If Phil Mickelson doesn't watch out, he just might set golf back 30 years.

Phil Mickelson exchanges clubs with his caddie, Jim Mackay, after hitting onto the green at No. 2 on Friday. If Lefty wins the Masters, hackers everywhere might copy his two-driver strategy. (Ross Taylor/Staff)

His win at the Bellsouth Classic, where he played better than anyone has all season, was one that some golfers will measure themselves by.

Another win Sunday would have an even deeper impact because it could come in a style too many players model themselves after. Only players capable of making it onto the first page of the leaderboard midway through the Masters Tournament should do that.

Mickelson was as much a curiosity as a contender heading into this Masters.

Two years since winning at Augusta, he came in swinging with both hands after having shot 28-under par over four rounds in Atlanta last week.

Then he started swinging at both sides of the course from the time play began at Augusta National Golf Club.

Mickelson is playing here with two drivers in his bag, one he uses to hit the ball from left to right and another he hits right to left.

Mickelson talks to an official before taking a drop on the second hole. He got relief after his ball came to rest near the scoreboard. (Ross Taylor/Staff)

Except what happens when everybody else starts doing it? And you know we will.

We lemming amateurs are led around this game by anyone who can play it at an elite level, from the logos we wear to the shots we attempt to the way we react to putts that go in. Or haven't you noticed all those uppercut fist-pumps that resemble Nike swooshes from the mini-Tigers at your home club?

But there is no greater copycat crime in golf than the club selections we base on how somebody who can actually play this game hits the ball.

So, if a guy using two drivers wins the Masters on Sunday, there will be fools showing up at every golf course in the country Monday with twice as much lumber as they need.

The difference would be, Mickelson has his left-to-right and right-to-left drivers; ours would be OB-right and OB-left models.

And just imagine what it will be like playing behind four guys each hitting two different drivers in any number of directions.

Through two rounds at Augusta, Mickelson is in position to make a run that could ruin your next round.

"It has gone pretty well, I think,'' said Mickelson, who has hit 17 of 28 fairways in the first two days of the Masters. "I'm driving it well and I'm hitting it good distances. So far, I'm 2-under par and right in the tournament. It's been good.''

Well, that's just great.

After all, the most-watched tournament in the game has often seduced the golf world like that.

After Jack Nicklaus raised that funky, oversize putter to punctuate his miracle back-nine charge in the 1986 Masters, high handicappers everywhere raced out to practice greens with various utensils that resembled bathroom plumbing.

Now there's a new trend that could grow out of this year's Masters.

And it's one with which a guy trying to see what it's like on both sides could send a lot of amateurs over the edge.

Thanks a lot, Phil.