Phil Mickelson Goes to the Long Putter for Deutsche Bank Championship

Kathy Bissell 

We should know by now that it is a mistake to predict what Phil will do next.  He’s just done the semi-unthinkable.  He’s gone long.  Belly putters are officially the rage.

“I just got it Monday,” he confessed at the Deutsche Bank Championship outside Boston.  “Last week I didn't have any idea about the idiosyncrasies of it, and I played with Keegan Bradley, and I asked him a bunch of questions, and ended up having Odyssey make up the exact replica of the putter he has.”

Leave it to Phil to find out everything he can about the lengthy club.   He’s pelted Bradley with questions on ball position, setup, eye position, hands, grip, all the keys to making it work.

“It's awkward to me, but so many guys have had success with it that I thought I'd give it a try,” Mickelson said.

It will be in his bag tomorrow when he tees it up in the first round.

Mickelson was paired with Bradley last week in the first two rounds of play and feels like he learned a lot watching what Bradley was doing on the greens.

It is a completely different kind of stroke and requires different mechanics.   He said although it was new, he improved from the front to the back nine in the practice round using it.

“Because my hands aren't moving back per se, because it's anchored, the stroke for distance is different,” Mickelson explained about one of the differences between long and short. “It's not like it's harder or easier, it's just different, and so getting the right touch has been something I'm working on.”

Mickelson’s model is an Odyssey White Hot with the XG insert while Bradley’s is the regular White Hot.

Now, it’s easy to say Mickelson’s putting stats are not setting the world on fire this season.

He’s 64^th from 3-5 feet; 122^nd inside  5 feet; 131^st from 10-5 feet.

His best stat is 20-25 feet where he’s 52^nd.

In his career, he’s been better in the longer ranges on many occasions than the shorter ones, statistically speaking.

However, the best he’s ever been in the 3-5 foot range is 14^th since detailed Shotlink stats have been kept.  So either the stats lie or Mickelson is not a great putter.  Reality says that to win 39 PGA Tour events, you have to have a very good putting stroke at the right time.  Over his career, Mickelson’s driver has been more of a problem than his putter.  But we’ve seen him miss some short ones that make us cringe.

In total victories, which is where it really counts, Mickelson is doing just fine, putting stats or otherwise.  It will be interesting to see how long it stays in the bag.

“I don't mind trying new things,” he concluded. “I've hit two drivers and no drivers in Opens, and I don't mind trying something different. We'll see.”

If it works for Mickelson, you can bet there will be a run on long putters the likes of which we have not seen before.     

Kathy Bissell is a Golf Writer for Bleacher Report. Unless otherwise noted, all quotes were obtained first-hand or from official interview materials from the USGA, PGA Tour or PGA of America.