He's created a monster.

Phil Mickelson showed up at Augusta National this week with his "Frankenwood" driver -- a club Callaway developed after Mickelson asked for a modern 2-wood that he could hit as far as a driver but with a flatter ball flight and more shot-shaping control.

Mickelson is known for his unorthodox approach to equipment -- he carried two drivers in his bag in one Masters, and played a U.S. Open without a driver -- but this time he’s breaking new ground. The X Hot Phrankenwood is currently a prototype, but like other X Hot fairway woods it features a stainless steel construction with Callaway’s Speed Frame Face Cup (made of Carpenter steel) and an ultra-thin steel body. 

Here's what Mickelson said about the club at Augusta National on Tuesday:

It's almost like a small driver but its put the 3-wood technology of our X Hot into a driver. What it's done is taken a lot of spin off of it. And if you watch, you'll see a lot of the shots off the tee that I hit have a lot more scoot on them.

He added that he's already seeing the payoff in distance during his practice round this week:

Tee shots on 9 are getting down to the bottom of the hill, and I haven't been able to do that in years. The tee shot on 10 is getting another 15 to 20 yards, giving me a club or two less than I've had in years. The tee shot on 15 is getting down to where I have one or two clubs less, and because it comes off fast, as well as low spin, it's running, which is exactly what I wanted here. 

According to Evan Gibbs, manager of Callaway's performance analysis group, the key for Phil was getting a club that let him hit down on the ball slightly (more like he does with all the rest of the clubs in his bag) while also producing low spin and the ability to move the ball in both directions. 

 "When Phil hits up on the ball with a driver, it makes the transition to the rest of his clubs more difficult, so he wanted something that let him make his normal, slightly descending swing without creating too much spin. He also wanted to be able to hit the ball from right-to-left, which is critical at Augusta, without losing distance. Utilizing the same technology found in our X Hot 3Deep fairway wood we were able to give him what he asked for simply by creating a slightly larger clubhead and putting a 45" driver shaft on it." 

Gibbs added that Phil's Phrankenwoods (he has two) have been machined, heat-treated, and welded entirely in Callaway's R&D facility in Carlsbad, which is extremely rare for a metalwood product. 

Phil’s X Hot Phrankenwood has 8.5-degrees of loft and measures only 250cc’s (most modern drivers are 460cc’s). A 45-inch Fubuki k 70X Prototype shaft makes the club as long as a typical driver. 

When Phil Mickelson won the Waste Management Phoenix Open, he gave a lot of credit to his new RAZR Fit Xtreme driver. In this video, Dr. Alan Hocknell, Callaway's senior vice president of research and development, reveals how Callaway built a driver to help Mickelson take the left side out of play and lower his spin rate, while also offering some forgiveness.

WINNER'S BAG: Phil Mickelson's clubs at the Phoenix Open

DRIVER: Callaway RAZR Fit Xtreme, 9.5°(8.1° of actual loft with 5gm in the toe and 3gm in the heel) with Mitsubishi Rayon Fubuki K 059 70X prototype, 45" shaft

FAIRWAY WOODS: TaylorMade RBZ, 15° with Mitsubishi Rayon Fubuki K 80X prototype shaft; Titleist 980F, 17° with Graphite Design PM902x shaft

IRONS: Callaway RAZR X Muscleback (4-PW) with KBS Tour V2 shaft

WEDGES: Callaway JAWS (52°, 60°, 64°) with KBS Tour V2 shaft

PUTTER: Odyssey Black Series Tour Design #9

BALL: Callaway HEX Black Tour

See-Try-Buy: Learn more about Callaway clubs and schedule your fitting with GolfTEC  or Golfsmith.

RELATED:

WINNER'S BAG: Tiger Woods's Clubs at the Farmers Insurance Open

WINNER'S BAG: Brian Gay at the Humana Challenge

[PHOTO: Mickelson watches his tee shot on the ninth hole of the Waste Management Phoenix Open on Sunday. Getty Images]

Before the start of the HSBC Champions at Mission Hills in Shenzhen, China, Phil Mickelson pulled out his Callaway Big Bertha Diablo 3-wood and added a TaylorMade RocketBallz 3-wood to his bag.

