This column features recollections of the author’s 38 years as a golf writer. These installments stem from his many travels and experiences, which led to a gradual understanding that the game has many intriguing components, especially its people.
The mainstream golf press continues to zoom in on two of golf’s contemporary icons, Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson. Now in their 50s, these multiple major winners once waged a heated two-decade rivalry that made headlines around the sports world. (Tiger leads Phil 18-15-4 in their all-time head-to-head, stroke-play record.)
If only they’d made better life decisions, these golfers could have been the modern version of Arnie and Jack. But no. Each has slipped off their once-lofty peaks into murky and downright troubling territory.
In my first-person account of Tiger a few columns ago (https://golfcoursetrades.com/a-young-tiger-golf-news-making-the-rounds-part-45/) I recalled a preternaturally talented teenager who had unlimited possibilities, before personal missteps got in his way. Since that writing, Woods entered and been released from yet another rehab, this time in Switzerland following a March 2026 Florida rollover crash and DUI charge. This episode followed earlier recovery treatments: a six-week program in 2009 for sexual addiction; drug therapy a year later; and a 14-day stay for dependence on painkillers. These don’t include two rehabilitations for serious, career-threatening injuries. His last full season on the PGA Tour was 2019-20.
Here’s my personal experience with “Lefty,” which happened right as he was headlong toward true greatness.
Phil was among Fred Couples’ many pals playing in Freddie’s eponymous invitational held at various courses in his Seattle hometown. As the event’s media director, I interacted with many of them. Even though Couples (now 66) and Mickelson (56) are 10 years apart in age, the duo were close, cementing a solid friendship in the ‘90s as Ryder Cup teammates. Whenever Phil visited Seattle, he let locals know that Freddie was a good friend and role model.
But following years of consistent success and popularity, Mickelson began slipping downhill. It culminated in the early 2020s when he began criticizing the PGA Tour. He publicly whined about the Tour’s restrictive player media rights, opaque financial governance, and its treatment of players as independent contractors rather than employees. The last straw which pushed Mickelson to take the new LIV Tour’s money and run, was control over digital assets and revenue sharing.
By then, it really wasn’t much of a surprise when he jumped at the chance to join the oil-rich Saudi-backed circuit along with other PGA stalwarts like Dustin Johnson, Sergio García, Ian Poulter, Lee Westwood, Louis Oosthuizen and Charl Schwartzel.
Couples didn’t care if players defected, but he wouldn’t stay quiet whenever these defectors insulted the PGA Tour. That became clear in 2022 when “Boom Boom” offered this broadside: “These guys – you’ve seen their interviews, right? Have you ever seen Phil look so stupid in his life? They know [LIV Tour] is a joke.” He doubled down a year later, calling Mickelson a “nutbag” while adding, “If you’re willing to give Phil Mickelson $200 million at age 53 to shoot 74 and 75, God bless you.”
In 2025, Lefty fired back after Couples voiced support for Brooks Koepka’s possible return to the PGA Tour. “Brooks wants to come back,” Couples said simply on Seattle’s KJR FM. “Brooks really wants to come back and play the [PGA] Tour.” In response, Mickelson blasted his ex-pal on social media, calling Fred’s remarks a “low class jerk move.” Shortly after, Lefty had second thoughts and deleted the post.
Phil’s Salad Days
Mickelson certainly earned his early reputation as a nice guy with a spectacular golf game. His meteoric rise in golf was truly spectacular and he entered professional golf with eye-popping credentials, winning three individual NCAA championships as a four-time All-American at Arizona State; becoming the first left-hander to win the U.S. Amateur in 1990 and, still as an amateur, being victorious in his first-ever PGA Tour event, the Northern Telecom Open.
He went on to rack up 45 PGA Tour events and six majors, including three Masters titles, and induction into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2012. Mickelson came one victory short of a career Grand Slam. In his initial foray on the over-50 PGA Tour Champions in 2020 – while still a PGA Tour regular – he carded a record-tying 191 in 54 holes and won three of his first four tournaments on the senior circuit. In 2021, Phil beat Koepka and Oosthuizen in the PGA Championship at Kiawah Island to become the oldest-ever major champion at 50 years, 11 months, and seven days old.
Was it Hubris or Financial Need that Led him to LIV?
In June 2022, Mickelson cashed in his well-earned legacy for $200 million to join the rogue LIV Tour. Shortly after Mickelson made some startling statements, including calling his “shady Saudi bosses “scary mother***s. In response, three long-time corporate sponsors severed ties with him. For the record, Phil hasn’t won an individual LIV title, and probably never will.
Even before moving to the rival league Phil’s reputation had become tainted. A well-publicized gambling problem and a link to pro sports bettor Billy Walters was rumored to put him in deep debt. Then his name popped up in an insider-trading scandal whereby he pocketed a tidy sum of $931,000. The question was raised whether this was his way of paying off debtors. A particularly unseemly incident in 2015 involved Mickelson propositioning Pat Perez’s new wife, minutes after her husband got up to use the restroom. This was also around the time he graphically demonstrated sexual techniques and made graphic depictions in front of a large table of dinner guests at a private golf club.
Writer Alan Shipnuck co-wrote an in-depth Mickelson biography with Harriet Diamond in 2022 that became a New York Times best-seller. His knowledge of Mickelson – both positive and negative – is considerable. In 2026, Ashley Perez provided Shipnuck more lurid (and unspeakable) details of that earlier infamous encounter. Her husband Pat, a fellow ASU grad and later an LIV player, has expressed hatred for his former friend. Mickelson apologized twice, but Perez isn’t listening.
