With his win at Pebble Beach on Sunday, Phil Mickelson has won two straight tournaments. Last week, I said it looked like I was wrong about his new Callaway clubs he switched to in the middle of last year.
No Damn Three Putts has a different idea:
Could the Callaway clubs that I have bashed in the past really be good golf clubs? I don't think so. My thoughts on why Mickelson has won twice are this: Mickelson is a great golfer. It took Phil a few months to adjust to his new crappy Callaway clubs.
One piece from Golf Digest suggests that Mickelson is poised to dominate the tour like Ben Hogan once did. Whatever is happening, he's doing something right. And even if it isn't his clubs, it looks like Callaway is collecting on its investment.
Then again, who needs a press release when you can find sportswriting like this:
Of the three pieces of equipment, Mickelson says the ball is most significant to his success.A new manufacturing process makes the core of the ball perfectly centered, and a lighter cover gives it more feel.
"It has given me back the 15 yards of distance I sacrificed last year for control," Mickelson said, "and I've picked up a couple more yards."
For God's sake, it reads like ad copy. In case you're wondering, Mickelson was 30th in driving distance on the PGA Tour last year, averaging 295.4 yards off the tee. So far this year, he's in 12th, averaging a little more than 297 yards a drive.
My main issue with Mickelson changing cloubs is that he did it on the eve of the Ryder Cup. His tee shot on 18 during the second match with Woods was a pivotal point in the tournament. There is absolutely no conceivable excuse for a professional golfer to miss his target off the tee by almost 50 YARDS!
Actually, I think he adjusted rather quickly, and not several months. If y’all recall, he shot a 59 in the silly season.