According to Callaway's senior vice president of marketing, Harry Arnett, Mickelson arrived at a Callaway photo shoot last week in Fort Worth, Texas, and told Callaway designers that the Mission Hills course in China presented a problem.

"He said, 'Here's my dilemma: Because of the course set-up, I'm not going to be able to hit driver. I need to have something that I can hit 290 off the tee. My 3-wood goes about 275 to 280 and my driver goes 305. I can't hit my driver there because if I do I'm in all the junk, but I don't want to hit it 270 because in some cases I may not be able to reach some of the par 5s. What do we have?'"

Arnett explained that Callaway is releasing a new fairway wood in a few weeks, but the company didn't have one ready to give to Mickelson for his trip to China.

Mickelson brought a TaylorMade fairway wood to Fort Worth and Arnett said he saw the club. While the off-the-rack RocketBallz fairway woods feature a white crown, Mickelson got one from TaylorMade that is black.

Arnett said, "We told him, 'Play whatever you want. We've got the prototype coming in a few weeks. If you really feel like this is the best way for you to compete and win, then go for it!'"

When Callaway releases its new fairway woods, Arnett said he was confident that Mickelson, who has already tested prototypes of the new Callaway woods, would take the TaylorMade club out of his bag.

Before the start of the BMW Championship at Crooked Stick in September, Mickelson pulled his Callaway RAZR Fit 5-wood and added a 9-year-old Titleist 980F 5-wood to his bag. The Titleist 5-wood made the trip to China and Mickelson is still using it.

The four-time major winner and World Golf Hall of Fame member shot 66 on Thursday and 69 Friday, putting him tie for sixth, six shots behind Louis Oosthuizen.

See-Try-Buy: Learn more about Callaway, TaylorMade and Titleist clubs, and schedule your fitting with GolfTEC or Golfsmith.

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(Photo by Mark Ralston/AFP/Getty Images)

Phil Mickelson continued his hot play last week at the BMW Championship and finished tied for second, two shots behind Rory McIlroy. While most onlookers noticed that Mickelson was putting with the claw grip, sharp-eyed equipment junkies might have noticed another change.

Mickelson continued to use his Callaway RAZR Fit driver (9.5°) and his Callaway Big Bertha Diablo Octane 3-wood (15°), but the Hall of Famer replaced his Callaway RAZR Fit 5-wood (18°) with a Titleist 980F 5-wood (17°) with a Graphite Design PM 902 shaft.

Titleist's 980F line of fairway woods debuted in 2003, while Mickelson was a Titleist staff player. Before the start of the 2004 Ryder Cup at Oakland Hills, Mickelson signed a deal with Callaway and switched to the company's gear before the start of the matches against Europe.

It's not unusual for pros to hold on to old, trusty fairway woods. Tiger Woods uses a Nike SasQuatch II 5-wood, a club that was released in 2007, and Geoff Ogilvy has been playing a Cobra S9-1 5-wood since 2009.

See-Try-Buy: Learn more about Titleist clubs, and schedule your fitting with GolfTEC or Golfsmith. 

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(Photo by Brian Spurlock/US PRESSWIRE)

If you wanted to buy a Model T from Henry Ford, he'd sell it to you in any color you wanted, as long as it was black. In recent years, golf companies have started offering white drivers, as well as clubs with bright orange, red and green trim, but Callaway's new udesign personalization and customization engine is a quantum leap forward.

Golfers can now go to callawaygolf.com/udesign and create a customized Callaway RAZR Fit driver, choosing from one of four lofts and eight colors.

But the personalization doesn’t stop there. Using udesign, you'll also be able to choose from more than 100 customized shaft options, in lengths ranging from 2 inches longer than standard to 2 inches shorter than standard. You can pick any of the 24 different grips currently available and have up to eight wraps of tape added underneath the grip.

According to Callaway, there are more than 70,000 possible clubs combinations.The image below shows the website's interface.

