Always liked Mickelson but they didn't give him the moniker 'Phil the Thrill' for nothing.

quote:

Originally posted by KMitch200:

He has a such a killer short game but some of those tee shots - ugh!

Interestingly, on the whole, Phil is an average to a little better than average short game player. Statistically. But he does have a bigger variety of shots he will attempt, a great imagination for shots, and a willingness to try them. So he gets it close sometimes when others won't try to get it close. But, on the whole, he isn't a spectacular short game player.

I recorded the last two hours of the final round and will watch it this week - didn't get a chance to see it yesterday although I know the outcome

quote:

Originally posted by jhe888:
But, on the whole, he isn't a spectacular short game player.

Really? If Phil's short game isn't spectacular, whose is?

BTW I was wrong, the PGA didn't pull Doral from this tournament. No sponsor stepped up to keep it at Doral for this year, the course may be back hosting in the near future.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/new...s.html#ixzz4aYtsOdJG

Wow, where did this Rahm guy come from? He seems pretty solid for a rookie. It will be interesting to watch him this year.

Jim

quote:

Originally posted by jhe888:

quote:

Originally posted by KMitch200:
He has a such a killer short game but some of those tee shots - ugh!

Interestingly, on the whole, Phil is an average to a little better than average short game player. Statistically. But he does have a bigger variety of shots he will attempt, a great imagination for shots, and a willingness to try them. So he gets it close sometimes when others won't try to get it close. But, on the whole, he isn't a spectacular short game player.

He will definitely take the risky shots that a lot of pros won't. They can do them, they just weigh the risks as too great. Still fun to watch even it he gets burned by it.

Sometime last year I was watching Morning Drive on TGC and Charlie Rymer was talking about Phil's swing changes. Angle of this, plane of that...he said (paraphrasing), "What I hear when a Pro is talking like this is he isn't making the putts. When the ball is dropping into the hole, none of the tee to green stuff matters."
It "doesn't matter" as long as you aren't hitting it so far off line that the next swing is after a drop and making your hands sweat.

Haven't followed golf much since my back got to the point I couldn't play myself anymore, but Phil was always fun to watch.

quote:

Originally posted by Ripley:

quote:

Originally posted by jhe888:
But, on the whole, he isn't a spectacular short game player.

Really? If Phil's short game isn't spectacular, whose is?

Phil is 38th on the tour so far this year in the short game. That is out of 265, so he is better than average, but of those 265, only a 100 or so really matter, so among the best players, he isn't a spectacular short game player.

That is about where he usually comes in that stat, or even a little worse.

As I said, he can pull off some spectacular shots, and often tries those shots, so he seems better than he is. Day-to-day, he is good, but not great.

He is a good short game player, a good putter, and a good ball-striker. (But a not-so-good driver.) Because his good at three of the four big skill categories, he is in contention a lot, and even wins a few, even at his advanced age.

http://www.pgatour.com/stats/stat.087.html

quote:

Originally posted by jhe888:
http://www.pgatour.com/stats/stat.087.html

I've watched too much golf in my life and I'm hard pressed to think of a better short game than Phil's. Woods in his prime could almost always get it up and down.

I can put only so much stock in stats. A missed green and an up-and-down are just numbers. Phil's driver has always been balky, setting up a missed green, many times in worse than average trouble.

Even more telling IMO is his putting. He's looked great the last year or more but has historically been an awful short putter. That'll fry your short game stats. It can't be ignored, it's part of the process but Phil's short game has consistently put him in position to save par throughout his career. All else considered, Phil is one of the worst short putters I've seen. I'd take his short game -- forgetting the short putts -- over anyone else's.

quote:

Originally posted by jhe888:

quote:

Originally posted by Ripley:

quote:

Originally posted by jhe888:
But, on the whole, he isn't a spectacular short game player.

Really? If Phil's short game isn't spectacular, whose is?

Phil is 38th on the tour so far this year in the short game. That is out of 265, so he is better than average, but of those 265, only a 100 or so really matter, so among the best players, he isn't a spectacular short game player.

That is about where he usually comes in that stat, or even a little worse.

As I said, he can pull off some spectacular shots, and often tries those shots, so he seems better than he is. Day-to-day, he is good, but not great.

He is a good short game player, a good putter, and a good ball-striker. (But a not-so-good driver.) Because his good at three of the four big skill categories, he is in contention a lot, and even wins a few, even at his advanced age.

http://www.pgatour.com/stats/stat.087.html

And with arthritis Imagine if Fred Sanford had access to Enbrel.

quote:

Originally posted by lbj:
I watch golf almost every weekend.
I did not watch this weekend, I wanted to see The Doral.
At my house, it was a two person boycott.

Yep same here,