Who Is Phil Mickelson?

Phil Mickelson is one of golf’s most recognizable stars – a left-handed legend known for towering iron shots, crazy up-and-downs, and a willingness to try shots most players wouldn’t even see. He spent decades as the main rival to Tiger Woods, has won six majors, and in 2021 became the oldest major champion in history by winning the PGA Championship at age 50. Beyond the trophies, Mickelson is defined by creativity and risk-taking: the guy who will hit a flop shot off a cart path or thread a fairway wood through a tiny window if it means chasing a win.

Early Years

Phil Mickelson grew up in San Diego, California, in a golf-obsessed family. His father, Phil Sr., was a pilot and avid golfer who taught young Phil the game in the backyard. Because his dad set up right-handed, Phil stood opposite him and mirrored the motion – which is how a naturally right-handed kid ended up with a left-handed golf swing. By the time he was a teenager, Mickelson was already a junior golf force in Southern California, known for his short-game wizardry and aggressive shot selection.

College & Amateur Career

Mickelson played college golf at Arizona State University, where he put together one of the greatest amateur résumés ever. He won three NCAA individual titles, collected multiple All-American honors, and dominated college leaderboards with his go-for-broke style. In 1991 he won the PGA Tour’s Northern Telecom Open as an amateur, a rare achievement that signaled he was more than ready for the pros. Along the way, he picked up the Haskins Award (college golf’s Heisman) three straight years.

Pro Career

Phil Mickelson turned pro in 1992 and started stacking wins quickly, but it took time for the majors to fall. For years he was labeled “best player without a major” despite racking up PGA Tour victories and top finishes. That narrative finally died at the 2004 Masters, where he poured in a famous birdie putt on 18 to slip on his first green jacket. More majors followed: another Masters in 2006, a third in 2010, a PGA Championship in 2005, an Open Championship at Muirfield in 2013, and the historic 2021 PGA win at Kiawah Island.

Mickelson’s pro career has stretched across the Tiger era, the modern power era, and now into LIV Golf and PGA Tour Champions. He’s reinvented his body and his equipment multiple times, shifting from high-spin forged irons and old-school wedges into modern Callaway drivers, hybrids, and Chrome Soft X balls. Through it all, the identity has stayed the same: aggressive lines, huge shot-shaping, and a short game that can bail him out from almost anywhere.

Phil Mickelson’s Swing Style

Phil Mickelson’s swing is big, athletic, and very “old school” in the best possible way. He makes a full, high-hand backswing with plenty of shoulder turn, then unwinds hard from the ground up to send the club on an aggressive, slightly from-the-inside path. At his peak he regularly produced driver speeds north of 115–120 mph with a high, towering ball flight that let him attack tucked pins and carry trouble that most players would lay short of.

Where he’s truly different is in his creativity. Mickelson manipulates face angle and loft on command, opening the face for sky-high flops and delofting it for low, chasing bullets into the wind. His hands are extremely active, but his timing is good enough to make it work. That combination of speed and hand action is part of why he needs a fairly stable, lower-spinning ball like the Callaway Chrome Soft X Triple Track and why his iron and wedge setup leans toward compact, versatile heads that let him play every shot in the book.

Phil Mickelson – WITB Snapshot

Mickelson’s current setup stays loyal to Callaway for most of the bag, with a few trusted outliers that have survived multiple equipment cycles. Here’s a quick look before you dive into the full WITB breakdown.

• Driver – Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke Triple Diamond TD (Fujikura Ventus Blue 6X)
• 3-Wood – Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke 5-wood (tour-style strong fairway)
• Hybrid / Utility – Ping Anser hybrid (17°) with Mitsubishi Kuro Kage prototype shaft
• Irons – Callaway X Forged 2013 (5–9 iron) with KBS Tour-V 125 shafts
• Wedges – Callaway Jaws Raw (50°, 56°) plus Ping Eye2 XG lob wedge
• Putter – L.A.B. Golf DFE putter with Press II grip
• Ball – Callaway Chrome Soft X Triple Track

Open the full Phil Mickelson WITB page

Training, Practice & Prep

Phil Mickelson is famous for talking about “owning” certain shots – especially with the wedges. His practice sessions often focus on controlling launch and spin from tight lies, rough, and awkward slopes. You’ll see him hit the same pitch from multiple trajectories, or rehearse flop shots over bunkers until he can land them on a towel.

In his later career, Mickelson also leaned hard into fitness and nutrition, dropping significant weight and talking openly about fasting, mobility work, and speed training to keep up with younger players. His prep now is a blend of short-game reps, course mapping (where can he be aggressive, where does he have to respect trouble), and making sure his equipment gapping is tight enough that he can still fire at pins when the moment calls for it.

How Your Game Compares to Phil Mickelson

Unless your name is also Phil and you’ve played professional golf for 30+ years, your game probably doesn’t look much like Mickelson’s – and that’s okay. He built his entire style around elite speed, insane short-game confidence, and a willingness to take on risk that most amateurs should absolutely avoid.

The better way to “be like Lefty” is to borrow the parts of his setup that make sense for you. A quick first step is to measure how far you really carry a 9-iron, then plug that into the My9Iron 9-iron Distance to Swing Speed Guide . From there you can explore Ball Lab and Wedge Lab to find Mickelson-style gear – especially ball and wedges – that actually fits your swing speed, launch, and typical miss instead of forcing you into tour-level specs.

Fun Facts About Phil Mickelson

• Mickelson is naturally right-handed in everyday life but plays golf left-handed because he learned by mirroring his dad’s right-handed swing.
• He’s one of the very few golfers to win a PGA Tour event as an amateur, taking the 1991 Northern Telecom Open while still at Arizona State.
• His nickname “Phil the Thrill” comes from decades of wild, aggressive shots and dramatic finishes – including that famous shot from the pine straw on 13 at Augusta in 2010.

Video Highlights

Coming soon.

Phil Mickelson Bio & WITB – FAQ

What driver does Phil Mickelson use?

Phil Mickelson is currently gaming a Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke Triple Diamond TD driver, typically paired with a Fujikura Ventus Blue 6X shaft. It’s a low-spin, tour-level head that lets him keep spin down while still launching it high enough to carry fairway bunkers and trouble.

What irons does Phil Mickelson play?

Mickelson’s irons are a throwback that he refuses to give up: Callaway X Forged 2013 (5–9 iron) with KBS Tour-V 125 shafts. They’re compact, workable, and let him flight the ball up or down on command – perfect for a player who loves shaping shots into tucked pins.

What golf ball does Phil Mickelson use?

Phil plays the Callaway Chrome Soft X Triple Track ball. It’s a firmer tour model that gives him plenty of ball speed off the tee, consistent spin with the irons, and the kind of greenside control he needs to hit high, spinning wedge shots from all kinds of lies.

Can I just copy Phil Mickelson’s exact setup?

For almost every golfer, the answer is no – at least not spec-for-spec. Mickelson’s lofts, lie angles, shaft flexes and grinds are dialed to his speed, launch windows, and shot patterns, not yours. A smarter move is to use his setup as a roadmap, not a blueprint: keep the same Callaway-style families, then use your 9-iron distance and honest swing profile to choose the right heads, shafts and ball. Start by opening the Phil Mickelson Setup Lab , match your 9-iron distance with the 9-iron Distance to Swing Speed Guide , and finish with Ball Lab and Wedge Lab to tune your ball and wedges to the courses you actually play.