Mickelson to use 47.5-inch driver at Masters

If Phil Mickelson is going to make a run at the Masters next week, he's going to do so by hitting bombs.

The 50-year-old plans to use a driver with a 47.5-inch shaft, he said on a Callaway Golf podcast Tuesday, according to ESPN's Bob Harig.

Mickelson has generally used a 46-inch shaft on his driver. The maximum length is 48 inches, while most golfers typically use a 44-45 inch shaft.

"At Augusta, most of the (drives) carry the bunkers, and up the fairways a little bit," said Mickelson. "So on No. 1, to carry the bunker on the right, to carry the bunker on two, to carry the bunker on eight and to get it over the hill on 14 and 17 ... you really want to fly the ball 315-320 (yards) minimum, and that seems like a lot, and it is a lot.

"It's just that if you fly it there, you have a chance to take advantage of some of those holes."

A longer shaft can lead to more distance off the tee, but it often comes at the expense of accuracy. Mickelson ranks 67th on the PGA Tour in driving distance (305.5 yards) this season, but he falls to 276th in driving accuracy (36.03%).

"If you can carry that bunker (on the right side of the fairway), it's a sand wedge in, and you're thinking birdie,'' he said. "If you have to hit a 3-wood off of the tee and go to the side, or if you can't carry it and you have to play more to the left, it's a 6- or 7-iron into the green, so you're thinking par. So there's the ability to attack a number of holes if you can fly the ball a little bit farther."

Mickelson has won the Masters three times (2004, 2006, 2010), but he hasn't claimed a PGA Tour victory since the Pebble Beach Pro-Am in February 2019.

He did win his second Champions Tour event three weeks ago in Virginia while using the 47.5-inch driver shaft. But he also used it a week later in the Zozo Championship and finished third-last.

Lefty filed a trademark for the slogan "Hit Bombs" back in June with the intent of launching a clothing line.