I have been a fan of Phil Mickelson's for a very long time. He's one of those golfers that I've pulled for for years and have always assumed he was a a nice guy considering how polite and nice he seems on television. Back in 2004, I was at the Masters on Sunday when he won his first Masters title. My wife and I were positioned to the left of the tee on #10, and after Phil teed off, he walked down the left side of the fairway passing directly by us.

We both smiled and gave him a "Go Phil", and he did something that many professional athletes don't do, he smiled, tipped his hat and said, "Thank you and thanks for coming out." That may not sound like much, but try that same scenario with many other professional athletes while they're in the heat of the battle, and you're more likely to get ignored, glared at, or at best, a quick nod.

But, one nice "thank you" does not necessarily mean that the real Phil Mickelson is a nice guy. It means he's polite and respects the fact that the fans are as much a part of a golf tournament as he is.

What does make him a nice guy is a story I read in a recent edition of Golf World magazine. The title of the article was, "Conrad Dobler's Favorite Golfer." Unless you are a die-hard historian of professional football, you probably have never heard of Dobler... Neither had I until I read this article. Conrad was once called the "dirtiest player in the NFL".

Because NFL players of the distant past did not make that much money, and the NFL's disability plan doesn't amount to much, Conrad lives a nice, but not too extravagant lifestyle considering he's had numerous surgeries on both knees. But, Conrad's entire life changed back on July 4, 2001. He and his wife Joy and their six children were relaxing while waiting for friends to come over for the holiday. His wife Joy was in their hammock and accidentally fell out of the hammock and couldn't feel anything. She's been a quadriplegic ever since. After numerous surgeries, doctor visits, etc., Conrad has had to downsize and sell almost all of his assets to keep the family afloat while paying for Joy's rehabilitation.

Enter Phil Mickelson. Phil's lawyer, Glenn Cohen, called Conrad up one day and told him that Phil had become aware of his situation and wanted to pay for his daughter Holli's college education. Conrad couldn't believe it because he had never met Phil and still hasn't to this day. Conrad asked Cohen why Phil was doing this, and his response was, "Because he can."

Phil does stay in touch with Holli who is now a sophomore at Miami of Ohio. She waits tables and has a heavy load of classes and currently has a 3.8 GPA. The first year, Phil sent $20,000, and he has promised cost of living increases every year promising $22,000 and then $24,000.

This random act of kindness by Phil has changed the lives of more than just Holli. It has made Conrad a better person, and it's given Joy the will to walk again. She's already made great strides and hopes to one day get out of the wheelchair for good. Phil has invited the entire family to the Memorial Tournament in May, and the family can't wait to meet him in person. As Joy says, "If there's anything he's missing in his life, it's a set of wings. He's an angel. And if I can when I see him for the first time, I'm going to go up and give him a big hug."

BECAUSE HE CAN! That is the real Phil Mickelson.

To me, this story embodies what it means to be successful. Being successful means having the ability to help others "because you can." There are so many people who could help others, but they choose not to. I'd like to challenge you to look for areas in your everyday life where you can perform a random act of kindness. You'll be surprised how many situations come up where you can help....

Good luck and make it a great day!

By: J. Anthony
J. Anthony has been writing and blogging online for over five years. He primarily focuses on the positive things in life through his blog, PositivePelham.com as well as the not so serious aspects of life with his blog FunnyVideooftheDay.net. He also owns Single Golfers on the Net the internet's premier online dating community for single golfers worldwide.

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The golf business has taken me to many wonderful places and put me in front of lots of really ‘cool’ people. Recently I had both the honor and privilege of spending some time with golf legend and Hall of Famer - Billy Casper. Billy was as delightful and courteous as any man I have ever met. He took some time from his schedule to sit down with me to talk about a variety of topics.

