Their swings make the cut

It’s golf’s most compelling story line, Tiger Woods vs. Phil Mickelson. No. 1 vs. No. 2. Righty vs. Lefty. Hank Haney vs. Butch Harmon.

With Mickelson’s impressive victory Sunday at the Players, with the U.S. Open coming up and beyond that a long, hot summer, the swings of Woods and Mickelson and the influence of their two swing coaches have become the major talking points in professional golf.

But what exactly are Woods-Haney and Mickelson-Harmon trying to accomplish? Here’s a brief rundown.

At the Players, Harmon was trying to have Mickelson hit a cut shot, a controlled fade, in which the ball moved right to left, since he’s left-handed. Mickelson’s goal was to eliminate hitting it to the right side of the fairway. The continuing plan is to take out the big hook. Mickelson’s natural shot is a hard draw, the ball moving left to right.

Holding the lead at the 72nd hole of the U.S. Open last year at Winged Foot, Mickelson’s errant shot on the 18th hole was a pushed slice that flew so far left it bounced off a hospitality tent, putting him in a position that ultimately cost him the tournament. Harmon, who was Woods’ coach until he went winless in major tournaments in 2003 and 2004, doesn’t want Mickelson to overswing and risk repeating that shot.

Haney is also trying to keep Woods hitting a cut shot, but the flight of his ball moves left-to-right since he’s a right-hander. Woods’ natural shot is a draw, a gentle right-to-left movement for a right-hander, but Haney’s view is that a cut shot features a higher ball flight, it’s easier to control and keeps the ball in play.

In essence, Harmon and Haney are coaching swings that are against the natural swings of Mickelson and Woods.

The desired results are also the same for both swing coaches: narrow the width of the misses, make bad shots more playable and build in a go-to shot when the pressure is on.

thomas.bonk@latimes.com