Rickie Fowler

It's the Son of a Butcher podcast. I'm your host, Claude Harman. This week's guest one of the most popular players in the game, Ricky Fowler. He's had an amazing career. I think he changed the game with regards to fashion, and he's just always been a player that the fans have been drawn to. Won the Players Championship, He's won on DP World, He's won on some big golf courses in the United States, and I'm a fan. My dad and I've worked with him in the past. And what

Yes and no.

And you go down and look at the timeline and you know, been out here for a while and definitely have more experience now. Mentally, I don't think I've gone past fifteen years old, so there's yeah, I still feel like a young guy, but uh, just more experienced.

When you look at the arc of your career, Rick, do you feel like you've in your head when you look at your game and the things that you've accomplished. I mean, I look at the things that you've done. Players Championship, you know, six wins, President's got to Ryder Cups. I mean, you've had a hell of a career. But when you evaluate your career, are you harder on yourself and say I should have done maybe better at this point?

Depends how you look at it, because you always want more.

But for me, if you if you kind of remove yourself from current situation and go back to me as a kid, I just I dreamed of playing on the PGA Tour and winning on tour. So when you start to add things up, and once you've been out here and know how hard it is to win on tour, you know to have done that multiple times and have a players in there, be on you know, a handful of team events. It's a solid career, but when you're

I think obviously your image has been one of the biggest images in golf. You've been one of the biggest figures. But I think one of the cool things for those of us that are lucky enough to know you personally and be around you. You and I have worked together in the past. You've worked and worked with my dad. I don't think people realize how hard you work. Where do you think the drive and the work ethic that you have and that I've been lucky enough to witness,

I mean, I just at the end of the day, I love it. I've loved it since I was a little kid. There's a lot of factors that go into it. I mean, my parents and grandparents and family around me. They one just always supported it and it was never something that was pushed on me. It was always something I wanted to do. Like I said, I loved playing and the grind of it from day one. So it's it's different for everyone, and there's some people that are good at it that don't necessarily fully love it and

You were younger and growing up and playing golf. Obviously everybody knows about, you know, the extreme sports that you love to do and stuff like that, but what drew you to golf and when you were younger, what did you like about golf at a young age.

I always liked individual things. I wasn't a big team sport guy, played you know, some baseball. As a little kid, I pitched, and so that's about as individuals you can get in that situation. Rod and Rice dirt bikes, it's just you on the bike and then fishing and golf. So for me, it was, you know, there's really no one else to blame. It's it's all on you. Some guys will blame caddies and know there's situations like that, but at the end of the day, it's it's just

You mentioned that you love the individual thing about golf, but if you look at your relationship with the Oklahoma State Golf program, how how important that relationship has been to you, How important that relationship has been to your career. I mean it's almost like you're still on the Oklahoma State Golf team. You care about that so much. You love being on the President's Cup, you love being on

Yeah, I think a lot of it is it comes down to, like the relationships and friendships you can.

Build with the game of golf.

Just the individual side is literally you just you know, hitting the shots and pulling the trigger and playing your game. But outside of that, the family that we have out here, and like you said, the relationships you get to build and we're all out there grinding it out together, trying to beat each other up as bad as possible. But it's you know, sharing houses together, traveling together, that's that's the other side of it that a lot of people

The PGA Tour is kind of like high school, right. You've got the cool kids. You've got the kind of kids that do their own things. You've got the kids that want to You've always been, in my opinion, in the cool kid category. You JT, Jordan, the boys that you kind of hang out with. You guys always play your practice rounds together, and I think that's one of the reasons why the fans relate to you so well, that relationship you have with with JT and Jordan. You

Yeah, I mean being able. I feel like, in a way, I'm a little bit of a rover. I can kind of go and hang wherever, kind of hang out with all the different groups. I like to be able to fit in and have a good time with anyone. So it makes it definitely makes it more fun on the road if it's there's other guys that are are very much just themselves. They go out there, do their job, do what they need to do. I like to have

And his family are married now and having.

