In watching Phil Mickelson's dazzling performance this past week at the Deutsche Bank Championship, three holes stick out to me. On those three holes, Mickelson made one bogey, one double bogey and one triple bogey. Why do they stand out? Because those were the only three holes that Phil did not make par or better. That's right, in 72 holes of golf, Mickelson made par or better on 69 of them.
Now Phil was driving the ball extremely well, and his iron play was really solid for the most part. But what won him this tournament was his uncanny ability to get up and down from just about everywhere, especially in the final round when he was trying desperately to hold on to the lead. Everytime it seemed he was in some sort of trouble, he was able to save a par (or birdie) from some extremely difficult bunker shot, some horrid lie, or some short-sided angle where it didn't seem possible to get down in two shots. In fact, he chipped in a number of times, including holing out a 35-yard bunker shot for eagle in the first round.
Obviously, to have the shots and the creativity to pull off some of these shots takes an ability and talent that few people could ever experience. But no matter how much inherent skill you have, you have to hone it so that you can call upon those shots when you need them. In other words, Phil Mickelson (and Tiger Woods for that matter) not only have all the talent in the world in the short game, they also work harder on their short game than most people. It's like the old adage says, "the harder I work, the luckier I get."
So what can we learn from watching this second week of the FedExCup Playoffs? Work on the short game!
Sure it sounds simple. But in my years of teaching, I'd estimate that I see most amateurs work on their full swing at a ratio of about 10 to 1 with their short game. The TOUR Pros will go about 2 to 1 in the other direction, working mostly on their short games. And for wizards like Mickelson and Woods, the ratio is probably even higher.
So sure, bombing the ball off the tee is fun and impressive. But being able to score is the key to good golf, and nothing will help your score more than working on the short game. Chipping, short pitches, lob shots, bunker shots, bad lies, anything from 40 yards and in -- you'll see results in your score very soon.
One final note: How much fun was it to watch Woods and Mickelson going shot for shot with each other coming down the finish? Isn't that what the PGA TOUR was dreaming of when they came up with the FedExCup? The world's top two players, paired together, battling on the back nine of the final round for the championship? I can't wait to see the t.v. ratings for this week, I'm sure they will raise some eyebrows.
And you will too if you remember to work on your game around the green. Good luck!
Mike O'Malley is the PGA Head Professional at The Georgia Club in Statham, Ga. O'Malley attended the University of North Alabama on a golf scholarship and has been a PGA Professional for 11 years. He has given over 1000 golf lessons/clinics to amateurs and professionals.
