LA JOLLA, Calif. -- Those trailing Tiger Woods might have to hope for the best player in the history of oxygen to cave rather than rely on their ability to play catch up. That's because the hole location sheet handed out by the USGA shows 16 locations -- count 'em, 16 -- six paces or less from the edge of the green, making going at the flagstick a risky proposition.

Perhaps the two most accessible locations are at the par-3 eighth, where the holes is cut 14 paces deep and in the dead center of the green; and the par-4 15th, where the hole is 25 paces on and in the center.

The location on 18, however, is designed for risk and reward -- a mere six paces on and six paces in from the right. This front-right spot could yield some eagles, but could prove costly for any player coming up short or short-siding themselves.

-- E. Michael Johnson

LA JOLLA, Calif. --  Phil Mickelson's strategy of going driverless appeared to be a decent call after an even-par 71 at Torrey Pines in the opening round. However, the move does bring with it some questions.

First, the facts. Mickelson's pseudo driver is a 13-degree Callaway FT Tour 3-wood that was bent to 11.5 degrees. The club has a 43-inch (standard for Lefty's 3-wood) Mitsubishi Diamana White Board shaft.

But was it the right call? Although amateurs often hit 3-wood off the tee when fairways are tight and control is needed, that's not necessarily the case for better players who are more consistent.

Testing by Golf Digest revealed just a slight benefit for the 3-wood over the driver for better players with faster swings.

Still, some pros use the 3-wood or even a hybrid off the tee as a position club because the driver simply brings more trouble into play. Mickelson likely falls into that group and we'll see how it plays out over the next three rounds.

But if you're wondering if you should adopt a similar strategy, consider this Golf Digest survey of 33 men's tour pros, including 10 major championship winners, when asked the following:

With today's more forgiving drivers, should amateurs hit driver off every tee, or is 3-wood sometimes the better play?

Their answer: Driver 94 percent/3-wood 6 percent.

-- E. Michael Johnson

AUGUSTA, Ga. -- Well, it has happened again. Another year, another weather delay at Augusta National. Play was suspended at 1:02 p.m. during the third round -- with Brian Bateman and Richard Sterne preparing to hit their opening tee shots and Tiger Woods and Andres Romero in the on-deck circle -- as hard rain fell and loud thunder rumbled above Augusta National.

Now, you can?t do anything about poor weather. But you can do something about how you handle it, and with rain in the forecast for today, couldn?t the starting times have been moved up a little? The first tee time today was 10:50 a.m., with the final pair of Trevor Immelman and Brandt Snedeker set to go at 2:40 p.m. Play is expected to resume at 1:40, which may or may not allow those two to finish their rounds today. And if they don?t, they?ll have to come out early Sunday to finish and then wait some five to six hours before going back out for round four. That?s not an inconvenience -- it's a competitive disadvantage.

The Masters has not spilled over to Monday since 1983, the end result of a Friday washout. But this is Georgia. In April. From 1998 through 2006 weather  interrupted play at the Masters every year except 2001. If you ask me, it?s time to make the smart move and push the tee times up an hour on the weekend.

-- E. Michael Johnson

AUGUSTA, Ga. -- You would think the year's first major is not the best time to change equipment, but many in the field at Augusta National have new sticks in the bag this week as they try to match clubs to course. In fact, perhaps no where else does set makeup play as pivotal a role as it does at the site of the Masters.

Perhaps one of the most notable is Phil Mickleson's use of Callaway's interchangeable-shaft I-Mix driver system. So far, the change for Lefty has not been dramatic in that the I-Mix clubhead (a 8.5-degree FT-5 model)  and prototype Mitsubishi Fuboki shaft (designed for low spin and high launch) were similar to what he had been playing with all year. However, with higher winds predicted for the weekend, it will be interesting to see if the two-time Masters champ will take advantage of the adjustability and go with a new shaft. Stay tuned on that.

Some other notable comings and goings in players' bags include Tiger Woods putting his 2-iron back in and Bubba Watson carrying just a single wood -- his driver. Also noteworthy are the nine players carrying wedges with more than 60 degrees of loft to aid in the finesse shots necessary around Augusta National's greens. Among the high-lofted group are Phil Mickelson, Padraig Harrington and J.B. Holmes, all with 64-degree wedges, and Stewart Cink, who added a 62-degree model.

On the ball front, K.J. Choi changed to Nike's lower-spinning One Black sphere, while Ernie Els tried Callaway's Tour i, which boasts a softer cover than the Tour ix he had been using.

Even the pair at the top of the leaderboard made some changes, with Trevor Immelman putting a 21-degree Nike Sumo hybrid in the bag, while Brandt Snedeker came armed with a new big stick: a 9.5-degree TaylorMade Burner that Sneds is using for the first time in competition. Steve Flesch -- a notorious putter-changer -- has a Never Compromise putter, while Ian Poulter changed to Odyssey's Black Series model. In all, eight of the top 10 players on the leader board after 36 holes made some type of an equipment change this week.

Which may make the year's first major the best time to make a switch.

-- E. Michael Johnson