In preparation of The Masters, we were reading up on the superstar and three-time green jacket owner, Phil Mickelson. So what did he have to say the night before the Super Bowl of golf begins? Mickelson revealed  he was going to compete with 2 less clubs than everyone else, because he just doesn’t need them… Yahoo Sports explains.

“It’s a bizarre quirk that after remodeling, renovation and some lengthening, Mickelson says that he needs just 12 clubs to win the Masters. He says he never – literally never – has to make a long chip (low 100 yards) to the green. For Mickelson, that shot requires either a sand wedge or a gap wedge.

“I don’t ever need them,” he said. “… The past six or seven years I’ve played this tournament, I have not had a shot between 90 and 130 yards. So think about that. I have not ever had a shot between 90 and 130 yards, so I have a 40-yard gap in there. I don’t ever need [those two clubs].”

Which brings us to the question of the post, “Are You Being a Phil Mickelson?” What do we mean by that? We’re talking about a general opinion of investors tending to overweight what is performing well, versus maintaining a long term investment horizon. Phil Mickelson knows Augusta National through and through, and thinks he doesn’t need clubs for the long chip (100 yards). We can’t help but think the long chipping clubs are the “Alternative Investment Clubs” of financial world, as they haven’t been up to par performance wise (pun intended) {past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results}.

But here’s where things get interesting…  later in the article, Mickelson admits he wants to use 16 clubs (not 12 or even the 14 allowed) on some courses, as he knows that in reality, those clubs are essential to getting through some courses. Is anyone else thinking what we’re thinking? He’s telling us he’s playing without 2 clubs because the long chip shot isn’t needed for Augusta, (because it’s not needed now) even though as a whole, those clubs are needed in order to be a successful golfer.

That doesn’t sound familiar does it? Would Phil make the same choice of clubs if the PGA tour required all players to have the same set of clubs the entire year?