Open collapse but rather his abandonment of the rest of the season. At least that's how I feel. His Ryder Cup showing was pathetic and it seems he just quit after that. I hope he is not even included on the next Ryder Cup team unless he really turns things around the next couple of years.

[Hawkeye]

John B, he never did win another major after his seven-stroke meltdown at Olympic... not that anyopne seemed to notice for about ten years.

[Tim]

Perhaps Phil should get a new caddy. After what he did on 17, his caddy should have made his driver a nice souvenier for some kid while Phil putted out. On the way to the 18th tee, when Phil asked in his best Tin Cup-ese for "The Big Dog", his caddy could have told him the Callaway rep repo'd it saying "Phil won't LOSE the Open with his Callaway Driver".
Did anybody notice the Callaway commerical just before the ill-fated swipe?

[jneu]

Hawkeye, Phil's fade at Winged Foot was more like Palmer's double on the 72nd hole at the '61 Masters than like Olympic in '66. So Arnie recovered to win more majors AND have more collapses. Isn't that what sport's about?

I still like the idea of reducing the 14-club limit to ten or fewer for the pros. Let Phil have as many drivers as he wants, but let him feel the pain of the choices he has to make. Bring more in-between shots into the game, too.

[Steven T.]

PM should change shafts and use the Wilson Fat Shaft in his driver.

[Hawkeye]

Jneu, I love to butt heads with people with historical insight! I actually thought of that gaffe at Augusta in ´61 just as I pressed "create post" but then thought of the following: Arnie won his very next major (the British at Royal Birkdale) and he was only 31, just six years into his professional career. Phil is 36, has been a pro for a decade and a half, and is, judging from his waistline, on the downhill part of his career. Still, a positive sign is that Phil is candid about it, and has taken constructive measures.

I also strongly agree on your ten-club rule suggestion, it would put more premium on the lost art of shotmaking. Driver, fairway metal, hybrid, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9-irons, two wedges, putter. Exit 60-degree flop from 4-inch greenside rough.

[Smolmania]

Hawk,
What makes you think the 60 degree wedge wouldn't be one of the two he carries? If I had to give up 2 of my five, it would be the X (64) and S (56). I'd bend the gap to 52 if I had to.

[jneu]

Hawkeye, I'm happy to have your benediction. I still prefer '61 as the comparison because '66 was such an extended body blow. I guess that means I think Phil has more majors in him. (I don't know if I really think that.)

To give credit where due, the 10-club suggestion comes from Frank Thomas, as a simple Tour regulation that wouldn't mess with the equipment for the rest of us. It makes too much sense on too many levels for it actually to be adopted, I fear.

[Van]

No 3-wood? Then we'll likely see a repeat.

[Hawkeye]

Smols, that would have to be a 60 with pretty good bounce on it, and that's no fun to play flop shots with... but I gather the sand over in America reqires a bit less bounce than the cloggy gore we have over here does, so maybe you're right. And Van, I think the fairway metal would preferrably be a 15-degree 3-wood. But if you don't put one in the bag when you've got 14 to pick in the US Open, I guess you won't when you've only got 10 either.