The Swing Fix Sparking Rickie Fowler’s Comeback | Golf Digest

[@ethemozcan]

Extraordinarily good content. Great swing analysis. Would love to see more of this

[@grahamsampson769]

Moral of the story is don't ever leave Butch Harmon. Forget swing gurus.

[@goskawow1943]

believe Rickie has mentioned that his time working with Tillery set him up to be able to do what he's doing now

[@leecorcoran6174]

Well said

[@gp2860]

Harmon ruined tiger’s swing lol

[@MrWHennelly]

Tillery has done very well with many players

[@mattmattmatt3091]

@@gp2860facts

[@BorneoTWGolf]

Martin Kaymer also have same move. And after he won the major tournament he change the swing and till now he is still struggling…. What is good doesn’t mean better for everyone.

[@Austin-pq8xy]

Am I only only one who caught Rickie wearing soccer cleats while hitting on turf? Very smart move. I think the cleats help replicate the feeling of grass, and provide better grip.......

[@johnroberts2104]

Could also be because he wears metal spikes on the course, which would tear up turf that doesn't repair itself like grass does.

[@dj-flights7376]

The problem was caused by the right elbow, somewhat explained at about 4:00 into the video. If you stop lifting the right elbow, it becomes the pivot point and the club will tip back and flat, like losing an arm wrestling match, your right thumb (which matches the shaft) will point down and behind you. In the back swing, after the first part of the takeaway, you have to keep lifting the right elbow until the tibia (upper arm) is about parallel with the horizon. You can even see it in this video. Look at his right elbow position and tibia in his before swing compared to the better after swing. That is the key! Also compared to Matt Wolfe's elbow at 1:44 . If you lay the club flat and want to fix it, get your right elbow up as you hinge! Also, keep your left elbow pointed down no higher than 45 degrees off the ground. If you roll the lead elbow too much more than that up and towards the horizon, that will also lay the club flat. And you can't let your lead shoulder point up, it needs to tilt down as you turn. And yes, grip is part of it too, but if you are hinging correctly, the cause is likely the right elbow not lifting, the left elbow not pointing down enough, and/or the lead shoulder coming off the ground and not tilting down as you turn. (Note: Commenter georgewalker03 seemed to notice it correctly) I should add, you don't have to lift the tibia parallel to the horizon, as long as it stops at the same time the left arm stops moving back, for example pitches and reduced distance shots. But for a full swing, you want that tibia parallel to the horizon.

[@MarkSmithhhh]

Interesting take on the right elbow but it makes tins of sense. I think this is a danger with the whole golf or towel under the arms thing, if you keep that all in super tight you could end up just laying that thing off horribly

[@UncleRicoOSU]

Obviously he should do whatever is best for his game. That being said, I loved Rickie’s old swing. It was so unique to him.

[@harryrussell6801]

This fellas voice is something mental

[@aguy3412]

Rickey “bad” takeway would be IDEAL position for most am golfers

[@parkerpkthn]

Dang! Really was wondering what Rickie had been working on. Makes perfect sense.

[@A-FrameWedge]

You need to look at his swing a year or so before he went back to Harmon, because it was different than the 2010 swing.

[@chezchezchezchez]

Right. It won’t be long. 😂😂😂

[@donnieshelton591]

Yet much longer than your zero time to shine huh.

[@jaywood9415]

@@donnieshelton591 i think he means that this video was made right before ricky won the rocket mortgage yesterday in a playoff

[@donnieshelton591]

@@jaywood9415 well I’d owe him an apology if you’re right. I thought the laughing faces indicated otherwise but maybe he’ll respond.

[@Smiththebat]

@@jaywood9415 almost positive he was talking about Rickie’s win. 🤙

[@Balzo93]

Getting stuck has nothing to do with the "arms being stuck behind the body", it is the position of the clubhead lagging behind the hands in the mid downswing, which actually is more probable if the hands come too much in front of the body in the downswing, as you can see in the clip of Tiger at 2:57. The club is far more likely to get stuck if the golfer is across the line than laid off. This analysis is just wrong. Plus, hasn't Rickie won more with his old swing?

