Is Phil Mickelson a Cheater? In a Word…YES #PGA

People like me because I always tell the truth.

Because Ben Crane is the least interesting person on the face of the earth, or at best the least interesting golfer on Tour, the biggest story to emerge out of the golf weekend was Phil Mickelson v. Scott McCarron.

The Tour instituted a new rule this golf season stating that players were no longer allowed to use clubs with square shaped grooves; instead clubs must be made with a ‘v’ shaped groove on their faces. To the average chop down at the local muni, this means nothing. For a guy just trying to hit it on the face of the club, he could have square shaped grooves, ‘v’-shaped grooves, or a Rick James groove on his club and it wouldn't make a bit of difference. To pros this is a massive deal. Square grooves impart more spin, allowing them to stop the ball faster.

Mickelson, and some other players, found a loophole in the rule that allowed old Ping wedges - with square grooves - to be put into play. While it clearly violates the spirit of the rule, the old clubs are technically legal.

McCarron called out Mickelson for his act, and all hell (or at least golf’s tame, sanitized verison of hell) broke loose. Mickelson said the Tour needed to defend him, or “someone else will."

McCarron defended himself saying that he never called Mickelson a cheater, but believes that playing the old club is cheating. Um, ok.

Bottom line is this, while not technically cheating, it is extremely weak. The rule is there to eliminate the old clubs, not to get creative and find the gray area.

He's right, Mickelson is cheating.

This is golf, not a class on how to be a lawyer. This isn’t baseball where cheating is not only accepted, but encouraged, it’s golf. Golfers call penalties on themselves and they get weak at the knees discussing the integrity of the game. It’s cheating without actually cheating. It’s weak.

Mickelson is one of the game's best; one of the players that could get a ball to stop with a screwdriver taped to an avocado. Why open yourself up to this criticism? Why prove to the world that you are the guy that a lot of people thought you were, egocentric. What happened to "what's good for the game?" Tiger would never cheat...at golf.

Do the right thing and lose the old wedge, because while technically and legally right, you couldn’t be more wrong.