Kids too, so you know, at least maybe we can start working on trying to get houses closer together. But it's it's that's created a whole another dynamic. And you know, like with Jordan's oldest Sammy, he's four days older than Maya, and so like when we're on the road, they're they're together all the time, and then they have another and our second will be about a year behind. JT's got one coming here shortly, so that's going to continue to keep us together at a different level.

No.

I I enjoy having a good time, and whether that's you know, having fun with the grind of golf and practice and working at that, or you know, having games with the guys or having the families hang out and you know, maybe have a few drinks.

The Ryder Cup and the President's Cup, but specifically the Ryder Cup are such a huge part of the game of golf. Every two years, that's the one everybody wants to watch. Anytime there's a Ryder Cup year, everything's ramped up because everybody's trying to play, is trying to make those teams for the fans. What's it like getting on those teams? Trying to get on those teams. But also

It's I mean, yeah, you go out and play practice around with your buddies and for a normal tournament, and it's those are fun, but it's different when you're there together for the same cause and playing together and on the same team. I think more goes away from the course and you know, whether it's the rights to the course, being in the team room, it's a it's kind of a bummer. It's only just that one week, six seven days,

It's it's you got it.

Almost like you've arrived. When you make one of those, right, there's always those rookies that everybody knows is a really, really good player and then all of a sudden, like Max Max Homwich, it gets on on a on a Ryder Cup team and just plays unbelievable goal even though the team didn't win. But you have these players that basically get into that environment and it's it is sink or swim. You have guys that are great players that

Uh combo.

I mean, if you're not nervous at the Ryder Cup, then you're doing the wrong thing. It doesn't matter. If you're the best player in the world, then you're you know you're going to go beat everyone. It's you're still nervous. It's it's the Ryder Cup. I haven't had the obviously the best record by any means in the Ryder Cup. I've I've had my fair share of maybe meaningful half points or a point here and there. At least we

DS Adapt drivers feature four models to fit every golf repaired with future Fit thirty three, which offers thirty three unique lie and loft settings to fund your ideal ballflight, minimize your miss, maximize your distance, and dial in your game. I talk a lot on the podcast kind of switching to you know, golf and technique and stuff I talk a lot about. I think there's a there's a big balance in golf between the technical part of things, your technique,

I was always good at playing the game technically, I wasn't as sound as I am now going back to the start of this, I have a lot more experience, and I think i'm I know, I'm a much more like well rounded and better player technically and playing the game. I was always good at hitting shots and working my right way around the golf course, but if I got a little off where the golf swing was, I would get too far off. And then working with your dad,

And that set me up.

After being with Tillery, being back with your Dad and I had a probably at that point is when I had the best understanding of kind of everything from swing to playing and being able to get back to that two years ago and playing well last year was just that was golf. So now I definitely feel like I said a lot better understanding top to bottom from the playing side and the swing side, because at the end

That's it.

We hear that a lot. I mean, obviously, when you're playing good, it feels the game feels very, very easy. And I think you know when you went through that struggle for those couple of years, the fans and the average golfers, it was as close as they're ever going to get to you. They struggle with their golf swing. They're not hitting it where they're looking. They're not hitting

Yeah, it is stuff because I mean, like you said, with how the schedule works, you can't It's not like you can hide or go and like I'm going to go take four or five months and you know, go dig it out and figure it out. But at the end of the day, the best way to fix it and where you need to get work done is at a tournament. I mean, you can do stuff at home, but until it's under the gun, I don't care how good you hit it at home.

It's not relate.

Rarely do you guys shoot over. I mean it's not like you shoot seventy five at home. No, I mean your home course you got And that's the other thing. I don't think the people listening to the pod understand when you guys are at home. I mean, you shot the course record here at the Floridian and you shot twenty nine on the front and or on the back.

