Phil gives Rick Smith his walking papers

[LyleG]

GolfDigest.com - Separation anxiety


I guess those long walks with Butch meant something after all.

[charnockpro]

After reading the article it will be good to see what goes on with Phil's swing, if the Harmon methodology is applied to Phil it could result in a barren year or a phenomonal year depending on how his body copes with more resistance and a shorter arm swing, i would think timing would become an issue certainly but also a lot more of a big muscle release and a lot less handsy through impact will produce wayaward shots to begin with i think.

It could be a good alliance, it all depends then on where butch's ideas are regarding Pelz.

[ualtim]

The first time Phil had Butchy look his swing I thought nothing of it, when he went back to him again it was starting to look fishy. Kind of a surprise he changed midseason, but I guess the clues were out there no matter how much Phil denied it. Maybe he will leave Pelz as well?

Thanks for the link LyleG.

[ezra76]

Interesting. It will be cool to see what changes they make. IMO if Phil were to develop a super-consistant lefty fade he'd have some kind of advantage.

[sandwedge]

Now all he needs to do is get rid of Dave Pelz.

[Rockford35]

Originally Posted by sandwedge

Now all he needs to do is get rid of Dave Pelz.

Yep. He needs to get back to the feel shots he used to play rather than this mechanical bullshit he has going/not going now.

What was wrong with how he was playing 12 months ago? Why change?

R35

[charnockpro]

The problem with Mickleson stemmed from when he was having success by reining in his backswing and controlling his flight and distances.

He was at the time playing a controlled fade, whereas stated by Rick Smith he decided to try and draw the ball which resluted in the increased length of backswing again which brought a lot less consistency.

I feel Harmon will as with most of his other pupils, shorten his arm swing, and resistance increase with the hips, i may be wrong but that seems the blueprint for Butch.

I dont think a total break with Pelz would entirely help either, as statiscally Mickleson was never a great putter, but after working with Pelz he improved his routine and seemed to hole more pressure putts.

[3Bogey]

I wonder if Phil's ego is getting the best of him here???? Phil was 3rd in Driving distance in 2003 before any majors and 30th and 26th in 2004 and 2005 with a more consistent fade and 2 Majors. He went back up to 14th in 2006 and is up there again so far in 2007. Yes, he did win a major in 2006, but we all know what ensued after his Masters win. These guys hate to be outdriven by their fellow competitors. It makes you wonder how many more majors could have been won by guys playing with their intellect, like Tiger did at the British, rather than their ego. I know of at least one......Phil could have played 9 iron, 9iron, 9 iron into that hole and walked away with his 4th!!!! I mean really........If driving a golf ball 300+ yards is a measure of your manhood you need more than what either Smith or Harmon can give you!!!!

[mont86]

I would love to see Phil get back in the hunt....

[BigJim13]

Originally Posted by mont86

I would love to see Phil get back in the hunt....

I agree, but am going to go out on a limb and say that Phil will never be back "in the hunt" so to speak. He will win more tournaments but will never be the Top notch player he was again. He will never win another major either...IMHO of course.

[mont86]

Originally Posted by BigJim13

I agree, but am going to go out on a limb and say that Phil will never be back "in the hunt" so to speak. He will win more tournaments but will never be the Top notch player he was again. He will never win another major either...IMHO of course.

Chances are better then not, your right.

[charnockpro]

He could win more majors if he just drops the false bravado and stops taking daft shots on, like Tiger on 15 Masters sunday, lets hope he proves us wrong.

[BigJim13]

Originally Posted by charnockpro

He could win more majors if he just drops the false bravado and stops taking daft shots on, like Tiger on 15 Masters sunday, lets hope he proves us wrong.

Agreed, the PGA tour needs Phil in top form. And he is fun to watch, just not lately...

[JEFF4i]

Phil just needs to change it up in general, obviously things aren't working for him, and haven't been for a while.

[Lemonhead]

My hope is that Tour courses get set up to restrict the bomb-and-gouge play. You really should be penalized for missing fairways. If you can spray drives all over the place and still make GIR, then I think the course is too easy. Having a course set up so easy really eliminates one test of skill for the competition. Driving accuracy should matter.

To relate this to Phil, he needs to quit spraying drives all over the place as does Tiger. If you are a long hitter, fine, but you should need to be an accurate long hitter.

I'd like to see Phil striking the ball better.

Lemonhead