Top 100 Teachers Poll: What to expect from Phil Mickelson in 2012

A trim and fit Phil Mickelson starts his season this week in Palm Springs. We asked Golf Magazine’s Top 100 Teachers what to expect from Mickelson this season after his uneven 2011. Here's what they said:

Comments:

"Three or more if he fixes his putter problems." --Todd Sones, Whitedeer Run Golf Club, Vernon Hills, Ill.

"Zero. You have to putt well to win a major." --Glenn Deck, Pelican Hill Golf Club, Newport Coast, Calif.

Comments:

"He has too many putting teachers who contradict each other. Pelz and Stockton don’t teach the putting stroke the same way." --Brad Redding, Grande Dunes Resort in Myrtle Beach, S.C.

"He has a putting stroke that everything has to be timed perfectly, very small margin of error." --Todd Sones, Whitedeer Run Golf Club, Vernon Hills, Ill.

"Even if he did, he'd still make more putts than the average Tour player." --Steve Bosdosh, Four Streams Golf Academy in Beallsville, Md.

"He doesn't have the yips, but he hits his short putts way too hard. That is why he gets so many violent lip-outs." --Eric Johnson, Oakmont Country Club, Oakmont, Pa.

"If you really understood the true yips, absolutely not." --David Glenz, Crystal Springs Resort, Hamburg, N.J

"Yes, but with the driver." --Peter Krause, Hank Haney International Junior Golf Academy, Hilton Head, S.C.

"He will if you count the Champions tour." --Eric Johnson, Oakmont Country Club, Oakmont, Pa.

"If Tiger had played another sport he would have reached 50." --Glenn Deck, Pelican Hill Golf Club, Newport Coast, Calif. 

"I know he has enough talent to get to 50 but I worry about how his arthritic condition will affect his ability to play and practice to the extent he would need." --Jason Carbone, Baltusrol Golf Club, Springfield, N.J.

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