Oh for sure, I mean, yeah, it's it's so different from Yeah, you can be playing what you think is decent golf at home, but until it's like I said, under the and when you need to do it and the pressure's on, it's not like oh, I can just hit another ball, or maybe I'll just go to the range and work on some stuff after this, Like no, it counts. You can't hide. You're fully exposed. But that's

It helpful to have a friend like Jordan who went through a downtime as well? He went through a couple of year period where he was struggling. He wasn't playing the type of golf that we all know he can play and that we're all accustomed to seeing him play. Is it easier to have a friend like that on tour who you know is going somewhat through the same thing? And how much did you lean on your boys on tour when you were going through that.

No, that's where I mean having your crew and the guys that you you know a lot of time with, they know you, you know them, they're not afraid to you know, whether it's if there's something they really see or give their opinion whether it's good or bad. That's where it's it's nice to be able to lean on guys, you know, between talking with JT and Jordan too, you know, with Duff, who's another close friend. Well, that's the other thing that's fun is we're we're all there for each other, like

I feel like that's where you get the best.

Out of your game, is being able to be with you know, friends and be able to push each other.

It helps to have three friends like that that are all major champions, too, and that's helpful.

I got some work to do in that category.

I mentioned you're putting. I think you've got one of the best putting strokes I've ever seen. I was asking you once what you thought about when you were putting and I'd love for you to tell everybody what you told me you were thinking about when you're putting, because you talk.

Yeah, I can remember, I.

Was your brain off as you get into it, once you go to the information gathering system. And I think putting for the average golf and for a lot of people listening to the podcast Rick, putting is something that is so difficult for so many people. I've always thought that as instructors, we kind of teach putting backwards. We teach technique can stroke first, and then we kind of work on speed your natural stroke. The fact that you told me that when you get over potts you try

Well, I think, I mean it's hard to say. There's ever like nothing, But when you're putting, well, it's like you're going into it. You have a picture you visualize where you see the ball rolling, and whether you're looking at a spot and started it there and you're over the ball, you're set up, you've lined up, and you and you kind of have that look from behind as well as in front. You've you've got that picture in

Stroked mechanics or anything like that.

No, it kind of just goes somewhat.

I guess you kind of say blank, Yeah, it's there, and you're subconscious you know what to do. That's where you know, going back to like talking about the mechanics of the golf swing and executing. You've hit plenty of cuts on the range, working on stuff, You've hit plenty of draws.

It's in there. You know what to do. You don't need to.

Like tell yourself twice you're already trying to hit a draw. You don't need to tell yourself to do it on top of that. So that's where the practice the same thing into the putting. Like you've worked on your stroke, you're starting it online. Just aim at your spot and here's how hard I need to hit it.

I think you have a great visual approach to putting. And one of the things that I always say to the juniors that are struggling with putting, I always Ricky use you as an example. One of the things I love about you is you'll have a twelve foot of for birdie and if you miss it, you kind of look at it. Take it well. The next part of it is you go over to the bag, you put the putter back in the bag. I've never seen you go over and work on your stroke like a lot

Yeah, I mean I thought it with a line here and there in parts of my career, but definitely a lot better of just whether it's feeling with feet and eyes, and there's there's greens that I see better just like anyone. Some some guys just sea greens well that week, and sometimes you're a bit off. No, Like putting has always

So I feel like.

I've always had a where kind of I am now golf swing wise. I've been with putting for a long time and putting you don't you don't have to be perfect. I mean there's there's three variables. There's you know, starting the ball online, speed, and read. And I think when you go back to talking about me kind of accepting a pot and moving on, it's it's being able to have a you know, quick assessment of like which one was wrong? You know, did I hit it too hard?

Too soft? Maybe my read was wrong.

And I mean the one that you don't really want is starting it offline. But you're gonna push or pull a pot here and there. But if you can take one of those and you're like, okay, this is what I did wrong, We're going.

To move forward Augusta Nashville where you you've had a chance to win. He came so close. Do you love those greens? Do you? I mean you must, I mean, knowing you the way you must love those greens? Right? What do you love about them?

There's yeah, you have to be able to visualize it. I mean yeah, with with ame point stuff. You can you know, in today's kind of green reading aame point you can get you know, pretty good there. But I feel like having createivity and imagination only helps you on those greens. I had one of my best putting rounds there. I can't remember which year, but I doubled one and I doubled ten shot sixty eight with twenty one putts.

