Phil Mickelson Splits from Butch Harmon

[jbishop15]

http://www.golfchannel.com/news/golf-central-blog/mickelson-splits-swing-coach-harmon-after-eight-years/

Interesting. 

Quote

 

Mickelson, who began working with Harmon shortly before the 2007 Players, won 12 PGA Tour events and three international tournaments during that span, including the 2010 Masters and 2013 Open Championship.

That victory at Muirfield represents Mickelson’s most recent title. Since then, Lefty has posted just five top-10 finishes while slipping to No. 25 in the world. To play in last month’s Presidents Cup, his 21st consecutive team competition, he required a captain’s pick.

In a statement released to Golf.com, Mickelson said: “I’ve learned a great deal from him in our eight years together. It’s just that at the moment I need to hear new ideas from a different perspective.”

A Mickelson spokesman confirmed the split Wednesday evening.

 

 

[iacas]

Lefty's winding down his career a bit too, methinks.

[skydog]

Surprised to see this.

Maybe some news eyes can help him get the most out of whatever window he has left open. Phil seems to get bored and lose motivation at times so maybe this is a step to try and find some.

[mvmac]

I guess it makes sense. His game has been slowly in decline the past couple years and he's looking for some different advice and maybe someone who can spend more time with him as he makes his final "push" before he gets too old. It will be interesting who he ends up with next. 

[mchepp]

44 minutes ago, mvmac said:

It will be interesting who he ends up with next. 

Very much agree with this comment. He said a few years ago he was no longer going to make any changes to his swing, so it will be interesting to see who he trusts to make the minor tweaks.

[newtogolf]

Maybe Haney or Foley, mostly joking but I could see Phil reaching out to Foley for some Zen guidance.

[SavvySwede]

Phil needs someone who can smooth out that putting stroke.

[jbishop15]

Phil needs a better golf swing to help him into his old age, I think. When you get older and the athleticism and hand-eye coordination fades, the more compensation your golf swing requires the less often you'll play well. 

Phil would never do this, but I think he should find someone to help get his swing in better shape so that it can take some pressure off of him. 

[mvmac]

23 minutes ago, jbishop15 said:

Phil needs a better golf swing to help him into his old age, I think. When you get older and the athleticism and hand-eye coordination fades, the more compensation your golf swing requires the less often you'll play well. 

Phil would never do this, but I think he should find someone to help get his swing in better shape so that it can take some pressure off of him. 

Agree. He's obviously played hall of fame golf from this position and he can kick my ass right handed but like you said, as his hand-eye coordination fades I think he needs to take a look some of his unique moves.

[Mr. Desmond]

I thought Butch tried to get him to shorten his swing, and Phil seemed to battle Butch on this as evidenced by his long swing. From memory, I think Phil listened at first, and then ... listened less.

Without looking at stats, and TV is misleading (41st in strokes gained putting but 130th !! in avoiding 3 putts), Phil seems to need work on aiming those short putts - I'd like to see what putter he'd end up with in an Edel fitting.

Edited November 5, 2015 by Mr. Desmond

[saevel25]

2 hours ago, Mr. Desmond said:

Without looking at stats, and TV is misleading (41st in strokes gained putting but 130th !! in avoiding 3 putts), Phil seems to need work on aiming those short putts - I'd like to see what putter he'd end up with in an Edel fitting.

Phil has always been a pretty mediocre short putter because he hits them way too hard. 

I can see Phil going down to 15 rounds a year. Focusing more on the majors. 

[Mr. Desmond]

10 hours ago, newtogolf said:

Maybe Haney or Foley, mostly joking but I could see Phil reaching out to Foley for some Zen guidance.

It's gotta' be Chris Cuomo ... he gets all the struggling HOF, womanizers, and gamblers...

:-)

 

[newtogolf]

We know his health isn't great and that often he's playing in pain due to psoriatic arthritis.  I also agree that his overly long backswing probably isn't helping him as much as it used to.

He's a pro and I'm a hack so what do I know, but the putter he's using was probably the worst putter I have ever tried.  I couldn't line it up and couldn't sink a putt with it beyond 4 feet.

[skydog]

Agreed with points above. His swing long swing seems to require perfect hand work and timing which would seem to be getting tougher as he ages. Although at the same time, his long, smooth swing has promoted more longevity to his career by being a bit easier on his body. So I don't know.

 

http://www.geoffshackelford.com/homepage/2015/11/5/phil-flew-to-vegas-to-dump-butch.html

 

 

[Mr. Desmond]

And Phil's new swing coach is...

http://andrewgetsongolf.com/adult-lessons/

Edited November 5, 2015 by Mr. Desmond

[iacas]

1 hour ago, saevel25 said:

Phil has always been a pretty mediocre short putter because he hits them way too hard. 

I can see Phil going down to 15 rounds a year. Focusing more on the majors. 

15 rounds? Or tournaments?

1 hour ago, Mr. Desmond said:

It's gotta' be Chris Cuomo ... he gets all the struggling HOF, womanizers, and gamblers...

You keep doing this. He's not related to the former mayor of NYC. It's Como. Four whole letters, man… C'mon.  

[saevel25]

8 minutes ago, iacas said:

15 rounds? Or tournaments?

Tournaments, oops 

 

[GolfLug]

Can somebody take a stab at analyzing his swing to see what could he do different?  For the life of me can't think that this is anything but fresh eyes..