Phil Mickelson hits his drive on the 18th hole at TPC River Highlands on Saturday.
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Phil Mickelson was tied for 12th entering the third round of last year’s Masters, and he had a plan of attack for Saturday. Driving down Magnolia Lane at Augusta National Golf Club, he described it to a cameraman sitting in the passenger seat. Mickelson was going to hit the driver.
“Got to 125.1 clubhead speed last night. I haven’t done that, I think, in my life,” Mickelson said in the video, which he shared on his social media feeds. “Why is that important? Well, because when Dave Pelz ran an analysis of improving every statistical category by 10 percent, every category led to lower scores except longer drives. There was only one course in the world where longer drives equated to lower scores. That’s right – Augusta National. So the reason is, the shelves are so small where the pins are that you got to hit bombs off the tee to be able to get to those small sections.
“And that’s what I’m going to do today – hit bombs and attack the pin here at the Masters.”
“Hit bombs” was ignited for Mickelson. “Hit bombs” has exploded for Mickelson. “Hit bombs” could appear on golf shirts, T-shirts and hats.
Two days before the Travelers Championship, where Mickelson held the second-round lead, Mickelson, Inc., filed for a “Hit Bombs” trademark with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, with the intent to potentially use it on golf shirts, shirts, golf caps and hats. Josh Gerben, whose law firm works with trademarks, tweeted the filing earlier this week, and that was first reported by Darren Rovell of the Action Network.
The fuel that powers the bombs will also potentially be available under Mickelson’s name.
In early June, Mickelson, Inc., filed for a trademark for “Coffee for Wellness,” with the intent to use it for coffee, coffee beans and coffee pods. Last July, Mickelson said he needed a “hard reset,” so he fasted for six days, consuming only water and a special coffee blend he crafted with the help of performance coach Dave Phillips. Ever since then, he’s been touting the coffee, which contains Ethiopian coffee beans, MCT or XCT oil, flavorless collagen protein powder, Himalayan pink sea salt, almond milk, L-Theanine, Manuka honey and cinnamon.
“Hit bombs” would not be Mickelson’s first trademark that rocketed after the Masters.
In 2014, as Mickelson’s putt on the 18th at Augusta curled into the cup for his first major victory, he jumped, extending both his arms and legs. In April, as he recounted the win on CBS, he said the leap was “amazingly high.”
The jump is now on hats, shirts and other apparel.
Nick Piastowski is a Senior Editor at Golf.com and Golf Magazine. In his role, he is responsible for editing, writing and developing stories across the golf space. And when he’s not writing about ways to hit the golf ball farther and straighter, the Milwaukee native is probably playing the game, hitting the ball left, right and short, and drinking a cold beer to wash away his score. You can reach out to him about any of these topics — his stories, his game or his beers — at nick.piastowski@golf.com.