In a release, Jeff Colton, Callaway's senior vice president of global brand and products, said, "The opportunity to design your very own driver in the colors of your favorite team, alma mater or whatever you happen to feel looks best has never been offered on a mass scale. Our research and instincts show that this level of personalization and customization is what golfers want, and we’re excited to be the first brand in golf to offer it.”

Phil Mickelson, in Callaway's PGA Tour van last week at Augusta National, held a RAZR Fit designed in blue in honor of his beloved San Diego Chargers.

According to Callaway, Alvaro Quiros requested a RAZR Fit in every color so that he can match his driver with his apparel.

While the standard RAZR Fit driver retails for $399, customized RAZR Fit drivers will cost $50 more, with certain customized shaft and grip options pushing the price even higher. Orders created in udesign will begin shipping May 1.

See-Try-Buy: Learn more about Callaway/Odyssey clubs and schedule your fitting with GolfTEC or Golfsmith.

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DRIVER: Callaway RAZR Fit (9.5°) with a Mitsubishi 'ahina 70 shaft
FAIRWAY WOODS: Callaway Big Bertha Diablo (15°) with a Mitsubishi Fubuki 73X shaft; RAZR Fit (19°) with Mitsubishi Fubuki 60X  shaft
IRONS: Callaway X-Forged (4), RAZR X Forged Muscleback (5-PW) with KBS Tour shafts
WEDGES: Callaway X Series JAWS (52°, 60°, 64°) with Rifle Project X 7.0 shafts
PUTTER: Odyssey White Hot XG Blade Prototype
BALL: Callaway Hex Black Tour

See-Try-Buy: Learn more about Callaway/Odyssey clubs and schedule your fitting with GolfTEC or Golfsmith.

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DRIVER: Callaway RAZR Fit (9.5°) with a Fujikura Motore Speeder VC7.2 shaft
FAIRWAY WOOD: Callaway Big Bertha Diablo (15°) with a Fujikura Rombax 80B shaft
HYBRID: Callaway X prototype (19°) with a Mitsubishi Fubuki 73X shaft
IRONS: Callaway X-Forged (4), RAZR X Forged Muscleback (5-PW) with Rifle Project X 7.0 shafts**
WEDGES: Callaway X Series JAWS (52°, 60°, 64°) with Rifle Project X 7.0 shafts
PUTTER: Odyssey White Hot XG Blade Prototype
BALL: Callaway Hex Black Tour

**Mickelson carried a 3-iron earlier in the week but switched to a 4-iron before playing Pebble Beach.

See-Try-Buy: Learn more about Callaway/Odyssey clubs and schedule your fitting with GolfTEC or Golfsmith.

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Adjustable drivers have been around for years, and lots of golfers like them because they allow you to tweak things like the loft, face angle, lie angle, and weight distribution. However, one of the biggest names in golf equipment, Callaway, hasn't offered one. Until now.
 
In late January 2012, Callaway will release the RAZR Fit driver, which was quietly made available to tour pros during the PGA Tour's Fall Series. It's already found a home in the bags of Ernie Els and Phil Mickelson.

 
"We wanted the adjustability to be easy for the consumer to use and to matter, so when a golfer makes a change we want him to be able to notice a change in the ball flight," says Luke Williams, Callaway Golf's global director of woods and irons.
 
Out of the box, the RAZR Fit will come with a neutral face angle, but you can open the face 2.5° or close the face 1.5°using a torque wrench to unscrew the head from the shaft and re-attach it in one of three different settings.
 
The RAZR Fit comes with a 12-gram weight in the toe area and a 2-gram weight in the heel, but using the same torque wrench, the weights can be switched to increase the draw bias of the club.
 
In addition to being Callaway's first adjustable driver, the RAZR Fit is also the first driver to feature Callaway's newest face, which is dubbed "Speed Frame." It's an optimization of the hyperbolic face pattern that Callaway has been using for several years, but the company says it should help golfers maintain more ball speed when they hit outside of the sweet spot.
 