[@dbo4506]

🙄🤦‍♂️

[@somguy5035]

weird. the current trends are all opposite of this. everyone is trying to shallow out and flatten at the top. sure he was an extreme example but its just strange that we're all trying to do exactly what he just undid

[@georgewalker03]

Rickie's fault explained. His right arm was too internally rotated, and his left arm was externally rotated too much. Fix: reverse arm movements. Externally rotate the right arm more, and internally rotate the left arm more. Go to 4.33 at the end of the video. You will see less internal and external rotation of both arms. The player who has the most internal and external rotation of his arms on the backswing is Matt Woolf. He keeps the center of mass of the club head in front of his body longer by lifting his arms more as opposed to using his body. The biggest fault I see with amateur golfers is that they roll both arms in the backswing causing them to get the center of mass of the clubhead behind their hands. This has the opposite effect of the clubhead coming over the top of their hands on the downswing. "Out-To-In Swing Path". They would do well to copy Matt Woolf's backswing.

[@drumsnbassinyoface7276]

They explained in the magazine article that, since he's changing to a steeper swing, amateurs should be hesitant to copy this, since almost all less-trained golfers come over the top in their downswing. Best for us to err on the shallow side.

[@craigcucinella]

yeah that 2010 swing was not what he won the players with, or what was causing the struggles the last few years before the resurgence. i'm not sure exactly what he and butch have been working on lately, but it wasn't that... he got rid of that takeaway 10 years ago

[@MarkSmith-lz5rk]

Wow I completely forgot how laid off he was

[@mattaitken888]

His 2010 swing is technical perfection and what Gary Player now says to everyone to do (keep the clubhead outside, stay connected, silent hands on the way back)... even David Leadbetter says do it after all those years teaching Faldo to hinge the writs early and 'get on plane'... Fowler's PUTTING changes are why he started getting results in majors, his swing was alwasys just fine, and he recently said he is getting back to swinging the way he always did... ironic huh. With respect, your video misses this point and it's 'old news' that now isn't relevant

[@outlander234]

What's with the obsession with the driver and iron swings? Sure its nice to be consistent enough but the biggest factor is his short game that has been just phenomenal, putting bar none. Just watched Tiger winning a tournament in 2013, he was missing fairways, greens constantly but I dont think he missed more than two chip ins in the whole 4 rounds. 90% were inside 3 feet for an easy par putt. Every long putt was also within few feet. That's how you win a tournament. Short game. And he attacked par 5s viciously to get eagle chances. The rest of the holes, he was surprisingly conservative with his approaches.

[@cheemomugdoo799]

Let's not compare anyone to Tiger Woods. It's not realistic. For a PGA player, it's the whole game. Do you think Ricky would have been leading the US Open for 3 days if he was hitting it in the rough and missing greens? Rory would have won the US Open and last year's Open if he had putted better, as his driving and iron game was great. If one part of you game is off on the tour, it's hard to win tournaments. Ricky changed his swing for a reason, one that he and Butch felt necessary for him to shoot lower scores, and his recent play has backed this up.

[@longjohn5322]

Pole vaulting his, I mean with his Mrs has finished since the baby and now he’s back.

[@mattbernstein7784]

💀💀

[@TonyToning-ne7uq]

Kevin Mcallister doing a voice over

[@austinjasper3895]

Murrieta Represent 😃

[@nunyo7259]

So a 200 gram driver head is so enormous that it caused him to have a flat swing. As a long time baseball player the weight of a baseball has ZERO factor as to why it falls behind you, its just how you create speed. You guys are reaching here. Either way I'm glad BDR pulled it off this weekend.

[@jimiverson3085]

No, it was the overall weight and length of an adult club being used by a kid. By the time he was in college, that was a swing path that Fowler had grooved through repetition.

