No belly putter for Mickelson at Presidents Cup

Well, the belly putter switch seems to have been short lived for Phil Mickelson.

'Lefty' made the switch in the FedEx Cup Playoffs at the Deutsche Bank Championship, to an exact copy of the long putter that his young protégé Keegan Bradley won the PGA Championship with.

This week in Melbourne Australia, Mickelson is switching back to his standard length putter for the Presidents Cup.

"I will use it as a practice aid and will spend some time with it during the off season," said Mickelson when asked about the switch.

The four time major champion has been known to be more than a little 'iffy' when it comes to three to five foot putts in years past.

For proponents of the belly putter, it tends to help players with that very thing.

Though many believe the putter to be an unfair advantage, and should be banned from competition. As it is anchored to the body, creating a third point of contact on the player.

When he made the switch to the belly putter, it was a big story at the time, as Mickelson is regarded as one of the old guard that is pretty set in their ways about their game and equipment.

He, to many, would have been one of the last players to switch to the much criticized putter on the PGA Tour.

Australian Adam Scott was even quoted as saying he couldn't believe it until he saw it for himself.

"I heard a rumor this morning that he had a long putter but I haven't seen it. -- "I might had to see it to believe it."

Mickelson, then at the Deutsche Bank Championship, was asked about the putter and what he thought after playing a competitive round with one.

"I thought it went well. I feel that I'm probably putting better with that putter than I would be the short putter, so I'll end up using it for the rest of the tournament I would anticipate."

"But I don't know if it's a short-term or long-term thing. But it feels good."

Apparently not well enough as he has gone back to his standard length putter for the Presidents Cup this week.

No comments:

Post a Comment