"The center of the face tends to be the hottest spot on a driver, and that's capped by the USGA," Williams says. "So what we want to do is make the areas around the center behave more like the center of the face."
 
The crown of the RAZR Fit is made from Forged Composite, a unique carbon material that first appeared in last season's RAZR Hawk and Diablo Octane drivers. By melting millions of carbon fibers, Callaway engineers can press and mold the carbon material into very precise shapes and designs; in the case of the RAZR Fit, Forged Composite has been used in the crown to make it thinner and lighter. This allowed Callaway designers to add weight to the bottom and back sections of the club to lower the center of gravity.
 
The RAZR Fit will come with an Aldila RIP NV shaft and should cost about $399 when it arrives in pro shops.

See-Try-Buy: Learn more about Callaway clubs and schedule your fitting with GolfTEC or Golfsmith.

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DRIVER: Callaway RAZR Hawk Tour (9.5°) with a Mitsubishi Fubuki A70 shaft
FAIRWAY WOOD: Callaway Big Bertha Diablo (15°) with a Mitsubishi Fubuki 73 X shaft
HYBRID: Callaway prototype (18°) with a Mitsubishi Diamana Thump shaft
IRONS: Callaway X-Forged (3), RAZR X Forged Muscleback (5-PW) with Rifle Project X 7.0 shafts
WEDGES: Callaway JAWS (52°, 60°, 64°) with Rifle Project X 7.0 shafts
PUTTER: Odyssey White Hot XG Blade
BALL: Callaway Tour i(z)

See-Try-Buy: Learn more about Callaway clubs, and schedule your fitting with GolfTEC or Golfsmith.

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(Photo by Tim Hales/AP Photos)

President Barack Obama met earlier this week with United States Ryder Cup captain Davis Love, Bubba Watson and Phil Mickelson. In addition to inviting the commander in chief to attend the Ryder Cup next year at Medinah, Love gave the President a uniquely stamped Scotty Cameron Studio Select Newport 2 putter.

Mickelson gave President Obama, who is a fellow left-hander, three Callaway X Forged wedges and a 9.5° Callaway Diablo Octane driver. Each of the wedges (a 56°, 60° and 64°) was made by Roger Cleveland personally and was stamped PREZ "44" on the back. Cleveland jokingly said, "I weighted them so they wouldn't go any further left."

Watson presented President Obama with an exact replica of his driver, a Ping G15 (7.5°) with a Grafalloy Bi-Matrix shaft. Maybe Obama will use the clubs when he plays Saturday with Republican House Speaker John Boehner.

See-Try-Buy: Learn more about Callaway, Ping and Titleist/Scotty Cameron clubs, and schedule your fitting with GolfTEC.

More US Open coverage: Leaderboard | Photos | Video | Download Front9 app

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Callaway has been making some of the best-selling irons for years, featuring clubs that help a lot of golfers hit the ball higher and farther more easily. Several offerings in the X Series and Big Bertha family of irons had big heads, massive sweet spots and low centers of gravity to make that possible.

The new RAZR Muscleback irons give you none of that. The first hint that these clubs are only for serious players is that the photo samples distributed by Callaway (right) show a 2-iron.

"If you aren't good enough to get your clubs for free, this might not be the best club for you," says Luke Williams, Callaway's director of product design. "I mean, really good amateur players and college players could play this club. There's a market for it, but it's small."

What the RAZR Muscleback, which is forged from carbon steel, does give players with an efficient and repeatable swing is the ultimate in feel and control.

Today's RAZR Muscleback irons started as prototype clubs built with tour players in mind. With small heads, short blades, anorexically-thin toplines and narrow soles, they first appeared in the bags of players like Ernie Els and Phil Mickelson with "X Prototype" stamped on their backs. After a while, Callaway made a few sets available to the public, calling the clubs the Tour Authentic X Protoype irons.

As Callaway considered its 2011 iron offerings, Williams says the company started thinking that it might be a good idea to bring the X Prototype irons out to the masses.

