SWITCH-UP: Phil Mickelson Using New Clubs For The Masters

Heading into the Masters this upcoming weekend, a lot of the focus has been on Bryson DeChambeau as he continues to break norms and hopes to slay Augusta National with his grip and rip strategy. But he’s not the only player looking to increase his distance for the event.

All golf fans know that Phil Mickelson has always been a guy who’s tried to break norms and get creative with his golf game, long before DeChambeau. And even though he’s over 50 now, Lefty is still looking for ways to improve his game. And for the Masters this week, Mickelson is deciding to break out a 47.5′ driver in the hopes of improving his ball speed off the tee.

Mickelson obviously doesn’t use a driver that long on a regular basis but he’s had some time to test it out. He first broke out the long driver about a month ago when he won his second event on the Senior Tour at Dominion Energy Classic, playing on a course that is kind of reminiscent of Augusta. He also used the driver last week at The Vivint Houston Open. With all of the trials apparently going well, Mickelson plans to use it at the last major of the year.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by The Masters (@themasters) on Nov 8, 2020 at 5:12pm PST

“If you can fly it (that distance) there you have a chance to take advantage of some of those holes,” Mickelson said on the Callaway Golf podcast this past week. “For example, No. 1, if you can carry that bunker, it’s a sand wedge in, and you’re thinking birdie. If you have to hit a 3-wood off of the tee and go to the side, or if you can’t carry it and you have to play more to the left, it’s a 6- or 7-iron into the green, so you’re thinking par. So there’s the ability to attack a number of holes if you can fly the ball a little bit farther.”

The addition of the longer driver into Lefty’s bag this week has also resulted in a few other changes to his club selection. With the long driver, Mickelson has decided to also add a 2-wood to his bag this week to help with any gap decisions that may present themselves. Further, he’ll also employ a full set of Epic Forged Irons to help with the unique mowing patterns at Augusta this week.

It’s safe to say that Mickelson has really thought about every scenario this week and believes this is his best opportunity to win. And with the Masters set to tee off this Thursday, we’ll see if the new approach will be enough to push Phil to another green jacket.

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