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It’s been a great comeback season for Ricky Fowler this year, as the 34-year-old notched his first PGA Tour victory in nearly four and a half years at the Rocket Mortgage Classic.
While everyone in the golf world seems genuinely happy with what Fowler is doing, the player himself is handing out credit where it is due, realizing that his latest turnaround is not everyone on him.
Look no further than his winner’s press conference from the Rocker Mortgage Classic, where Fowler paid tribute to his trainer (the legendary Butch Harmon), and discussed what makes Harmon so different.
“He’s the best golf instructor out there,” said Fowler. “He does a great job with the players, takes what they have and in the end, makes them the best they can be with who they are and how they swing and makes what they do well better and shows the weaknesses.”
How did Harmon adjust the Fowler swing?
with eight top 10s This season, Fowler’s return was the culmination of hard work, dedication, and perseverance. Whether or not he’ll admit to losing confidence, he hasn’t lost that competitive drive — which is what helped lead him to Harmon in the first place.
During a recent interview with his friend Smylie Kaufman Show smileysFowler cracked some of the swing adjustments that Harmon had begun to implement, which in turn completely changed Fowler’s game.
“I mean, the biggest move was when I had a little bit of time to talk to Butch and start working on some stuff before Napa[starring Fortinet],” Fowler said.
“And I went out to Napa feeling uncomfortable, but I didn’t feel comfortable about where the swing was and how it felt, because it was so weird and new. And I just went in there and kept trusting and exaggerating as much as I could while actually playing.”
When Fowler approached the tournament in Napa (Fortinet Championship), he admitted to Kaufman how difficult it was adjusting to his new swing.
“It’s one thing you can do and exaggerate the range, but when you’re really off the beaten path, it’s a little difficult to exaggerate,” he adds. “So that week, I saw the shots I was able to produce, how tight the lines were.
“I think that was obviously the big first step was seeing some results and feedback to help myself psychologically build some confidence and momentum and then go from there.”
So what did Harmon do to help clean up Fowler’s swing? I started with the takeaway.
“There’s a different feel here or there,” he said, “but ultimately, cleaning up the takeaway for this kind of parallel I.” “My inclination [that] The club is out of their hands. So from there, it’s hard to keep the club ahead and get it in a good position at the top. A lot of times for me, he’ll be out and then it’s going toward a layoff.”
That old swing would leave Fowler feeling backwards, an area he felt comfortable in because it was the way he had always swung. But Harmon helped Fowler into a steeper corner, which ultimately led to better results.
“Riding a steeper left-arm plane and the club was closer to the bottom of the line at the top, you know, it felt up and across the line.”
Testing the new swing at stake in Napa was mentally tough for Fowler, but he said he didn’t hesitate to trust the new approach.
“Those who had any risks or nearby OBs, it was like, Well, you’ll trust this. You’re aiming here for this shot you’ll feel like I’m gonna take it back and we’ll go right away but we’ll just trust this one swing and let it go. “
You can see some of Fowler’s edits in the video below.
While Harmon helped Fowler get his swing back on the fly and regain his confidence, in the end, it was the player who came out and took the shots. It’s a great reminder that teacher-student synergy can make all the difference, and that building the confidence to see results can lead to lower grades.
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