With 51 PGA Tour victories Billy is 7th all time. He was on 8 Ryder Cup teams and was the captain in 1979. His 80 plus world wide victories include 2 US Opens and 1 Masters. The first golfer on the PGA Tour to win $200,000 in a season Billy was player of the year twice and won two Vardon Trophies for the low scoring average in a season. This man could flat play some golf.

How is he thought of by some of golf’s greats?

• Lee Trevino: "When I came up, I focused on Casper. I figured he was twice as good as me, so I watched how he practiced and decided I would practice three times as much as him."

• Johnny Miller: "Billy has the greatest pair of hands God ever gave a human being."

• Chi Chi Rodriguez: "(Casper) was the greatest putter I ever saw ... When golf balls used to leave the factory; they prayed they would get to be putted by Billy."

What a mistake to look past this phenomenal player because he is not in his prime. What a mistake to not give him the respect he has earned. He is 75 years young and still going strong. I hope you can pick up a nugget or two from this gentle-man and the interview I did with him.

Dan Boever- After all these years of playing in pro-ams and watching amateurs swing, what is the single biggest mistake you see them make? Billy Casper- Well, I think what I see with amateurs is that very few of them ever use enough club into the green. They consistently end up short of the green and wonder why. They feel if they hit a 7 iron 150 yards they can hit it under all types of conditions. They don’t take into consideration whether they are uphill, downhill or whether the wind will help them or hurt them.

DB- Do you try and help them on the course or do you resist giving them a lesson?

BC- I will try and help certain people. You know it is hard to help someone on the course unless they have exceptional talent. I played with a guy today who hit the worst slice. Finally I said lets try something, and I closed up his stance and I got his shoulders pointed way right on the line his feet were on and I said, now swing the club around your body. He went on to hit some unbelievable drives the rest of the day. DB- He had to be thrilled. BC- Oh yeah, he went crazy. It is pretty common for players to position themselves over the ball with their stance wide open. They are open with their shoulders and the only way they can hit the ball is to slice it. They have no consistency whatsoever and so I try and close them up. Now, if somebody is really a terrible slicer I will close them up so bad they can’t slice. In a matter of 10-15 minutes just by working that way they will get to swinging around their body from the inside. You have to appeal to the subconscious-get the subconscious thinking you are swinging around the body and then straighten the stance. Many times people will begin to hit a nice little draw or a straight shot.

DB- Did you spend a lot of time on the range?

BC- I never did. I wanted to play the course. I would hit some balls to get loose – I would chip and putt a lot but then I wanted to get on the course and learn what I needed to know to hit my best shots. As a young player during a practice round I watched Ben Hogan hit balls from both sides of a fairway so he could see from which side the green accepted balls best. He then knew where he needed to hit his drives. You can’t learn that on the driving range…

DB- You came from seven strokes back on the final nine holes to beat Arnold Palmer in the US Open -was there a point you saw panic on his face?

BC- Yes, after I picked up 4 shots in two holes you could see on his face that momentum had shifted.

DB- You had to be a nervous wreck.

BC- I really wasn’t. I could not wait to be in that situation. I loved it - I thrived on the heat of the battle. When you are a competitor that is what you look for. You do all the work to put yourself into that situation. I loved it!

DB- Didn’t Arnie’s Army give him a boost when things went south?

BC- He had such a big lead at the turn many of his fans went home to watch the last nine hole on television. Numerous people who stayed became “Casper Converts”.

DB- I’ll bet they did - and he gained one more on this day.

By: Dan Boever
Dan Boever is a highly sought after golf entertainer and 11-time World Long Drive finalist who has traveled the country for the past 10 years performing power trick shot shows for over 600 of America's largest companies and charities. Dan has been featured on CBS, ESPN, The Golf Channel and has been in 8 National television commercials for Pinnacle Golf. Dan also appeared in the New Line Cinema movie "Hoot", released last May. For more information about Dan and how you can energize your next golf event with Dan's one of a kind golf exhibition go to http://www.danboever.com.

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