Mickelson's Pre-Masters Press Conference

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masterslogo.gifA little more fun from the defending champion's sit down. First, the two driver deal:

Q. Will you take the two-driver approach this year?

PHIL MICKELSON: I will. I have been working on the second driver, which is a longer driver, and I plan on using it a reasonable amount. It's also the square-headed driver that I've been working with. So I'll have two different drivers, yes.

Q. Before I ask the main one, the square-headed driver you're going to use for what kind of ball flight?

PHIL MICKELSON: It will be a lot higher. I talked about draws and fades, and so forth. It's more -- a better way to relate to be a driver and a 2-wood because one of them, the longer driver, the square one goes 20 yards longer than my regular one.

So when I need distance, I use the square one. And when I try to hit little low shots or work it around the trees on 10 or 13, I'll use the regular-shaped driver.
And...

 

Q. Just as a refresher, what will you be eliminating in your bag and will that change from day-to-day?
PHIL MICKELSON: I'm taking out a sand wedge. I've played here three or four years without a sand wedge and I have not needed it once. Since the course has been lengthened, I don't ever need a sand wedge. Par 4s are long enough where I have to hit 8 through wedge maybe or par 5s I'm able to reach or I have an L-wedge.

The other club, I'm going to add a 64-degree wedge, which means I'll have to take out another club and I'll take out a 3-wood. There really are not any 3-wood holes for me, and the only time I would need it would be the second shot into 8, and I prefer to cut a driver, one of the two drivers, the FT-5 off the deck and hit a cut shot into that green.

And the fun part...

Q. Talking about the greens, no matter where you go, it seems all greens are compared to Augusta's. What are some of the nuances that make this place so special and so unique on the greens?

PHIL MICKELSON: They never get spiked up. You don't ever see spike marks at Augusta National. (Laughter). I would say that, you know, four or five feet from the hole whether or not it's going in. The ball tracks perfectly. I would say that the statistics of 5-footers at Augusta National made are the same as, statistically, as 3-footers on the PGA TOUR because the greens are so perfect that you should be able to make a number of short putts. That being said, they are so fast that oftentimes you have 10- to 60-foot come-back putts, and that's not that uncommon.

And...

Q. Sticking with the green jacket theme, what did it feel like two years ago to help him put on the jacket?

PHIL MICKELSON: I don't know, but I remember what it felt like last year when he put it on me. (Laughter).


Mickelson Reaffirms Support For Rick Smith By Working With Butch Harmon

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From Tod Leonard in today's San Diego Union Tribune:

Mickelson reportedly played 27 holes at Augusta one day last week, shooting 65 for 18 holes and 31 for his other nine.

The San Diegan caused another minor stir Sunday when he briefly worked with instructor Butch Harmon before his final round of 69 in the CA Championship. The two were seen working together at the Accenture Match Play, but Mickelson downplayed it then, and he insists Smith remains his foremost swing instructor.

Why Phil Is Popular

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After the post 2nd round media scrum in the ladies locker room...eh, that didn't sound right.

Anyway, after meeting with TV and print folks who burned off their chicken and potato media room lunch by coming up the hill to Riviera's clubhouse, Phil Mickelson easily could have taken a right turn down a hallway and headed toward the locker room.

Instead, he announced his intention to sign autographs for 15-20 minutes, where around 50 people (mostly very young boys) were waiting in near darkness to get various items signed. Pretty classy.

 Philsigning2007nissan.jpg

"It would be cool if Mickelson touched a club every once in a during the offseason"

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From the Not's side of Alan Shipnuck's Hot/Not column, which also includes nice jabs at Walter Driver and NBC.

2. Phil Mickelson  Hey, I love Italy, too, and it sounds like fun to renew your wedding vows in Bora Bora, and who wouldn't want to hang out in Cabo overseeing the construction of a golf course? But in between all the goofing off and myriad corporate diversions, it would be cool if Mickelson touched a club every once in a during the offseason, thus sparing us having to watch him treat the West Coast swing like spring training for the apathetic.

