Hooked On Golf Blog

Mickelson is more fit for 2007?

Written by: Tony Korologos | Friday, January 19th, 2007
Categories: Golf Fitness • PGA Tour

We haven’t seen Phil Mickelson since the Ryder Cup. He went into super secret training. He worked hard in his off-season on conditioning, doing cardio and weights about 6 days a week. He’s dropped 25 pounds and thinks that being in better physical condition will help his game. He said he was fatigued and it hurt his game down the stretch in tournaments etc.. I can buy that, sort of. Well, maybe not.

Mentally Fit?

Though Phil has had times when he was a little overweight, that’s never been his problem in my opinion. Despite his body fat level he’s always had the game, the shots, the skills, the talent.

What needs to be more “fit” for Phil’s game to be at it’s best is his MENTAL side. Phil (and his caddy for that matter) need to work even more on course management and decision making. There was a period of time during the last couple of years where it looked like he’d done just that and what happened? Major victories.

Perhaps if Phil believes being more physically fit will help his game, his mental side will tag along too. Sort of a placebo effect of sorts? Whatever works. Time will tell.

3 responses to “Mickelson is more fit for 2007?”

Miranda says:

January 19, 2007 at 4:11 pm

I think exercising will release those endorphins and that will put him in a better mood, which will make him feel more positive and help him put the US Open behind him. Plus, it’s something he could do immediately to tell himself that he’s working on improving his game. The swing changes, mental thought process changes will take more time. I think there will be a domino effect and the good feelings he has for working out and improving his physical fitness will carry over onto those other things he needs to work on. I don’t think the mental side will magically fix itself if he has more stamina for a year’s worth of golf. He will have to work on it. I’m not convinced yet that he will work on the mental side of things. I’ve heard him talking about working out, swing changes, new drivers etc. Not so much about how the US Open shook his confidence. I don’t think he’s accepted that yet.
dmaninmoval says:

February 2, 2007 at 10:35 am

Hey guys Happy New Year (late I know), it has been awhile since I have been on the site, so good to see everyone again. I have talked about this subject before and I am glad that it is being discussed. In my opinion, Phil does not have the mental toughness that it takes to be a major champion. Case in point, for all of the skill that everyone (including his dad) has praised him for having, he is only a three time winner since his full start on the tour in 1993. Yet, Tiger has been on the tour for only 10 years now and has 12 majors under his belt and we won’t even get into the assasin like mentality he has went it comes to his opponents. The biggest difference why Phil will never be that good is that “HE” does not believe that his game is that good. While on the flip side, Tiger walks between the ropes in any given tournament and knows he can win everytime. That is the reason the man wrenched the number one spot he loaned to Vijay for a bit and has never and probably will never give it back to anyone for as long as he is this dominent.
Replace your divots!!
Dmaninmoval
leno1015 says:

August 14, 2007 at 10:32 am

I think i agree with dmaninmoval, the mental side of golf is what Phil has to work on. I improved my game with one of these online mental instructions for golf, and the bulk of it was clearing your mind and believing in yourself! It really worked for me and i’m sure it would work for anyone, even the pro’s.