Phil Mickelson: Could Backspin Cost Him the US Open?

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at Internationaled.org

Published: June 16, 2013

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ARDMORE, Pa. — Yes, Phil Mickelson has the lead, thanks to a fortuitous birdie at the 17th. But it might have been more of a lead.  

While most people focus on Mickelson’s lip outs or missed fairways, as Saturday afternoon became Saturday evening at Merion Golf Club, I wondered if Mickelson’s backspin, that shot golf fans love to see, could cost him the U.S. Open?

It’s tempting to use that shot on Merion’s greens which primarily slope from back to front. It’s a crowd pleaser—throw the ball beyond the pin onto slippery backboards with world-class spin and let it trickle back toward the hole.

It should provide an uphill putt, which is less risky on fast greens. But sometimes, it doesn’t quite work out. Sometimes, the trickle-back theory ends up with a ball that rolls back eight or 10 or 12 feet past the hole instead of cozying up to the pin. Then, the birdie opportunity becomes a par. 

Greg Norman used to be the king of spinning the ball. He had more backup than Michael Jackson’s moonwalk. He achieved it because of the powerful way he delivered the club. Norman had enormous clubhead speed.

It was something most golfers, pros and amateurs alike, could only dream of creating. In his case, it often worked to his advantage. But on the ninth hole at Augusta in 1996, he spun the ball off the green and all the way back down to the fairway. It was the beginning of the slide.   

Once, while doing instructional videos with Fred Couples for The Golf Show (which I owned and produced), I asked him why he did not spin the ball back. It was his answer that came to mind today watching Mickelson play. 

What Couples said was that early in his career, he used to spin the ball a lot and used to back the ball up on greens. He said he made a change after doing that for a few years. He said the reason was that he ...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Golf

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