It was just one of those days. It was a trash can and I just filled it up.

When you do putt well at Augusta on those greens in competition under the heat, you must just come away from that saying yeahuts, and it's that's a lot of fun.

It's I would say it's a big majority of that is speed because, as you know, with the movement and it's not like you get like perfect planar putts. There's just always something going on. You could play a putt in so many different spots, but you have to have the speed to match it to that. So it's picking your read but then committing to what that speed is. So speed control is probably one of the biggest things there.

What's the hardest green to read it Augusta Nashville? For you? Is there one where you get on that when you're.

Like not now, I feel like you know, some greens will have subtle changes over years, but since I've been there so many times, I usually I mean, I have a pretty good feeling, like you could almost tell me, hey, this pin this spot from eight feet where should I be playing it? I have a pretty good memory. I could probably go around and give some decent reads just off memory.

And when you put rick, do you see there's linear and nonlinear? Right linears already put straight putt to the brake and then let the brake go way. When you're looking at a putt, do you see the curve? Do you see it going in? Do you see it like a clock to where you know it's twelve o'clock, six o'clock and I'm try and have this left righter come in about eight eight thirty nine o'clock. Do you see it like that?

It's a little yeah, a little bit of both.

That definitely starts with like where the ball's entering the

I've never thought about that. So you basically kind of create like a barrier and then you're trying to curve it.

Yeah, so it would be like the entry and then the start. Obviously you're never going to get to that high point of the triangle, but it's gonna start and then finish on those lines.

Grade for twenty twenty four, goals for twenty twenty five coming off twenty three.

Twenty four was about.

An f.

I didn't think you were gonna say that D minus.

Honestly, looking at early parts of events, probably I wasn't that far off of some of the starts in twenty three. Is just when I had chances or what I did on weekends in twenty three was the big difference. I didn't execute, you know, I missed a handful of cuts, but nothing like the years prior. So twenty three I just did a really good job of getting myself a tea time and then moved forward on the weekend and if I was in a decent spot, I was in

In twenty five, you'll be celebrating fifteen years with Puma, in ten years with Cobra Golf. What's that relationship been like and how important has that relationship with the Cobra Puma family been to you in your career.

For me, it's always been about you know, partnerships and being able to you know, work with you know, companies or people you believe in and obviously want to be with. To me, it's, you know, we're all family, and it's it's felt like that from from day one, So yeah, we're in it together.

It's it's hard to really put.

It into kind of perspective for people on the outside or have a full understanding, but yeah, it's not like I don't feel like, hey, we pay you to, you know, wear these clothes or you know you need to hit this stuff. It's like, we work on this stuff together and we all want to see it do well. And now it's been fun. I said, I'm someone that looks to have partnerships and do stuff together and have a good time.

You mentioned the family, asked of it. Ben Showman and James Posey work on the tour truck. Ben does a lot of your fittings. James does as well. That relationship that you've created, it's almost like I look at the relationship you have with Ben, it's almost like an F one driver and the engineer, you know, the relationship that kind of Lewis has with Bono, his chief engineer. You guys are kind of always in the trenches kind of.

I mean, it's an amazing team and what's fun. You know, We've always had a fairly small team, so it's it's just a few guys girls, So it's not like trying to work with a big crew. Our input is you know, actually gets hurt and being able to work with Ben and James and you know everyone back in the shop and engineers. But yeah, I love being able to test and mess with stuff and figure out why things work, why some stuff doesn't, what causes that, what are the differences,

Well, I know you're a big car guy, but it is a little bit like an engineer in F one. They know how you like the car to run right, they know how you like your equipment to look, they know how you like your equipment to feel. How much when you're testing equipment with Ben and Jas how much of that is you balancing what the numbers are saying versus the look and the feel of the clubs that they're trying to put into your hands, because it's tough to play clubs that you don't.

Like the look of Yeah, I mean, look is kind of the first one. You feel has a big part to do with it. But if it if the look and it performs, you can deal with feel being you know, maybe not your normal. So I'd say, yeah, the first thing when someone puts a club down.

