20 Years Ago They Called Him Crazy, then He Won the Masters

This year's Masters marks several milestones in the tournament's storied history. It was 40 years ago that Jack Nicklaus roared from behind to win what many still consider to be the greatest Masters of all time. While the 1986 tourney is certainly one of most iconic wins to take place in Augusta, there's another anniversary splitting the difference on the timeline worth mentioning.

In 2006, Phil Mickelson earned his green jacket with one of the more unusual bag setups ever to make its way down Magnolia Lane. Lefty showed up to THE Augusta National Golf Club with not one, but two drivers, and walked away with a victory.

RELATED: Phil Mickelson Won't Play in the Masters This Year

How It Came To Be

The early and mid 2000s were the true Wild West of the equipment game, especially regarding drivers. Both TaylorMade and Callaway were throwing seemingly everything they could into the consumer market, allowing for different clubs across price points to fit buyer needs. Both companies were also introducing new technologies to the space, with TaylorMade launching the adjustable weight R7 Quad in 2005 and Callaway debuting the Fusion driver that same year, which was shortly followed by the 460cc Fusion FT-3 (above).

Remember, this is all BEFORE adjustable hosels, mini drivers, and the proliferation of strokes gained data. Like I said, Wild West.

It wasn't until 2011 that TaylorMade debuted the SLDR S Mini driver, and it took four more years for Callaway to release the Big Bertha 1.5.

RELATED: The Big Guide To Mini Drivers: Every 2026 Model Compared

This is where Phil's unique two driver strategy began to take shape. Without the use of modern options (like the mini driver), it became apparent that if he wanted to truly take advantage off the tee, having two drivers built for specific shot shapes could offer a serious advantage around Augusta National.

The fact that Phil basically cracked the code for the modern game by taking advantage off the tee is something for which he doesn’t gets enough credit. What’s equally crazy is that, two years after this success at the Masters, Phil opted for the complete opposite strategy at the 2008 U.S. Open at Torrey Pines. His decision to intentionally show up without a driver is still mind blowing. It was like the reverse Bryson, and didn't work out so well.

That was a mistake, obviously,” Mickelson said several years later. “What a great idea that was. I’m going to play with a 3-wood. And then I missed the fairways with the 3-wood. That was ridiculous. That didn’t work out.

Phil's 2006 Winning Drivers

Leading into the 2006 Masters, Phil was the fourth-ranked player in the world and brought his two-driver strategy to the 2006 Bell South Classic for a tournament test run, where it was a booming success. He went on to win by 13 shots over José María Olazábal and Zach Johnson at TPC Sugarloaf.

The drivers were Callaway Fusion FT-3 Tours, both with 9.5° of loft, with the difference being one driver was built an inch longer to 46" and had internal weighting (made possible thanks to the carbon fiber shell) positioned heel biased in the head to more easily promote a draw.

The next week at Augusta National, the well laid out plan went exactly as Phil had hoped, and he went on to win by two shots over Tim Clark, and by three shots over a group that included Olazábal, Tiger Woods, Fred Couples, and Retief Goosen.

At the time it was hypothesized that a two driver strategy could revolutionize professional golf, but that never quite came to fruition. Phil even went the other way again in 2013 at Muirfield and played without a driver like he did it 2008 at the U.S. Open, except this time he walked away with his lone Claret Jug. His longest club of choice that week was a 13° Callaway X-Hot 3-Deep, an oversized 3-wood that wasn't quite the size of today's mini drivers.

What has changed since then is golfers’ understanding that maximizing distance is a huge advantage, and having a secondary option like a mini driver can be a good back-up in some situations. In fact, when Phil became the oldest major champion winner when he who the 2021 PGA Championship at age 50 years and 11 months, he once again employed the two driver strategy, except with a “bomber” driver and a mini driver to offer the second serve option.

Although we might have disagreed with Phil's philosophy at the time, we can't argue with the success it brought him on the course, and it proves once again why Phil was always one of the most interesting golfers to watch set up their clubs.

With Phil noticeably absent from this year's Masters tournament, the burden of craziest club setup will have to rest on someone else's shoulders, and we'll have to wait until Thursday to find out who that might be.

RELATED: This Week’s Best Gear Drops (And a Few You Didn’t See Coming)