Phil "Two Drivers" Mickelson Shows Rust in Doral Opener
by Ryan Ballengee on Mar 11, 2010 11:53 PM EST
in Pro Golf
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PrintIn the midst of his run of three major championship wins, Phil Mickelson experimented briefly with having two drivers in the bag. He crushed the field at Sugarloaf in Duluth, GA, but a baker's dozen and then proceeded to win his second green jacket at the Masters.
Mickelson had not played with the same configuration since. In fact, at the 2008 US Open, Mickelson played without a driver with disastrous results.
Today at Doral, under the prodding of his caddy Jim "We always have to say his nickname 'Bones' in quotes" Mackay, Mickelson brought back the two driver system. It didn't work so well. Mickelson his just three fairways on his way to 71, which leaves him four out of the lead at the WGC CA Championship.
The one driver is his regular Callaway FT-9 that Mickelson says has tons of carry.
Lefty used the Ft-9 on 13
The new 1 wood is an FT-5 that allows him to hit the ball lower into the Doral wind on the course Thursday, but gives him added distance over a three wood.
Mickelson used the FT-5 on 5th tee. [Getty Images]
"[T]here are some holes where I want to hit a little bit more than 3-wood but the driver I have hits it into a narrow spot."
In other words, is there such a thing as a 2 wood?
When asked, Mickelson said he is unlikely to repeat the experiment at Augusta National. "[T]his driver I used today, the one that keeps it down, I don't see a purpose at Augusta. So honestly, probably not."
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I’m not sure how an experimental driver setup used by a guy who doesn’t hit many fairways to begin with, on a brutally windy day, is a sign of “rust”. This is his 5th start in the 10 weeks of the season, and he is admittedly distracted by the health problems of his wife and mother. The only thing I see is a progressive drop in finishes from his first start (T8) to T49 at the Northern Telecom.
After round 1, he is tied for 17th, 4 shots out of the lead. Pretty sure he’s not in any kind of panic mode.
Today is going to be pretty nasty down there with some rainstorms churning up.
"this ball will fit in that fairway"
It is nasty and not looking good for later on.
The bump up in time today, really puts a strain on scheduling the evening dinner arrangements. O’ well, Thats the way it goes sometimes.
In the 70’’s and early 80’s I had a Spaulding Executive 2 Wood. My Dad had one also , but his was a Pan Head Model, that was made for a lower ball flight. Phil did well to finish just four off the lead yesterday, all things considered.
Team tiger has hired ex – press secretary for G Dubya Bush, Ari Fleisher for damage and PR control. What happens next, ? Fleisher holds the press conferences in TW place. sheesh
Does this mean Stevie Williams is gonna bring in Donald Rumsfeld out of retirement to be Secy. of Defence on the course for unruly fans ?
Gee wiz, perhaps he will bring in ole Brownie for Chief of Homeland Security for the Isleworth home. LOL
By the way, A certain amount of folks inside the ropes down here at Doral are snickering like crazy about the Ari Fleisher consulting. LOL
"pain is only weakness leaving the body"
I was going to suggest chartering a boat and letting the group fish for their dinner…but with that weather heading in, you might end up wearing Gilligan clothes and getting lost on a three hour tour.
LOVED the old 2-wood. Sadly, they just don’t mark anything as a 2-wood anymore – just strong 3-woods and lofted drivers.
Does the Fleisher hire bother you the same way it does me ? When you hire a guy to control what you say and do – everything is clearly an act – and that’s the last thing Woods needs.
LMAO ! “ole Brownie” !
"this ball will fit in that fairway"
LOL actualy
It’s funny you mentioned a boat charter. Yesterday I scheduled one for 30 people for an all day Hadock fishing trip off the coast of Maine in July. “I LOVE DEEP SEA FISHING” A bad day of fishing beats a good day at the office anytime.
Remember Bush standing in New Orleans with Brownie with his arm around him saying, " Your doing a hell of a job Brownie" yeah right. Then 2 months later brownie gets canned. LOLOL
"pain is only weakness leaving the body"
yeah – that Brown firing was a mess. I still think he took one for the team – there wasn’t anything more he could have done in the situation. “W” took blame in the media that wasn’t his – but the media was going to take any opportunity they could to blast him. Oh well.
"this ball will fit in that fairway"
Hey you two...This is
about golf, not all the misadventures of the politicos…jist sayin…And, I still have a Spalding set of woods I got from Sam Snead…..Driver, 2wood, 4 wood…real shallow face…Betsy King tried to get them off me, were a joy to hit…OK, go back to politics now..lol…Court, see how many lobsters ol Jumpin is gonna get whilst up there fishing?…And by the way, when you have to hire more spin doctors, it does cast a very dim light on ones credibility…not that there was much in the first place mind you…STUB
Nice set of clubs !! Do you ever pull the irons out and knock some balls around with them ? What shaft flex is in them ?
"this ball will fit in that fairway"
I just went to the garage to check the shafts, and
their not there…hope one of my sons has them…let me tell you how I got them…I was playing at White Sulphur Springs, and Sam Joined us…he always wanted a little juice of some kind on the game, so we had a wager going…long story short, I beat him by 2-3 strokes, and he didn’t want to pay, you know Sam was pretty cheap, so I said fine, I’ll just take your clubs…Well, I took that big red bag and the clubs and took them to my room…Checked out the next day and took the sticks with me…He was still pissed off years later….but what happened was, I took the irons to the Hogan plant in Ft worth to get the specks changed…Hogan was there, and when he saw the Spaldings, he told the guys to take them and give me the prototypes of the Hogan Directors he had been working with…I lost the irons, but I still hit the Directors occasionally..The Spaldings had stiff shafts and a built up grip…Sam had big hands…STUB.
CG, in those days played straight up,
but let me tell you something that I never really got over…I was by no means part of Mr. Hogans inner circle, what left a lasting impression, was the fact he never forgot my name…When he was practicing at Shady Oaks, he always used one fairway…the guys playing, just hit and kept on going…He practiced on that fairway, because there were power lines going across…he practiced his trajectory between the lines, and got really pissed if it wasn’t absolutely dead on….the other thing, He was the force behind a club by the name of “The trophy Club”…2 things about that tract…the head pro had more holes in one than anyone else in the world…the other thing was, Mr. Hogan used to sit on the earth moving equipment himself and shape holes….not the members 18, but the club had another 18 that was laid out and supposed to support an open or PGA….it never was finished, but not for lack of Mr. Hogans efforts…If my sons don’t have those clubs, heads will roll…STUB
How about Phil "Double Driver" Mickelson
Or “Double D” Mickelson. Just throwin’ it out there.
Just curious, anyone know what club he takes out of his bag when he does this? 3 Wood?
Another week, Another tournament, Another week of
hitting less than 55% of the fairways
At one point in the 3rd round, he was like hitting 35% of fairways
How bad is that?
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