Is it has to pass the looks test.

It's got to look good. Yeah, you put the King Tour Black Irons in your bag. They look really cool. I mean I took him out when I got sent down, I took him out. I was like, man, these sends look money. What do you like about them from a look standpoint but also from a playability standpoint?

Uh, well, I've been in the King Too or Iron Now for a little over two years. When I tested them against having the NBS and the CBS, I took them all out. And this was obviously a couple of years back, but I was seeing them basically the same numbers with the King Tours. But I was just noticing on on little off center hits, whether it was groove low or healed tobias, the numbers or the carry numbers

That was a couple of months ago.

Ben sent a fresh set of Irons as well as the black, and I don't think the fresh set of the silver King Tours have been hit yet. I just took the black, which, yeah, obviously same head, same shape, everything, just you know, being in black, and you know with the black heads, you know, the King Tours are obviously a little bigger profile than like an NB or CB, but the black does help kind of mute the edges and makes the head look a fraction smaller.

To me, they look better in black.

I obviously played well and have had plenty of success with the over, but in black I thought it did a better job, and sometimes in that brush finish the edges or leading edge or some of those high points can pop a little bit, So the black kind of helped kind of mute and just quiet them down a bit.

Cobra has some cool new technology coming out in driver fitting and adjustable huzzle future Fit thirty three to be able to adjust the loft and the lie for everyone listening. Not everybody knows you can adjust the loft on a driver round. That technology has been around, but I think the cool thing that Cover has come out with is all these abilities to change the lie of your metal ones. Why is that important and how can that help regular golfers?

Well, just being able to have that many options, and I mean not you're not going to be using all of them, but starting in the middle and have an idea of maybe where to go from there. Then you have a quadrant that you would kind of live in. But having that many options in that area it's I think four times the amount of options. But being able to do loft and lie independently. You know, if you want a more loft but flatter or vice versa. It just helps fine tune it a bit more, especially when

It's amazing to me how many when we look at drivers, how different all of the all of you guys that play, How different you want the driver to look at address. Some guys don't want to see a lot of the face. Some guys want to look down and see that. Some guys don't want to see the toe. Some guys no, No, that looks way way too shut for me. I need when you look down at your driver, what do you like to see from a look standpoint? Do you want

I would say it would be if you measure it probably be towards just a fraction open. What would look square to a player's eye, or for most players, I would say, And then I want to see a little bit of face, because I feel like when you get to a point where you don't see enough face, then.

You trying to get it out.

Yeah, I think.

The average golfer doesn't realize the more loft they put on the driver, it's going to help them get the ball in the air, because the less loft they go, it looks like there's no loft. It looks shut and then they get hanging back and trying to hit up on it and work it in the air.

Yeah, And a big thing is, you know, being able to deliver it in a good way and let the driver work for you, not trying to you know, help it or so one. I mean obviously getting into a shaft that fits you, but then being able to mess with the loft and lie to get it in the spot where one it looks good but either there's going to be enough loft for you or where you don't have to try and manipulate it.

Covers also doing some really cool things with three D printing. They got a new iron. You like that technology and where do you think that technology can go down the line?

The three D and printing is really cool, you know, from being able to do some different wedges and you know, if there's you know, having a grind that you might like and being able to scan it and duplicate it a lot easier from the irons and being able to move waiting around. We've done some testing there and going to try some more extremes as well, because with that printing you can i mean move weight and CG and in a bunch of different places and seeing you know,

And being able to test things out because.

You could say, hey, listen, I wanted to look like this, and then.

Yeah, and being able to you know, down the road as far as you know, if you wanted to have an iron that had this soul, this top line, this heel toe length, kind of just pick and choose and hit a button and here's your iron.

Your relationship with my dad. Butch Harmon not that what she needs is ego massaged more, because I mean, obviously we know how much he feels about himself. I think he's the one of the best, if not the best, golf instructor at the tour level. But I've never asked any of his guys, and I've always wanted to. So you're the first opportunity that I'm going to get to. What do you think makes him such a great tour coach?

