Big Play

WHO
Phil Mickelson

WHAT
Seven-foot putt for par

WHERE
176-yard par-3 14th hole at Riviera Country Club

WHEN
Final round of the Northern Trust Open

WHY
Mickelson's work ethic is as intense and his approach to the game as creative as anyone's. Last week Mickelson called Amy Alcott, a Riviera member, to get advice about the course. He's one of the first pros to carry four wedges and to employ both a short-game and a full-swing teacher. He has experimented by carrying two drivers and has made a habit of taking serious premajor scouting trips. At practice Mickelson makes 100 three-foot putts in a row. That's determination.

STEVE'S TIP

A Worthy Goal: The Mickelson 100

With putting, confidence is more important than mechanics, and to gain confidence I have students do what Mickelson does every day: Take 100 consecutive three-footers. Put 10 balls in a circle around a hole, and after each hole-out remove the ball. Don't worry if you can't make 100. Twenty-five is great, 50 is awesome, and 100 is a long-term goal.

Steve Bosdosh teaches at the Members Club at Four Streams in Beallsville, Md.

...AND ANOTHER THING

"Alcohol has a calming effect on golfers and thus is a performance-enhancing drug. It should be banned during competition."

GOLF MAGAZINE TOP 100 TEACHERS POLL

Is the PGA Tour's drug-testing policy too extreme?

Yes 32%
No 68%

"If there's nothing to hide, how can you be too extreme?"
—KEVIN WALKER, FUZION GOLF

PHOTO

COURTESY OF CBS (MICKELSON)

PHOTO

ERICK W. RASCO (BACKGROUND)

PHOTO

ERICK W. RASCO (BOSDOSH)

PHOTO

ERICK W. RASCO (PILL BOTTLE)