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| Phil Mickelson’s latest addition (Courtesy of Odyssey) |
MAYBE YOU HEARD. PHIL MICKELSON slipped a belly putter into his Callaway golf bag last week at the Deutsche Bank Championship. I’m being facetious. Of course you heard. The belly putter is all the rage. It’s dominating golf news.
So, in case you’re curious, here’s the dope on Phil’s new magic wand, as reported by Hot List 365, a golf equipment blog at GolfDigest.com:
According to Odyssey, Mickelson’s belly putter is an Odyssey Sabertooth with a White Hot XG insert. The club is 45.5 inches long with a lie of 70 degrees. The putter also was custom weighted to put more weight behind the face. Lefty worked with Austie Rollinson, Odyssey’s principal designer, on the putter.
The plan was to build Phil a belly putter like the one used by PGA champion Keegan Bradley, a Mickelson pal and practice partner. But Rollinson made some tweaks after he and Lefty met recently at the Odyssey Putting Lab in Carlsbad, California. The Mickelson version is a half-inch shorter and two degrees more upright than Bradley’s.
Phil had mixed results with it last week outside of Boston, finishing in a tie for 10th. His 9-under total included a 63 in the third round.
Do you think the switch will help Lefty putt better and win more?
−The Armchair Golfer
I think Phil may have several things working in his favor over the next few years. The belly putter should help him stop missing the shorter putts, especially since he's entering the age range where he may need it the most.
He's also had a bad run in the stress department recently, with Amy's illness, his Mom's illness, and his own bout with psoriatic arthritis. Getting these shocks in the past should help.
I don't care how long the putter is but anchoring the butt end (or the hand that holds the butt end) to one's body should not be permitted. The USGA/R&A blew it big time when they turned a blind eye on people ramming the club end into various parts of their body.
Everyone should 3-putt in the traditional manner!!
I'll be curious to see how Phil does. If it helps him on the short ones, which it should, then that's bound to result in higher finishes. I'm not sure if Phil has many, or any, major wins left in him.
Pigs CAN fly! Phil switched to a belly putter! I thought he would be one of the very last to consider putting a belly putter into the bag. Nevertheless, I hope it helps him make some more clutch short putts, especially in Majors because he is deserving of winning a couple more. He is getting up there in age, but he still has a lot of great golf left in him I'm sure. Hopefully this change will help him beat all the young guns coming up in the game.