 

"It's probably not as fun to play day in and day out as it was, but that's what you have to have to be able to host a U.S. Open."

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Thanks to reader David for catching this from Phil Mickelson's gathering with the media Wednesday:

Q. Can you talk about your feelings having the U.S. Open here in San Diego and some of the changes that are going to be made to the course?

PHIL MICKELSON: Well, I love that we're hosting the U.S. Open. I think that San Diego has needed that, or I think it'll just really do a lot for the game of golf in the area. So I'm so excited that it did get the U.S. Open. The golf course is very difficult to play. It's probably not as fun to play day in and day out as it was, but that's what you have to have to be able to host a U.S. Open. It's one of the hardest golf courses I've ever seen day in and day out, 7,600 yards at sea level, it's just very difficult.

Ruin a servicable municipal golf course for one week of play. And why is that again? Oh right, red numbers are embarrassing. What a shame.

The Classic Club...Classic Tournament Killer?

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Bill Dwyre in the L.A. Times makes up for Saturday's Phil Mickelson column (Phil remembers the names of his pro-am partners!) with a succinct indictment on The Classic Club course, which frequently delivers winds like Sunday's.

Many said it was the worst wind they have experienced, and those were the former mountain climbers. The weatherman put the winds at 15-20 mph, with gusts up to 40. Mostly, there were gusts.
Now keep that number in mind when reading the next bit. First, Larry Bohannan in the Desert Sun:
It was an ominous question at best.

"Are they going to play this course again next year?" Phil Mickelson asked after his windy Sunday round on the final day at Classic Club in the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic.

Yes, Phil, they are going to play this course again. They own the course.

"Who?" Mickelson asked.

The Bob Hope Chrysler Classic, came the response.

With that, Mickelson turned and walked away to sign some autographs without a response.
And here's where it gets fun...
Mike Milthorpe, the Hope tournament director, said he certainly hopes Mickelson and other players won't make decisions about whether to play in the Classic in the future simply on one horrible day of weather.

"I don't know that (Mickelson) questioned the course," Milthorpe said. "He may have questioned the conditions. It's a tough day today, no ifs, ands or buts. If anything, he may have just questioned the day."

Milthorpe said Classic Club isn't fighting a bad perception about wind among the PGA Tour players. The perception, he said, comes from media reports about wind and the so-called wind belt on the north side of the freeway.
I wonder where they would get the idea that it blows?
 

The trees lining the railroad tracks? The thousands of wind turbines? The fact no one in their right mind would build anything out there until the last few years?

That biased, negative, liberal elite media!

Last year's final round, for instance, was described as a blustery day, making it tough on the final groups down the stretch. But Milthorpe said the official tour report on the final day listed a wind speed of 17 mph.
Key word: unofficial.


Tod Leonard in the San Diego Union Tribune offered this:

Perhaps because he knew he would get queries, Milthorpe said he checked with the other three courses in the Hope rotation yesterday and said the wind conditions were similar.

“The perception is the media's perception,” Milthorpe said. “We had firemen gauging the wind today, and it didn't get above 25 mph. We got a tour report from last year for this golf course and the winds Sunday were 17 mph. But if you listened to the commentators and what the media wrote, it sounded like it was huge wind.”

They say the camera adds 10 pounds. Maybe it adds 10 mph too? 

Either way, you have a new 7,600 yard course that is so massive in scale that the amateurs clearly don't enjoy walking and playing it. 

You have a final round that took just under 6 hours (based on my TiVo calculation) and an event that drew only one player in the world top 30.

Those short, harmless little old desert courses like Indian Wells, Bermuda Dunes and El Dorado aren't looking so bad are they?

Oh that's right, they're dated because the guys are working out too much. I keep forgetting!

“I don't want to get in the bad habits"

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Tod Leonard in the San Diego Union Tribune also had this from Phil Mickelson after Sunday's final round:

“It was hard, but today I didn't want to try to fight it too much,” Mickelson said. “I don't want to get in the bad habits, which is the main reason why I don't play Kapalua (for the season-opening Mercedes-Benz Championship)."

