Phil Mickelson Hit the Most Insane Shot in Golf History

Justin Cooper. Shutterstock Images.

A few years ago I was golfing on Cape Cod with my brothers when Jim (may he rest in peace) pulled a tee shot that caromed off a tree on the left, bounced straight across the fairway, and hit another tree on the right side. The almost impossible to pull off Double Barkie. And Jack (may he also rest in peace; thanks for nothing, 2024) said something profound I've never forgotten. "The thing about golf," he said. "Is that every time you step on the course there's the chance you're going to see something you've never seen before." 

That's so very true. And it was proven yesterday by Phil Mickelson at the LIV Golf tour stop in Gainesville, VA.

Unless I'm mistaken. And if I am, if you've ever seen anyone pull off this shot, you're going to have to show me the video. And even then I'll assume it's an AI deepfake. Because there's no way anyone else has ever tried this, much less holed it out:

I mean, this not only doesn't make sense, it defies the laws of physics. The ball is what? 18 inches above his feet? He has to choke down on the club almost to the shaft. His feet are not only in sand, he's got a stance like he's standing on the sloped roof of a house. A simple chip for a right-handed golfer is rendered impossible with Lefty's back to the pin. It looks like he's just playing a safety and hoping to make the up-and-down. Which any sane man would've done. But this one of the greats of his generation who taught himself how to hit the ball over his own bloody head. And he sinks it. I've watched this two dozen times, and I'm surprised ever time it goes in. 

This isn't golf; it's sorcery.  The kind of thing that if he'd done it 400 years ago, we would've tried him for consorting with Beelzebub, burned him at the stake and scattered his ashes so he doesn't kill all our livestock. And given some of the other things we've seen him do around the green over the years, I'm not ruling out supernatural origins to his game. It's just that a guy who is truly in league with the Prince of Darkness would be a much, much more successful gambler. 

So good for LIV Golf they have Mickelson around still pulling off these impossible shots. It's a shame he's doing them on a tour with no TV ratings to speak of. And this is yet another reminder LIV and the PGA need to work out a deal. But that's a whole other discussion. For now all we can do is appreciate his wizardry while he's still working it.