"When we thought about including an iron like this in our current line, we went out and got some feedback from players," Williams says. "We told them, 'Okay, if we're going to make a new version of this iron, what should we do differently?' And what we commonly heard back was, 'Well, change the name on the back. Don't change anything.' The players told us the size is perfect, the sole is just what we want, all of that. After hearing that often enough, that's what we decided to do."

The RAZR X Muscleback is, in fact, the X Prototype with some subtle cosmetic alterations made to the back of the club.

"While this iron may not include some of the latest technologies or come with a lot of bells and whistles, there are some things about it that are very important to get right," Williams says. "It's not just, 'Make a small forged blade and the players are going to love it.' You've got to get the offset right, you've got to get the blade length right, the toe shape, the topline width and angle. You've got to get the transition from the offset into the leading edge right. Those are the things that Tour players and better players are really concerned with."

The RAZR Muscleback are available now for $999 and come standard with Project X Flighted shafts, however, Callaway will change them to any steel shaft it carries for no additional charge. You can get more product specifications about the clubs on Callaway's Web site.

See-Try-Buy: Learn more about Callaway clubs, and schedule your fitting with GolfTEC or Golfsmith.

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AUGUSTA, Ga. — Phil Mickelson is known for changing the clubs in his bag based on the course setup and the conditions. This week, he's planning to go back a strategy that helped him win the 2006 Masters—two drivers.

When asked on Tuesday if he planned to make any adjustments to his bag after winning last week's Shell Houston Open, Mickelson said, "Nothing that really stands out. Other than I am going to have two drivers this week."

Right, that's not unusual at all.

"Because it's going to be warm, I won't need a 3-iron or a hybrid, so the longest iron I'll have is a 4-iron," Mickelson said. "But really, into the par 5s, I won't need anything less than that, or more than a 4-iron into the par 3s."

Mickelson added that if the temperatures stay cool that he might need a 3-iron to reach the 240-yard par-3 fourth hole, but he noted that the forecast is for the heat to return later in the week.

The three-time Masters champion said that the strategy behind carrying two drivers is not about working the ball left or right. "They both draw and fade the same, that's not the purpose of it," Mickelson said. "One has an inch longer shaft and a different loft."

Mickelson said that carrying a second, longer driver would allow him to carry the fairway bunkers on the two front-side par 5s, the 575-yard second and 570-yard eighth. Last week in Houston, Mickelson used a Callaway RAZR Hawk Tour (9.5°) with a Mitsubishi Fubuki A70 shaft.

See-Try-Buy: Learn more about Callaway clubs, and schedule your fitting with GolfTEC or Golfsmith.

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(Photo by Brian Snyder/Reuters)

DRIVER: Callaway RAZR Hawk Tour (9.5°) with a Mitsubishi Fubuki A70 shaft
FAIRWAY WOOD: Callaway Big Bertha Diablo (15°) with a Mitsubishi Fubuki 73 X shaft
IRONS: Callaway X-Forged (3-4), RAZR X Forged Muscleback (5-PW) with Rifle Project X 7.0 shafts
WEDGES: Callaway JAWS (52°, 60°, 64°) with Rifle Project X 7.0 shafts
PUTTER: Odyssey White Hot XG Blade
BALL: Callaway Tour i(z)

See-Try-Buy: Learn more about Callaway clubs, and schedule your fitting with GolfTEC or Golfsmith.

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(Photo by David Dusek)

In the aftermath of his third win at Augusta, Phil Mickelson's custom Odyssey blade putter became one of the most popular pieces of golf equipment in the world. Minimalist to the core, it was perfection in the eyes of purists everywhere.

So Odyssey decided to release 82 right-handed and 82 left-handed Phil Mickelson ProType putters (replicas of Mickelson's blade) and sell them for $500 each. Remember?

If you missed your chance to get one, or if the price was a tad high, you're in luck: Odyssey is making 3,000 more Phil Mickelson PT 82 putters available for $349. Like the previously released PT 82 putters, these clubs feature a single alignment line, tungsten face insert and dark PVD finish to reduce glare.

If you're interested in getting an Odyssey PT82, go to odysseygolf.com for a list of authorized dealers.