Did he really just tend the flag.... from 75 yards out!!??!!

This past weekend at the Farmer's on Torrey Pines Golf Course, I watched something that I never even imagined would happen. Here is the situation...

Phil Mickelson is walking down the 18th fairway toward his 3rd shot on Sunday as he watched Bubba Watson drain a 15 foot birdie to take a two shot lead over him. Everybody knew Phil had to hole out from about 75 yards away in order to force a playoff with Bubba, but what happened next was unbelievable...

The first thing that people thought to be a bit silly was when Phil wandered all the way up to the green to read the break around the hole. My buddy turned to me and joked, "I think he is going to fix some of the divots around the hole." And to be honest, I would not be surprised if he did, now. But what happened next is really astounding... Bones (Phil's caddy) walked up to the green while Phil took his practice swings and prepared for his shot. Then Bones stood right next to the flag as Phil addressed the shot. I thought to myself, "He is having the flag tended from 75 yards out! Are you kidding me!"And that is precisely what Bones was doing... Once Phil made contact with the ball, Bones pulled the flag and stepped a few feet out of the way....

Just a couple seconds later the TV camera zooms in one the flag-less hole and Phil's ball pitches about 1 foot to the left of the hole, takes a nice skip forward, and starts to spin back tracking toward the hole. Phil left the shot about 2 feet above the hole. Are you kidding me?

Moral of the story:
For all you beginning, avid, or professional golfers, this is the importance of a good wedge game. There was no doubt in Phil's mind that he could (and would) make that shot. He didn't get lucky, or guess right. He practiced that exact shot hundreds of times just in case he had this situation. Talk about having confidence in your wedge game!

Here is video of Phil's wedge on Sunday if you missed it.

Phil Mickelson's eagle attempt on 72nd hole at Torrey Pines | Videos | Golf.com

Now for you junior golfers, my friend Chris Smeal said it best:

Christopher Smeal

Pretty good with a wedge when you have the flag tended from 74 yards and almost make it. Notice to juniors! - work harder on inside 100! However- do not do this in ourevents as we don't have time for that.

Good drill to practice wedges:

Set a marker down (towel, hula hoop, etc) at ten yard intervals out on the driving range. Set up 4 or 5 markers starting about 30 yards from where you will be hitting balls. Laser each marker to make sure the distances are exact. Select two or three different wedges and figure out how long your swing needs to be to hit those different clubs to each marker. Write down what your observations so you don't forget. Training this way will really dial in your wedges and help you get up and down from inside 100 yards more often! 

Good Luck!

In the beginning, there was Happy Gilmore...

This purpose of this first blog is to introduce myself and describe where I come from and how I teach and understand golf. Every golf instructor has a different philosophy shaped by the many lessons, training sessions, and observations they have had in their career. In future postings I am going to share with you some good tips, drills, stories and anything else that pertains to golf and life that I think you all might find interesting.

So a little about me:
I started playing golf at the age of 12. I played mostly with my dad, but played infrequently until I watched the movie Happy Gilmore. Happy made me realize golf is a fun sport and after taking a few running golf swings and failing miserably, I decided to keep my feet planted and try it that way. After that, I started to love the game and really started to improve quickly. By age 14, I was outdriving my playing partner (my dad), and by age 15, I was beating him consistently. I made the varsity golf team my freshman year of high school played in the "number 1" spot for 4 years. I earned a golf scholarship to San Diego State University where my game really evolved, and in my final year our team placed 14th in the country at the NCAA Championships.

I graduated from SDSU with a Master's Degree in Financial and Tax Planning, but decided to become a golf professional instead of a financial professional. I currently work at Prestonwood Country Club and have been there for almost 2 years as the Assistant Golf Professional.

While at Prestonwood, I have discovered that my passion in the golf industry lies in teaching others how to enjoy the game as much as I have over the years. I currently teach private golf lessons, junior camps, adult clinics, and on course lessons. I observe other professionals teaching as much as possible to increase my golf knowledge so I can pass it on to my students. I have been teaching golf for about 4 years now, and learn something new every single day.

Im excited to be able to post my thoughts here, and hope that they will be very useful to you all.