IRVING, Texas — If we've learned anything over the years from watching Phil Mickelson pull off impossible shot after impossible shot, it's that you should never doubt the guy. But for some reason, the CBS crew decided to do just that on the ninth hole during the second round of the HP Byron Nelson Championship, questioning Mickelson's decision to try and go for the green.

After hitting his drive into the left trees, Mickelson was left with a tricky proposition: He could go for the green by hitting a low punch shot under the trees, but with water on the left side of the hole, a mishit would spell certain doom.

The smart play would have been to just punch it back into play, but Mickelson was having none of it, pulling a hybrid from his bag and hitting a low cut around the tree and onto the green, drawing a laugh from the CBS booth.

After rolling in the birdie putt, Matt Gogel said it could be "one of the best birdies I've ever seen." Based on the level of difficulty Mickelson was

Boccieri Golf's Heavy PutterWelcome to Devil Ball's Proving Ground, where we put the latest golf equipment through its paces. Today we take a look at Boccieri Golf's Heavy Putter.

Tester: Jonathan Wall — Handicap: 2.7

Target golf audience: All players

If there's one club in the bag that tends to get swapped out more than any other, it's the putter. If you don't believe me, just take a look at the PGA Tour, where golfers move from one model to the next depending on how they're feeling. It's a club you have to have confidence in, and when the magic isn't there, most feel compelled to move on to the next big thing.

Over the years, golf companies have tried every trick in the book to make the putter better -- using new metals, increasing the MOI, lengthening the shaft, and in Boccieri Golf's case, making the putter heavier.

You'd think adding more weight to the putter would make it difficult to control, but we had to test out the flatstick to see if that was indeed the case.

How did it perform on the course? Here's our review.

Initial thought

This putter is heavy. I'm not talking box-of-bricks heavy, but you can definitely feel the increased weight from the moment you pick it up. I've rolled the same 340 gram model for the last three years, so I'm used to having a little weight in my hands, but when you suddenly get bumped up to a stick that's 400 grams (with a 200 gram back weight), you can tell a big difference.

You don't need to be a body builder to use this putter, but don't be surprised if you start to feel like you're using larger, more stable muscles when you roll the first couple of putts. Unlike traditional putters, that weigh anywhere from 300-350 grams, the reason for adding the weight was simple: Boccieri wanted to take out a lot of unnecessary movement in the putting stroke. Adding weight made that possible.

As the Boccieri website noted, "the Heavy Putter counterbalances the weight in the head by adding an additional 250 gram weight into the grip end of the shaft, raising the balance point of the putter 75% higher than conventional putters, thereby returning complete control to the golfer, while still removing the hands and wrists from the putting stroke."

After taking the putter out for a spin, I could definitely tell a difference. I don't have a lot of wrist movement in my stroke to begin with, but when you have that additional weight, it really keeps your hands and wrists steady.

Putts were rolling true, and I could feel myself using my bigger muscles, which resulted in a more consistent stroke and contact.

Brandt Snedeker with somebody's clubs. (Getty Images)

Who's got time to read an entire article? Not us, that's for sure. So here's a whole bunch of golf news in nice, easily digestible chunks. Enjoy.

• No clubs? No problem for Brandt Snedeker, who's playing at the Volvo Match Play Championships with just 10 clubs in his bag, all of them borrowed from others. Yeah, you're out of excuses. [Golf Channel]

• Dan McLaughlin, whom we talked to a few months back, is putting in 10,000 hours of work to become a PGA Tour-level golfer. Here's how it's going so far. [CBS News/Geoff Shackelford]

• Courtesy of our pals at Bogey Pro Golf, here's an ad for a great new swing aid (may not be available near you):

• Jason Day has played the 18th at TPC Four Seasons nine times, and he's put it in the water four times, including Thursday's Byron Nelson round. Here's predicting he uses a putter off the tee there from now on. [Yahoo! Sports/PGA Tour]

• The last guy penalized for slow play on the PGA Tour? Glen Day at the Honda Classic ... back in 1995. Oh yeah,

Rory McIlroy gets stabby. (WhoSay)

Rory McIlroy took a trip to Rome recently. He brought back this picture and many more over at his website, including shots of him at the Colosseum and some ill-advised pics on a scooter. Cannot imagine he'll get any grief for these photos from the boys in the locker room. Careful, Rory; "making the cut" has a very different definition to these guys.

(Photo of Rory McIlroy on WhoSay. Click the link for so much more.)

Ryan Palmer is a Texas local, and he's doing just fine in his home state as the PGA Tour begins play at the Byron Nelson Classic, leading the field. Check out some of the fine play from Palmer, as well as three-time major winner Padraig Harrington, Andres Gonzales, Alex Cejka and others. Play continues Friday, but then you already knew that.

Here's proof of Rhein Gibson's 55. (Reddit)

Follow Jonathan Wall on Twitter at @jonathanrwall.

Everyone has a buddy who thinks he's good enough to play golf for a living. He's most likely a single-digit handicapper who's won a couple local tournaments and, on occasion, can shoot under par during the usual weekend game.

In his mind, he has more than enough game to go head-to-head with the best golfers in the world. Sadly, that couldn't be further from the truth. I'd like to introduce you to Rhein Gibson, a mini-tour golfer who, like your buddy, has a goal of making it to the PGA Tour.

But that's pretty much where the comparisons stop. Why? Because the 26-year-old Aussie, who's currently plying his trade on Golfweek's National Pro Tour, managed to fire a 16-under 55 during a recent round with his buddies at River Oaks Golf Club in Oklahoma.

Yep, 16-under in one round. Honestly, I don't know what to say. As CBS's Eye on Golf blog pointed out, it could be the lowest recorded round in golf history. At first glance, the scorecard,

U.S. Amateur Trophy / USGAIf you were planning a trip to the USGA Museum this summer and had the U.S. Amateur Trophy on your list of things to see, you're going to be disappointed with this bit of news.

As the USGA reported, the museum was broken into for the first time ever on Wednesday night, and the U.S. Amateur Trophy, along with a replica of Ben Hogan's 1953 Hickok Belt award, were swiped during the heist.

"This is a deplorable incident, but we are thankful for the safety of our staff," the USGA said in a statement. "These historical artifacts are an important part of our collection and their loss is a great disappointment. We are working closely with the Bernards Township Police Department to aid in their recovery."

The trophy, which had been created in 1926 and retired in 1992, is a true piece of golf history. Some of the greatest golfers to ever play the game hoisted the hardware over the years, so for it to go missing is a pretty big deal.

Based on the rarity of the items, the chances of either showing up on the open market are pretty slim. The black market? Well, that's another story. The only problem with selling them to someone is that unlike most pieces of memorabilia, you'd never have the chance to show them off to your friends.

Rickie Fowler is a regular at the Medalist Golf Club in Jupiter, Florida, and on Wednesday Fowler tied the course record 62. Who held the previous record? Well, you could read the headline, or you could read Fowler's Twitter-gloat:

c0516rickie

Let's not make too much of this, but it's nothing but good news that one of golf's rising young stars is going toe-to-toe with (or walking in the footsteps of, choose your foot metaphor) one of the game's legends.

Oh, and Tiger? He's tweeted exactly once since April, and that was an ad for his new shoes. Don't hold your breath waiting for a reply, Rickie.