Ohhh...the FedEx Cup schedule may be starting a week later for Phil next year. 

Few More Thoughts On Phil Entering Design

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In re-reading the story on Mickelson entering design (this Golfweek version pretty much regurgitates the press release), a few things came to mind.

First, it was refreshing that there wasn't the obligatory paragraph about how he wants to design courses that are challenging for the professional and yet playable for the average golfer. (It was probably T.R. Reinman who spared us that nonsense.)

But at the same time, it would be nice to know why Phil is entering the business now just a year or so after indicating that he was slowing down to focus on playing. (He was featured in a Links cover story I wrote on emerging player-architects, but his design career was downplayed because of this apparent dedication to his game while he was still at his peak).

I'm fascinated by the move of Tiger, Phil and Ernie into design when the money is really not that great compared to what they make on the course. That was one of Mickelson's reason for not being more interested, unless of course, like Tiger, his fee has skyrocketed into a stratosphere that us mere mortals.

Actually, I think I've answered my own questions here. Thanks for bearing with me. 

"I'm just trying to hit high bombs."

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One other item of interest from Mickelson's press conference was this comment about the new square headed driver...

Q: Could you talk to us about what you think the reception of that will be on the PGA TOUR and what you think about it?

Phil Mickelson: Well, I think that the FTI, the square-headed driver, is not just an evolutionary driver. I think it's more of a revolutionary driver. Because it's such a drastic change, because the moment of inertia is so high, because the ball goes so straight it doesn't want to curve, I think it's actually going to take a little bit more time on the PGA TOUR.

There will be guys that love it. Guys that don't like to work shots and want to aim it down the middle of the fairway and rip it, this will be perfect for them because it goes so straight but some guys like to hit little draws, hit a fade, hit high shots, low shots; and the design from my manufacturer, the FT5 is a much better fit to hit those variety of shots.

But if I just wanted to hit it straight, I'll go to the FTI which is why I'm leaning towards that driver for Augusta when I tried to hit it a lot longer. I'm not really trying to manoeuvre it or curve it; I'm just trying to hit high bombs.

Thank God Hootie has retired. Otherwise they'd probably be out planting more tacky pines today at Augusta. 

"Phil is only going to design about 10 golf courses"

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In the release covering Phil Mickelson's surprising move into course design (surprising because just a year or so ago he was downplaying his interest in this area for the time being), there is the usual stuff about projects and who he'll be working with (different people on different projects).

But reader Jordan caught this quote from his agent, which I thought was odd.

"Phil is only going to design about 10 golf courses, and RiverRock will be his mountain course," said Tim Ummel, Mickelson's agent.

Only 10? This year or ever?

Different Takes On Star Absences

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From Jeff Rude's Golfweek.com column defending Tiger...

The opinionated Arron Oberholser, a TC newcomer, joined some press pundits in impaling America's two big shots for their absence. "I think the biggest players have a responsibility to the Tour to play in these," said perhaps the only young Republican from San Francisco. "Tiger might not want to hear that and Phil might not want to hear that, but they don't write my paycheck, so I don't care. I think it's about having a responsibility to your place in the game."

And from Geoff Ogilvy...

"The Tour is so good because of people like Tiger and Phil, so you can't say that Tiger and Phil are hurting the Tour by not (playing here)," the Australian said. "Where would the Tour be without Tiger and Phil? We'd be playing for $2.5 million a week, we'd have 20 tournaments, not one would be watching it on TV. We'd be back where we were 15 years ago.

Phil's Family Vacation

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Ed Sherman and George White offer two very different takes on Phil Mickelson vanishing from the face of the planet until the Bob Hope Classic. While White seemingly dusts off something from a Gaylord Sports release (complete with a breakdown of charitable donations), Sherman points out that Mickelson's lack of interest after the PGA does not bode well for the FedEx Cup, a system developed with Phil's input in mind.