[@nunyo7259]

​@@jimiverson3085 Nobody has the same swing they have when there were 8 years old.

[@jimiverson3085]

@@nunyo7259 Maybe, but that laid-off move at the top that Fowler had, where the club goes past fully extended, looks a lot like a kid's swing. I don't think he had done a serious overhaul on his mechanics before the last year.

[@nunyo7259]

@@jimiverson3085 yeah ur right about that.

[@Smiththebat]

@@jimiverson3085I had the same problem with my swing right into my early twenties and my golf coach explained it almost the same way.

[@peasey211]

He literally said it himself that it was due to his takeaway and yet everyone on here is trying to argue it.

[@61JZ]

How many tour players actually do the so-called bad take away?

[@MrWHennelly]

Brooks has a similar takeaway, works for him

[@MarkSmith-lz5rk]

If butch is your coach there's nobody out there that's gonna give you something better...ask tiger and ricky

[@danielloh3025]

His swing when he started must have been good. There is nothing wrong with the takeaway .. the club head outside of his hands is also correct and gets you on plane. If his ranking drops and he suddenly wasn’t swinging consistently, it must have been something that changed. What changed? Couldn’t have been the swing that he started out with as it looks great .. Regards.

[@HogansAngle]

This prognosis is false. His wavering ball striking was due more to criticism. That’s why it progressively deteriorated. Now, that criticism has reached its zenith. Successfully undermining his greatest strength. Fowler has a strong and capable lead hand and arm. He’s being asked to pacify his strength. In pressure situations he’ll want to lean on that. It would be better to create confidence in the strength that got him his success.

[@GaryChavez-nu7uy]

Dont put a curse on him now. I follow Ricky and so happy for him for his win. But come on

[@GHOSTOFEIGHT]

Did you guys know Rickie is colorblind? That's why he wears orange. Thought it was white.

[@marudebaka6041]

He may or may not be colorblind, but the reason he wears orange is because he played his college golf at Oklahoma State. He is wearing his school's color.

[@GHOSTOFEIGHT]

@@marudebaka6041 It was a joke based on an old ESPN commercial.

[@LBJC]

Prince Charles x GD

[@KevenSandoval]

Slightly more up and down and slightly less around but really mostly the same. This video could’ve been 30 seconds.

[@kjartemis]

I'm sure that 4:30 it wasted of your time was just unimaginable.

[@parkerpkthn]

Nah. It was the perfect amount of time.

[@SiLoMixMaster]

Straw man

[@FredVanAllenRealtor]

No, I thinks the haircut.

[@Big-Crow]

Laid off look at the top. Lol

[@derekcarday]

old swing was better.

[@johnhaden]

Entire vid would be 1000% better if there was another narrator... Sorry

[@joeldriver-sp2rg]

He finished top 5 in 4 majors in the same year so the swing he had obviously wasn't the problem. Is he going to be more consistent now? Yeah maybe but there wasn't really anything wrong with his swing. He just married one of the hottest women in the world and didn't care about golf as much and can you blame him? Look up Allison Stokke and you'll understand.

[@Radioghost717]

Dude, he only had 5 wins. Brooks has 5 majors and his career is half as long. Rickie is one of golf’s biggest hype train busts of all time.

[@Huddle_House56]

Pound sand

[@TripsView]

Do you know how many players never get to 5 wins?

[@Radioghost717]

@@TripsView Max Homa has 6 wins, Morikawa has 6 wins and he’s been playing for 3 years. Scheffler has 6 been pro for 4 years. DJ has been pro pretty much same amount of time as your boy and has like 25 wins. Stop the hype

[@Radioghost717]

@@Huddle_House56 I know you love that rickie dickie..but have a better argument.

[@sageagbonkhese4091]

You named 4 pros. How many players qualify as pros every year?

[@commonsenseisntcommon1776]

And he has a smokin hot wife now!

[@norrispg4212]

Rickie was way better tee to green in 2012 than 2023.