Interview: Mickelson on instructional DVD set

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Mark Carnevale from the PGA TOUR Network (SIRUS XM Radio) caught up with Phil Mickelson to discuss his instructional DVD, "Phil Mickelson: Secrets of the Short Game."

Mark Carnevale: Well, Phil, you're getting ready to release a DVD, "Secrets of the Short Game," April 7th. What was your motivation for doing this DVD?

Phil Mickelson: I had kind of made the commitment to do it when I won a major, and I prolonged it for five years. And it actually has helped my short game because this year my short game has been better than it ever has been. I had to take notes. I had to think about what exactly I do in chipping and putting and how to articulate it so it's easy to understand. And by doing that, it helped my own game because it made me identify and be conscious about what it is I'm working on or doing when I'm hitting these shots around the greens. Ultimately, it helped me win L.A., and it's the best it's ever been right now.

Mark Carnevale: Who worked with you on this DVD?

Phil Mickelson: I worked with Terry Jastrow to produce it, but otherwise it was just me making an outline and then talking.

Mark Carnevale: How much fun was it? Of course, anyone who has done a video knows there are some special moments and out-takes. Does anything stand out to you or do we just run right through it?

Phil Mickelson: As kind of our closing, we did a few trick shots. One of them is very easy to do where you can get a ball to back up over 100 feet on a green where you hit two balls together. But the other one isn't so hard to do (note: he said "hard", but meant "easy" no doubt). I explained that you hit a backward shot and showed exactly what's going on with the hands and the wrists and how to get the club head to get cupped backwards. That's a little bit harder to do. I can explain it, but it's not necessarily the easiest to imitate.

Mark Carnevale: Why is the short game such an important part of the game of golf?

Phil Mickelson: It's because over half the shots are played from 50 yards and in, which is why I didn't go from out of 50 yards. I didn't talk about grip or all the basics or swing mechanics or anything. I just talked about generic what's going on and how to improve your own short game and little tidbits, little key points. The most important thing in chipping and putting is to continue with your hands. I mean it's easy to say and understand, but until someone articulates it, you sometimes just stop at the ball; and you've got to keep your hands going. There's no other way to chip or putt well.

Mark Carnevale: Is there anything you have learned about the short game that you think you already knew?

Phil Mickelson: I think we always are learning things. But here I'm trying to just do the basic short game, how to hit solid 30-yard shots, 50-yard shots, little pitches around the green. Where those shots are people really struggle with. But I've been doing that for years ever since I was a kid, so it wasn't new. Anything in this DVD wasn't new for my game. It was just something I've been doing for a while, and I see it being taught differently than I think it should be.

Mark Carnevale: You mentioned that you've been known and recognized for having a stellar short game. Is that something that you really focused on or did it just happen?

Phil Mickelson: It just happened because I had a chipping green in my backyard, and I was hitting balls ever since I was 2-years-old. When I couldn't drive, I would go spend hours in my backyard because I wanted to play golf, and I had no other options. So it just kind of came out of that. But now that I've had to think about it, I look at the great short games; and I see that they all do the same certain things. And I look at the guys out on TOUR who struggle with their short game, and I see those areas now where they're lacking.

Mark Carnevale: You talk in your DVD about some of your most memorable moments. Can you pick one?

Phil Mickelson: My most memorable moment regarding short game? Well it was certainly not the hardest shot I ever hit, but my most memorable short game shot was on the last shot at the PGA in '05 because it was for a major championship. I was in the thick rough, and I had to get up and down, and I hit kind of a flop shot in there that got inside my circle. And my circle I talk about is where everything is based on a 3-foot circle. You're chipping to that 3-foot circle because you know that you can get it in from there. I raised my hands on that final chip because it was inside my circle, and I knew I could make the next putt even though it was just a few feet.

Mark Carnevale: How can our listeners obtain this DVD?

Phil Mickelson: It's not out yet. It's going to be out the first week of April, and we're going through my Web site as well as Golf Digest and some other vehicles.

Mark Carnevale: Well, Phil, thanks for your time. We'll look forward to the DVD, and have a good time this week.

Phil Mickelson: Mark, thanks for your help.