Rickie Fowler experienced a career resurgence in 2023.
Getty Images
Leading-man-worthy looks and outside-the-box fashion sense — coupled with six PGA Tour wins — have made Rickie Fowler one of pro golf ’s biggest stars. Even after dropping to a career low 185th in the OWGR in mid-2022, Fowler remained a fan favorite.
Reuniting with his former coach, GOLF Top 100 Teacher Hall of Famer Butch Harmon last fall, however, appears to have the 34-year-old native Californian back where his admirers feel he belongs. After contending at the 2023 U.S. Open, where he opened with a record 62, he captured the Rocket Mortgage Classic in July in a three-man playoff.
Rickie Fowler shows how to hit a crisp flop shot — in under two minutes
Early in Fowler’s PGA career, his swing was flat and laid off by Tour standards, something Harmon went to work on almost immediately. Through the years, he’s continuously toiled to transition into a more orthodox motion, something no doubt spurred by an incredulous four-and-a-half-year winless streak between 2019 and 2023.
Fowler’s second run with Butch Harmon, and some time spent with Top 100 Teacher John Tillery in 2022, has infused some of that old Rickie magic into his swing. He’s tidied up his takeaway and is now much less laid off at the top (see sequence below). His confidence — even his putting — is back. Watch out. There’s more Rickie to come.
Fowler positions the last three fingers of his gloved hand near perpendicular to the shaft. Most rec players tilt these digits down too much, reducing the angle between their lead arm and the club — a potential power robber.
Rickie’s longtime bugaboo was a hands in, clubhead out takeaway, which forced his laid-off position at the top. Now, he tends to keep his hands and club in more of a straight line — a good move for any golfer.
Fowler is in a much better position now. (This sequence is from the 2023 Open Championship.) Like Rickie, try to point your thumbs at your back ear as you move toward the top of your backswing.
A common Butch Harmon teaching nugget is to avoid over-flattening the shaft on the downswing. Copy Rickie, who keeps the shaft slightly above his rear forearm. This is the ideal delivery position.
Fowler does a wonderful job through impact, continuing to push off his rear leg from the ground up. This keeps the clubhead on a power-rich track through the hitting zone. Here’s a secret: Keep your rear forearm below the front one.
Rickie’s left wrist is bending and his right wrist is arching—proof that big bombers don’t hold back in releasing the club. When the toe points toward the sky like Rickie’s does here, you’re on to something.