The latest bombshell came in 2026 at Mickelson’s longtime private club, the Farms outside his hometown of San Diego, when an employee accused him of “nonconsensual, inappropriate contact with her before a round of golf.” Shipnuck talked to 19 people who confirmed this. Phil is no longer a member there and it’s unknown whose decision this was. He also abruptly departed two other high-end golf clubs, the Madison Club and The Bridges in Rancho Santa Fe. Sources at both places say his personal conduct was a primary factor.
The Lefty of 30 Years Ago
Three decades ago, my interaction with Phil never foreshadowed any of this raunch. As a matter of fact, I’m still surprised and disappointed how things turned out and, until lately, defended him whenever friends expressed disdain for him. Guess I was just naive.
Here’s why. In 1995, the year after winning his first Green Jacket, he came to Seattle as part of Freddie’s party, so it was no surprise that Mickelson won the Fred Couples Invitational that year. Attending players were generally a very loose bunch, dedicating a Monday and Tuesday for some fun and relaxed golf. As a bonus, if they ended up winning would return home $170,000 or so richer.
Mickelson was kind and willing to do whatever was necessary to help at his buddy’s two-day haggle, portions of whose ticket sales generated several million dollars for the Swedish Cancer Institute during its six-year run.
Following his win, I asked Phil to visit the media center for an interview before my attention shifted to other duties. Among them that year came at tournament’s end involved shepherding my graphic designer wife Anni past obstinate amateur security and through scores of fans to the scorer’s tent where she quickly repaired the partially and poorly written “Mickelson” that never would have fit in the allotted space on his oversized check.
Upon returning to the media center, I found Phil patiently waiting his turn with reporters outside the room as Arnold Palmer went long chatting about his round. After thanking him for stay and asking if he needed anything, Mickelson smiled and replied, “No thanks. I’m enjoying listening to Arnie.” Despite having to catch a flight, Phil patiently hung around for 45 minutes, a kindness rarely seen with many sports stars. It was clear he was a class act.
Mickelson could have been one of the most popular and successful golfers in history. Instead, like Tiger, he’s cast a dark, foreboding shadow over an otherwise illustrious career.
Meanwhile …
In late May 2026, the National Golf Foundation published a study which found that women are driving the growth of golf in the U.S. Since 2020, the number of on-course female golfers increased by a staggering 45 percent, a net gain of 2.5 million players. The total number of women golfers has risen to 8.1 million, an all-time high, and for the first time in modern golf history, women and girls account for the majority – 52 percent – of the game’s net growth.
By comparison, male participation rose a comparatively paltry 12 percent over the same period, adding 2.3 million players. Women now make up 28 percent of all on-course golfers, the highest share ever recorded and a notable climb from 20 percent just over a decade ago.
The increase in golfers of the fairer sex is due in part to the three-year-long pandemic, but the surge in their play continued afterwards. This confirms that the “old” days of golf as a rich, white man’s sport is a false stereotype. Golf course managers should note this change, ensuring there are more women’s on-course bathrooms (a complaint from my golf-traveling wife and her friends) as well as dedicated events, merchandise and lighter, health-conscious restaurant menus.
Wise Words from My Superintendent
The superintendent at my club, Useless Bay on Whidbey Island is, like many others in his profession, an outstanding communicator. Oregon State turfgrass grad Blane Hezel oversees the maintenance of this 60-year-old golf course and all 18 of its push-up greens. Complicating his job is the property’s location next to ancient Puget Sound salt marshes.
Here’s what Hezel (featured at the end of https://www.golfcoursetrades.com/dunedin-golf-club-post-hurricane-update-winterizing/) wrote to the members, complaining that his crew’s routine topdressing had thwarted their putting skills. I think it’s a superb example of a superintendent addressing golfer grievances, while emphasizing there’s a scientific purpose behind all their decisions.
“Turf Tip: Venting Greens. If you have been a member here for a while, then you might have noticed that recently there has been an increase in frequency of aeration to the putting greens. Specifically, there are more times that you may see miniscule holes appearing on the greens.
“Our regular core aeration followed by the heavy sanding is still just twice a year. The process which creates the little holes is called ‘venting,’ and yes, we will be doing this monthly year-round which has not been the norm since being here since April 2004. We have always known that poking holes is good for turf. We have also always known that golfers do not like it, and for good reason, putting quality suffers after aeration. This is simply not true anymore.
“The venting process with our ProCore 648 is literally nondisruptive. I would even argue that the putting quality increases after we vent greens. Although you can see the small holes after we vent, the process of venting lifts the soil and creates pore space. Rolling the green after we vent pushes the holes back together resulting in a truer putting green surface.
“The benefits of venting our push up greens will help with increased infiltration (which helps the greens drain quicker), and increased porosity (the soil has an increased ability to exchange gases). Specifically, oxygen can readily move into the soil, and carbon dioxide can move out. Why do we want soil microbes? Because without them we would have serious turf problems.
“Soil microbes consume and break down the organic material in soil [by] utilizing minerals and nutrients to support their own life. As they die, and they die often since they have a very short lifespan, the nutrients and minerals that they consume become available to the root system of the turf. It is a necessary cycle that cannot be maintained without oxygen.
“That is why we are incorporating venting into our cultural practices.”
Jeff Shelley has written and published 12 books as well as numerous articles for print and online media since 1987. Among his titles are three editions of the book, “Golf Courses of the Pacific Northwest.” The Whidbey Island resident was editorial director of Cybergolf.com from 2000-15, co-founder of the Northwest Golf Media Association and president of the nonprofit First Green (https://www.thefirstgreen.org/). To contact Jeff: fairgreens@seanet.com.
