Small-Time Golf’s Monster Card Monday: Phil ‘Lefty’ Mickelson

I’m doing something a little different for MCM this week.  I’m handing the duties this time to our APBA golf writer, Craig Small.  Enjoy!  -Tom

I had originally planned to go with Tiger Woods’ 2000 card (it really is a monster) but I noticed something interesting about Phil Mickelson’s 2005 card that made me decide to choose that one instead. Let’s take a look at it.

The W column is used for hitting anything longer than a 5-iron when using Master Rules. Phil’s card has above average power numbers when using the 1-wood, or driver. A result of anything from a 1 to a 10 is a good, safe shot with the smaller numbers being better. Results of 31-36 are also very good with a 31 being the best possible result if trying to go long. A 31, if it stays in the fairway, will go 350 yards. Phil has two 31s, two 32s, two 1s, two 2s, and four 3s. All results of over 300 yards. You want to avoid results of 11-30. Phil has twelve of these in his W column. That’s actually pretty bad and wildness off the tee has been Phil’s biggest problem throughout his career. If he can keep in the fairway, watch out!

Phil’s I column is superb. This column in used for anything from a sand wedge to a 5-iron. Phil is widely considered to be one of the greatest iron players of all-time and you could make the argument that he is THE finest wedge player ever. When you roll the dice for irons and approach shots (wedges), you use the I column. For short wedges (100 yards or under), you use the A (Approach) column. APBA Golf players all know that when hitting irons and wedges you pray for a rolls of 26 or 46. Good iron players will get results of 12, 24, or 36 with these rolls and those are the best possible results. Good follow-up rolls will result is shots landing within 12 feet of the hole and really good follow-up rolls may result in the shot going it. A result of 12 for short approach shots often results in a holed shot without the need of a follow-up roll.

Here’s where Mickelson’s card is special. Almost all of the great golfers get results of 12, 24, or 36 in their 26 and 46 I columns. Phil also gets a 12 when you roll a 36 in the I column. I haven’t seen any other player with a second 12 result in the I column. If any readers know of any other cards with a second I 12 result, I’d love to hear about it. Not only is the 36:12 I result incredible, it’s even more incredible when you consider that for most other players a 36 I result is a disappointing result. Not horrible, but nothing to write home about. For Phil, it’s 12 feet from the hole at worst, 1 foot at best. As I said earlier, I did a quick check and most of the all-time greats have one 12 result in the I column. As far as I can tell, nobody but Phil Mickelson has a second 12 result in the I column. That’s incredible. Please let me know if anyone knows of any other cards that feature the second 12 result.

Phil’s A (Approach) column is almost absurd. He really only has 5 possible poor results and the rest are very good if not perfect. Any single digit result is very good while results of 12, 24, and 36 might possibly go in the hole. Looking at Phil’s card you can see that APBA did a very good job of representing Phil’s skill with wedges.

His putting is good but not spectacular. Not much to talk about here. Like almost all players, doubles rolls result in great putts (11, 22, 33, 44, 55, 66). Phil’s good putting is mostly a result of his ability to get the ball in real close with his god-like ability with his irons and wedges.

Mickelson’s Master Ratings (at the bottom of the card) are very good, Not as good as Tiger’s, but very good. All Master Ratings work on a scale of 0 to 4 (except for Shotmaking which works on an A, B, C scale) with 4 being the best. Actually, some players can have negative Master Ratings which, of course, is not good.

Momentum:3 This rating could also be called Intimidation. It allows a golfer to follow up a birdie or better hole with their next tee-shot going off without having to roll the dice. This virtually eliminates the chance of a poor result as the player gets to use the average result from their W (Woods) or I (Irons) column. These numbers can be found at the top of the card. Phil’s average wood is a 4 and his average iron is a 3. Both very good. Imagine being able to follow up a birdie or better with a tee-shot that you don’t even have to worry about. It’s quite a luxury. A player with a good Momentum rating can get on a roll quickly.

Bounce Back: 1 This rating allows a player to follow up a bogey or worse with an average W or I tee-shot. Phil’s rating is average at best. This Master Rating can prevent a player with a good rating from getting into a prolonged slump. It’s not a Master Rating you want to have to use very often (using it means you just made a bogey or worse) but it can save you from making multiple bogeys in a row.

Shotmaking: A/A You can’t do better than this. These are the rating that you use when the player is attempting to work the ball from left or work the ball right. Combine these ratings with Phil’s stellar iron and wedge play and he becomes a nightmare for opponents.

Sand:2  This number represents the amount of times during a round (18 holes) that a player is allowed to use the fairway column instead of the sand column when his shot lands in the bunker. It’s a great option to have. Simply put, great sand players have great Sand ratings.

Clutch: 0  This rating improves or worsens putt results in clutch, pressure situations. Phil has a 0 rating which means he isn’t a clutch player or a choker. He just stays steady all the time.

Scramble:1  This rating improves or worsens a players results when playing out of the sand, rough, or trees. Phil has a 1 rating which is pretty standard. nothing special.

So there you have it. Mickelson is long and a little wild with his woods, long and extremely accurate with his irons, and deadly with his approach shots. His putting is pretty good but he makes up for it by getting the ball close with his approach shots. His master ratings allow him to get on a roll, work the ball very well, and get out of trouble when he’s in the sand. It probably wouldn’t be a Monster Card but that second 12 result in his I column is freakish and gives his card my vote.