Styles,
Do you really think that was a phenomenal display of ballstriking by Mickleson?
I saw the back nine… and I saw Phil miss the green with both a nine iron and a wedge. The only long iron shot he hit into a green on the par 3 (4 iron) he missed the green there badly and had to make a 30 foot downhill slider to save par.
Might have been one of the greatest putting rounds I have ever seen.
But hitting it into a bunker right of the green with a 9 iron is not what I would call spectacular ball striking.
You might think so though…?
Hitting 13 greens and shooting 64 is a putting marvel. I played in the rain today and hit 15 greens and shot 75!
hmmm… 36 putts vs 26 putts.
They said he made 150 feet of putts? The longest was 30 feet?
Reread my post and quote where I said it was a phenomenal display of ballstriking
Phil shot 64 on the final day to win the tournament. He beat arguably the greatest player ever by 11 shots. He came from 6 shots back to take the title. That was a great display of golf.
As well as misquoting me, you wrongly stated Phil hit 4 iron on the 12th (where he hit a 5 iron that got caught by a big gust of wind).
His numbers on the day were:
FW - 61.82
GIR - 75%
You are quick to criticise his missed green with a 9 iron, what about his 9 iron on the 13th to 2’3"?
Are you once again trying to sell the idea that pre 1990 no one ever missed a green?
Phil wins tournaments more than anything because of his short game and particularly his putting prowess. You have to putt great to win at the pro level. That putting display was beyond great. But when I think of great golf, I think of the whole thing… tee to green, everything. I witnessed more than a few 64’s being shot when I was playing on tour… played out with much better ball striking than Phil exhibited. The ball striking was far from great. You don’t miss the green with a 9 iron and a wedge on the final nine holes. The long iron he missed was not a wind issue. There might have been some wind yes, but if you play the right kind of shot in there… you take the wind out of it. A lower trajectory shot working a bit right to left was the play. Not because your caddy gives you a yardage, you pull that club and it balloons and then blame it on the wind. It was a very poor shot he hit. Beating Tiger these days isn’t what it used to be. I don’t know what he is doing to his golf swing…
but I don’t see it being all that positive. He is not putting like he used to either. He’ll win again, but he won’t likely dominate like he used to unless he figures a few things out.
I caught the highlight real from the week before in Phoenix. They say he didn’t choke on 18 at Torrey, but in this event he hooked his drive on 18 about 40 yards left bouncing off some big green barrier wall… and like a typical PGA Tour event… there is no OB anywhere on the course, and he has a wide open shot from trampled down grass with a wedge. Chip it onto the green and two putt for the win. That pretty much describes what is wrong at the PGA Tour level. Little or often zero punishment for poorly struck drives on the TPC courses.
At least at Pebble you have a few landmines out there to navigate through… even though they have cut down a lot of the trees and the course plays way too short now with the modern gear. Pebble is not what it used to be.
Come on Lag, we aren’t playing ball striking, we are playing golf. I just can’t follow the logic here. There were 68 players at Pebble on Sunday. Say what you will but these are still 68 of the best golfers in the world. 13 of them finished with scores in the 60s. Not only did Phil best the field by 3 shots, he shot 64 to come from behind and win! In what world is that not great golf?
I am more than sure that Lag is well equipped to answer for himself but just from another angle, what he is saying is that he was not impressed with Mickleson’s ballstriking but he was impressed with his putting.
Holing +150 ft is quite a feat in a round of golf, try working out how many feet of putts you hole out in your next round, anything over 60 ft and you will think that you have had one of your best putting rounds ever.
Phil’s short game is among the best in the business and he had a great putting day on Sunday but have a look at his putting stats from last year. Pay close attention to where he is in the 3 putt tables and holing out from inside 5 feet and you Will see that surprisingly it is not a strength.
Phil has four major titles and 40 total wins on the PGA TOUR. I think there is a malicious pleasure taken in demeaning the ability and achievements of players on the PGA tour at times on these boards.
The persimmon age and the players of today are different but there are a few, Phil included, who have played both and Phil was winning titles and showing game from an early age. To dismiss his achievements and ability is unprofessional.
Hi Mark, how have you been keeping. I’ve been trying to get hold of you for a while! We must get a run down to kirkistown again some time. Did you see there Will be a mid amateur held at clandeyboye this year? Will you be able to play in it?
Hope to catch up with you soon, promise not to try and sell you any hand wash.
Stir crazy because of the snow and the weather, probably the longest ever break from golf…did marvel at Mickleson on Sunday night but how many of us have ever had a putting round like that ever? Will give you a shout when I next get back.
I watched the back nine i thought Phil hit the ball fairly well from tee to green but it wasnt anything special, and he did hit a few poor irons shots. I definitely think it was his putting that won him the tournament. I thought his shot on 13 that he hit stiff at 25 seconds in this video, was one of the few where he didnt use his typical dump and roll type release, he seemed to drive it through with his pivot nicely. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1iqGutDHF5Y
Lol. Job was done by then, it was good course management though and I loved the way coverage picked up the conversation between Phil and bones on the tee.
Great ballstrikers don’t miss greens with wedges and 9 irons on the last nine holes of a tournament they are leading.
This is an advanced ball striking forum, hence the name. I don’t consider Phil a great ball striker. His driving stats are very poor year after year.
However, I would consider him one of the greatest short game and putting wizards of all time. I absolutely love his putting stroke. He does everything I personally believe in and teach on the greens. As far as his ballstriking, I am just stating the facts.
Winning golf tournaments is a lot more than ball striking. Knudson would have been one to ask. Mac O Grady another.
No reason why great golf can’t be both great ballstriking and great putting.
Ok. I’m not trying to argue that it was a superb ball striking day. And sure there have been more impressive 64’s but considering the circumstances that was a great round of golf. I understand what this forum is about and I’m not trying to rustle any feathers. I just think great golf can be played in many different ways, one being with a phenomenal short game and an average long game. There is no doubt that improving your ball striking, as we are all trying to do, will make it easier to play quality golf on a consistent basis.
I have seem Seve mentioned as one of the “greats” here multiple times. However, whenever I see highlights of his play he’s constantly hitting recovery shots and relying on his all time short game. It’s almost like he gets a pass because of the era he played in.
On a separate note, I watched live Kyle Stanley play the 18th the other week in Phoenix. That was absolutely the most ridiculous thing I have ever seen. He hits his drive 40 yards off line. Draws a near perfect lie and hits sand wedge into the green. Then we get to hear the commentators rave about what a great approach shot it was under that kind of pressure. Give me a break.
If Kyle hits it 40 yards off line at the course I play, he would have to scramble to make double bogey.
I don’t think I have ever said Seve was one of the great all time ball strikers. He was just not a great driver of the ball. But the Masters and The Open give a bit more leeway off the tee… and his record in those events speaks for the strength of the rest of his game. The US Open was not an event that he played as well in. You used to have to hit it dead straight in the US Open and also the PGA Championship which is really just a slightly watered down US Open. But if the event were set up the way it has been recently, he would have won a couple US Opens and PGA’s also I would guess.
The thing these guys all have including Phil is the ability to win, and keep things in order inside their head coming down the stretch. I think putting great under pressure is a lot harder than hitting short irons into greens down the home stretch.