I mean we can say kind of whatever on here. Well, he's not gonna bullshit you.

He's definitely not gonna do that.

I mean some of the texts or responses or like what the fuck was that?

Like, yeah, I know, yeah.

He's I think people don't realize one and a lot tummy. Fleetwood said this to me. He said he was unprepared for how much my dad cared. And I think the thing that people are surprised at given kind of his public persona, you know, the Butch Harmon kind of throwing, you know, jabs at everybody. You know, Tony Navarro used to say, who used to caddy for Greg Norman? Who caddy Prada? Suff the world is his dart board? He's

Yeah, No, he's he's he's always watching them. He always knows what's going on. He's always keeping an eye.

I think one bad swinging, he's gonna tell you.

Oh yeah, No, he's gonna let you hear it. He's he's not a he's not a yes man. He's gonna even if you did play well, he'll pick a part like this needs to be better, or you know, you were getting a long today, or you're getting quick like you did a good job of getting away with it. And that goes back to kind of the executing and finding a way. But he will be the first to tell you you're you're doing a good job. You sure well you have to get to that point, as far as it takes work.

I'm hoping I get there one day.

Because I think he's nicer to his players than to you, but because you're you're blood. But he wants to be able to push you and and he means it in a good way. He's trying to make you better. But he'll keep keep me, will keep pushing you because he wants the he wants the best of his guys.

And I think he has And this is the thing I'm marvel at him that I've tried to emulate over my career. He has this unbelievable and aate ability to say the right thing at the right time. But the other thing that he told me when I first started working with tour players, he said, listen, this will be hard to understand, but sometimes it's what you don't say

Yeah, no, there's there's definitely been times where you're expecting something and kind of radio silent. I think, what what? Butch does a very good job at with with a you know, number of guys one with him understanding both the playing and the coaching side. That's invaluable, being able to keep it fairly simple and sometimes even more simple

And I think the other thing is, you know, my dad is he's a winner, right, He's one that he prides himself on that he is so proud of you guys when you win. I mean it's almost like he wants it more sometimes than you guys.

Like you're saying earlier about like being nervous when the guys you know, you guys have a chance and stuff, like you guys are as much invested as all of us.

Lastly, Ricky, I think you changed golf fashion forever. I think when you came out on tour, the way that people view dressing in golf and the way people now dress in golf, and if you look at not just the relationship and the work you've done with with Puma Golf, but I think when you came out on tour, nobody had seen anything like that. The Justin Bieber hair, the

I mean it was obviously we didn't go into it.

Yeah, no, it was.

It was.

It was fun being able to, you know, start with Puma and kind of have like open doors and be able to just let's have fun, you know, having the Moto background and being from southern California kind of I'm definitely Moto Capital World and Action sports and and just kind of bring my childhood into you know, me being me on the golf course and to see the like how much the definitely younger generation like took that in and and to see you know, how many kids wanted

And then here we are.

Have you ever dressed as Halloween is just a regular golfer And that's my Halloween now. And I'm wearing pleated pants and I'll wear kakis. I'm gonna wear some big sleeve shirts. And you know something.

One time was I can't remember if I was like seven or eight, but I dressed as Freddy, so that might have been as that might have been as traditional old school as I've gotten for Halloween.

It's been so fun to watch your career. I've been lucky enough to spend a lot of time with you. I consider your friend. I know my dad was happy when you got back in the Winter Circle last year. I'd be honest with you. I was sitting in my hotel room. I was in London at a tournament, and I was crying. It's great to see you back. You're such a great ambassador, Ricky for the game, for the way the game should be played, and the way that everybody.

We got too, thank you.

So a really good interview with Ricky Fowler and easy to see why he is so popular with the fans. I just think he's a really, really genuine person. I think it comes across in all of his interviews and just kind of the way he carries himself. And listen, you could make an argument that he could have won more, but I look at Ricky Feller, and I look at the career he's had, and listen, golf is tough, and I think we expect a lot from our superstars, but