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Swing Changes and Stats – The Real Keys to Rickie Fowler’s Big Year
One of the hottest topics in 2014 was Rickie Fowler and the magical year he had after hiring swing coach Butch Harmon. There is no doubt Rickie had a great year as his earnings went from $1.8 Million dollars in 2013 (nothing to sneeze at) to $4.8 million in 2014. Rickie also went from 38th in the FedEx Cup standings to 9th.
I can say with confidence he improved and had a great year. In this article, I will take you through the swing changes Rickie and Butch worked on and give you some insight if that was really what made his year, or was it something totally untalked about?
The statistics I will show you are very interesting.
One thing I like about Butch Harmon, he is never afraid to do what needs to be done. There are a lot of coaches and instructors out there that voiced their opinion and said that Rickie should never change. I personally believe everybody can get better, even the greats. Tiger Woods was as close to being perfect as you get in golf but that’s another article. Butch dove right in and fixed what needed to be fixed in Rickie’s swing.
Rickie Fowler came on tour with a less than an efficient swing but he is incredibly skilled and very strong mentally. That combination usually makes for a great player. Rickie’s swing required a lot of timing as the Swing Plane had to change drastically from backswing to downswing with the club having to continually flatten.
Let’s look at his takeaway from 2012 (left) vs. 2014. (Right):
The takeaway on the left from 2012 is very steep and his arms are too far across his body. This is a position from which you could not physically hit a ball from. As a result, the Swing Plane has to change and flatten. The club on the right is perfectly on plane and his arms are further in front of his body. When the arms get too far across the body, they will eventually get “stuck” and swing to the right too much.
You can see at the top on the left, the club has drastically flattened. Some label this as “laid off.” The club is perfectly on plane on the right and points down toward the ball so it can go directly back at the same angle. The club doesn’t have to flatten or steepen.
Here is the interesting part; if we didn’t see the beginning of the swing we would never know a difference. The club gets to exactly the same delivery position.
In the pictures above we are seeing some difference as well. As a result of the swing having to continually flatten and his arms being across his chest too much, he swung out to the right a little too much more than he is doing now (left picture). On the right, the club stays on plane through impact which will help him control the ball better.
There is no doubt his swing is aesthetically better but was it really the reason for the successful 2014?
Here are some interesting stats from 2013 – 2014: Rickie’s scoring average did not change from 2013-2014. In fact, he was 1 stroke worse in scoring average before the cut. I know you’re asking yourself how this can be possible.
One of the biggest areas of improvement for Rickie was his driving distance. In 2013 he averaged 286.4 yards off the tee. 2014 was a big jump to 297.5. Some people say that doesn’t make that big of a difference and they are crazy. That is a difference of almost two clubs less into greens and being able to reach par 5’s in two shots.
Imagine playing golf and hitting Pitching wedge into greens instead of 8 or 7 iron. You will be a better player guaranteed.
With this information, it is no surprise there was a jump in his shots from 125 – 150 yards. The big surprise is that nothing else really was better statistically. You can look at his Scoring Average, Greens in Regulation, and Driving Accuracy statistics. They are all the same from the previous year for the most part.
The sneaky stats that we never talk about however, are his scrambling and putting. Rickie made big leaps in these areas.
In 2013, Rickie was 107th in scrambling (meaning saving par when not hitting the green in regulation). In 2014, he was 17th.
Strokes gained putting: 2013 – 59th, 2014 – 37th.
Putting from 5’ – 15 ‘Rickie was 7th in 2014, vs. 19th in 2013.
We can research a lot of PGA statistics but consider the following information. Rickie’s putting and scrambling stats are definitely worth noting as each shot on tour is worth thousands of dollars, literally. His driving distance was most impressive as he gained significant yardage. In my opinion, that’s what made the difference. He has shorter clubs into greens and could reach more par 5’s, matched with his putting and short game and that made for a great year.
He did not really gain accuracy or score that much better according to stats, but he was significantly better in final rounds. In 2013 he averaged 71 in final rounds. In 2014 averaged 69.
Linking the final round improvement can really speak to the swing changes and not having to rely on timing as much when the pressure increases. Swing flaws tend to break down under pressure, but again, the stats do not show too much accuracy wise.
Now, I do not know Rickie and this is only my opinion as a Professional Coach and someone always incorporating stats. I do believe that Rickie’s swing is more efficient and he will have less of a tendency to hit bad shots under pressure which we see from his final round scoring. However, statistics show he wasn’t less accurate with old swing. His drives however, were not as long, and his short game not as good.
In summary, Rickie Fowler did have a great year. However, we tend to focus on swing mechanics which is always the hottest topic in golf. I wanted to present additional stats for you to form your own opinion.
What do you all think about Rickie in 2014, and heading into 2015? Be sure to leave your comments below.
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