Sunday, April 4, 2010

Rickie Fowler - Old School?

I exchanged a couple of tweets with young Mr. Rickie Fowler (www.twitter.com/@rickiefowlerpga) this week. He complained about his errors on the course. I asked him if they were mental mistakes or bad swings. He said they were a little of both. I recommended "Zen Golf" for the mental side of golf (as I do to anyone who will listen). Rickie replied, and I quote: "na that stuff isn't for me...thanks though...I'm an old school guy."
This, obviously, got me thinking. Of all the words I'd use to describe Rickie's style and game on tour, "old school" is not really anywhere near the top of the list. I don't think it's even ON the list. At times Rickie looks like a smurf with better hair than Adam Lambert. Of course, he also looks like the kind of a golfer who can win several tournaments a year for a long long time. So, before I get to my final messages back to young Mr. Fowler, let's have a bit of fun, shall we? Let's play "How Old School Is Rickie Fowler":
Rickie is as old school as the 18 hole golf course.
Rickie is as old school as the carved wooden tee.
Rickie is as old school as the gutta percha ball.
Rickie is as old school as Walter Hagen. (Dude, the guy had a second limo carry all his clothes)
Rickie is as old school as the "8-iron".
Rickie is as old school as the steel shafts.
Rickie is as old school as Jimmie Demaret.
Rickie is as old school as long slacks.
Rickie is as old school as the polo shirt.
Rickis is as old school as the golf cart.
Rickie is as old school as a cooler full of Miller Lite attached to your golf cart.
Rickie is as old school as the Ping Anser putter.
Rickie is as old school as Doug Sanders.
Rickie is as old school as the sansabelt slacks.
Rickie is as old school as "metal" woods.
Rickie is as old school as Jack Nicklaus' putter in the '86 Masters, which looked more like a sledgehammer than a putter.
Rickie is as old school as graphite shafts.
Rickie is as old school as the half-liter driver.
Rickie is as old school as Jesper Parnevik.
Rickie is as old school as the belly putter.
Rickie is as old school as Payne Stewart.
Rickie is as old school as the soft spikes.
Rickie is as old school as Ian Poulter.
Rickie is as old school as the hybrid long iron.
Rickie is as old school as finely grooved wedges.
Rickie is as old school as Loud Mouth pants.
So, on to my closing comments to young Mr. Fowler:
1) Please take blog "with all due respect" (like your namesake Ricky Bobby would say). I love your game, and I love your style, and I'm cheering for you every week you're teeing off.
2) Dude, you're not "old school" ... but that's OK. The history of golf is full of people who advanced the technology and style of golf, without being disrespectful in any way of the people who came before you.
3) If you turn your back to improving your mental game, you'll never be more than just another really talented golfer who didn't live up to his expectations. I know it's cool to say you're an old school guy who don't need any work in the mental side of golf, but on the level you're competing at that's like saying you'd rather play with Persimmon woods, because that's all you've ever used. It shows narrow-mindedness and short-sightedness. Hell, even Yogi Berra knew that "golf is 90% mental, and the other half is physical".

1 comment:

  1. well said. I saw your comment to him on Twitter and his response and thought it was pretty comical as well as he said he was "old school". When he hits a point where struggles start to ensue and he loses a bit of confidence, he'll come around to realizing he'll need to work on the mental side as well. I'd be interested to get a statistic of percentage of guys who work with a guy like Rotella or others.

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