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Not so long ago, Ricky Fowler was the number 4 player in the world. His struggles from that point on were documented, leaving many to wonder what happened to the confident and charismatic player who racked up five PGA Tour victories.
Fast forward to this week’s Wells Fargo tournament, and this one is back — or will be there, anyway.
Fowler has been on the mend lately, entering this week with seven top 20 players in his last eight starts. He hit the ball with precision, and believe it he’s getting his magic back.
When asked about his changes, Fowler was blunt, giving credit to the two coaches he’s been working with: Butch Harmon and his brother Craig Harmon, two legends in the golf instruction space.
Fowler described how the Harmon brothers helped improve his swing, saying it was a combination of personal sessions and video analysis.
“A lot of his videos,” Fowler said. “[Butch] He visited Florida twice this year, because he usually comes down to Florida about four times a year. He was earlier this year right before San Antonio, he was there with the guest member, and then a couple of weeks ago he was there at the Harmon Cup.
“Luckily, a lot of those trips he takes, I end up going home, so I get to at least have a good day or a few days with him. And then there are the back-and-forth videos, get on the phone and keep it simple.
And then outside of that, every now and then, I’ll hit balls with his brother Craig. So I feel like it’s a nice simple setup, not where I rely on someone every day, but I have a great kind of support and coaching system between Butch being a phone call away and if I need a group From the eyes, Craig’s at Jupiter if you need it.”
Fowler’s swing conversion has recently garnered high praise from analysts, as he frequently stays on board for a “C” shape. This means that he does not rely on timing as much as he once did on adjusting his head. The video below is a good example of his new approach.
As Fowler continues adjusting his swing, he admits it’s still a work in progress, saying he keeps sending butch videos for evaluation.
“It could be one of the areas that get focused — whether it’s that day or that week,” he said. “You can kind of see what’s been worked on, but sometimes, I need to exaggerate one feel over the other. Maybe, like I said, more than that week.
“Right now I’m making sure, I mean for me to take the club to where it’s not been laid off at the top, and that’s kind of focused. If I’m in a good position from there, I can go ahead and swing and let it go. But sometimes, the feeling Getting there, there can be a little bit that helps me out in this situation.”
Despite the ranking drop, Fowler said he maintained a positive attitude. While his swing needed some work, his mental strength remained strong. That design, along with his work with the Harmons family, has helped his resurgence over the past year or so.
“Yeah, it’s been a tough few years,” he said. “I feel like I always have a good mindset, in terms of continuing to look to the future or the current situation, [just] You try to be as positive as possible knowing that good golf is never far away. Sometimes this small gap takes longer to fill or get over.
“But, yeah, I have an amazing support staff around me from the team and the family.”
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