Q&A: Rickie Fowler on New Swing Thoughts, His Super Bowl Commercial and Being Mic'd Up

New year, new Rickie Fowler.

Fowler came into 2023 with some refreshing momentum. He recorded a T6 finish at the Fortinet Championship and a T2 at the Zozo last fall, and it doesn’t look like the former Players champion is stopping anytime soon. Fowler just posted a tie for 11th at the Farmers Insurance Open and cracked the top 100 in the Official World Golf Ranking for the first time since January 2022.

Fowler, 34, has implemented quite a few changes as of late that might explain what’s fueling his run. He’s using a new Odyssey putter with a longer and thicker SuperStroke grip. In August, Fowler split with Joe Skovron, his caddie since 2009. And lastly—but perhaps most importantly—he’s back with his longtime swing coach, Butch Harmon, and the two are working on some major adjustments.

Fowler's new year might be starting off with an experiment or two, but as always, some things never change. Despite his almost four-year long victory drought, Fowler has always been a crowd favorite. He is undoubtedly one of the more recognizable and beloved professional golfers, especially among the younger generation. Football and golf fans alike will spot a familiar face during a 2023 Michelob Ultra Super Bowl commercial, in partnership with Netflix’s new documentary series on professional golf, Full Swing.

Sports Illustrated caught up with Fowler as he continues to hone his game and navigate golf’s ever-changing landscape.

Sports Illustrated: You’ve just cracked the top 100 in the world. What are your hopes for the remainder of the season?

Rickie Fowler: I’m definitely excited for this year. It was nice to have a few good events in the fall. I had a lot of time off to be at home, get some work in, and spend time with the family. Now it’s nice to be back on the road. Last week at Torrey, it just shows you how fine of a line it is—I needed to birdie my last to make the cut and then at one point I was only three back on Sunday with nine holes to play. The difference between making the cut and being in contention is a pretty fine line. Unfortunately we’ve been on the other side of the line for a few years. So definitely really excited about what we’ve been doing, where things are at. Time to get back in the winner’s circle here soon.

SI: Can you describe any new feels you’re using in your swing right now?

RF: Swing-wise, it looks prettier on the range. I’m still working to exaggerate and get that transferred over the golf course, but at least it’s a little cleaner. For me it’s really all takeaway-based. If I get the first half of the takeaway in a good spot it kind of sets me up.

For me, I’m making sure my hips are turning for the way back, and it feels like the club is staying connected. It feels like the club is shut and away versus it kind of rolling open. From parallel up it feels like—if you took a steering wheel, where I have been before would have been out and laid off, which would be like turning a steering wheel to the right. For me, getting to parallel right now feels like I’m trying to twist the wheel the other way. It’s not something that I would recommend for everyone to feel. Everyone has their own feels and stuff that they need to fix or work on. Those are some of my feels for now, and like I said, continue to exaggerate that stuff on the range so we can start to show up more and on the course.

SI: Are you working on anything mentally?

RF: A lot of it is just having clear intentions, and a clear intention of what you’re trying to do. Either talking that through or visualizing it before you’re stepping into the shot. It’s all about seeing what’s all out there. There’s obviously trouble on a lot of shots and accepting that this might not turn out how you want it to, but you have to go in with a little bit more of an attitude to go and execute and not try to not mess up.

SI: Social media was pretty excited to see your recent swing progress. Do you find that kind of excitement hard to process or motivating?

RF: If you live and die by comments on social media, that’s not going to last very long. For the most part I’ve seen a lot of support and people want to see me play well. It’s been great, I feel like I’ve always had a really cool following especially with the younger generation. So, yes, obviously I want to play well for myself, but I want to play well for the people that have always been there to support me and they want to see me play well too. Yeah, it could be that little bit of added pressure but it’s added motivation too at the same time.

SI: We’re going to see you play a lot of golf in the coming weeks, but fans will also catch you in a Super Bowl commercial with Tony Romo and Alex Morgan. What was it like working with them? 

RF: It was great. Not to let a secret out or anything, but Tony Romo wasn’t actually with us, that was shot separately. So it’s always fun to see how things can be done separately and come together all as one. But I do know Tony, so I do wish he was there. We would have had a good time. Alex, I do know a bit. Her and my wife are good friends from Cal, so that was fun for us to be in a spot together. It makes it easier when you actually know someone and you’re not complete strangers, first time meeting, trying to shoot a commercial.

SI: What was your involvement in the Netflix show?

RF: It’s kind of been a long road and a fun process for me. Myself and my production company were involved from the start and getting partnered up with Vox Media, and they ultimately partnered with the PGA Tour and moved forward and shot the show. Then they were able to partner with Netflix, which was the perfect partner because of their work with Drive to Survive. So being able to be a part of it from the start and see it come together as we’d hoped for has been really cool.

I don’t have a huge part in the first go around, maybe for the second season. To see everything that’s involved in the launch and Michelob Ultra’s involvement in golf—a Super Bowl commercial and a collab between Full Swing and Michelob Ultra. It was a perfect fit. There’s really not a bigger stage to end up on before the launch of the first episode.

SI: Do you think Full Swing will have as big of an impact on golf as Drive to Survive did for F1?

RF: I personally don’t think it will be as big. I’ve always been an F1 fan and I’ve watched it for a long time, so to see the effect that that had primarily in the U.S., it opened up a lot of people’s eyes. If we can tap into just a small percentage of what Drive to Survive was able to do for F1 ... but golf will never necessarily be as big as F1 or soccer/football around the world. I think it does a great job. I’ve seen the first episode and being able to show JT and Jordan a little bit more on how I know them, and how we interact and what we do away from the golf course or how we’re talking to each other. People typically get to see us, the players, when they’re in a polished format if they’re talking to the media or in front of a camera. Just showing everyone that we’re normal humans.

SI: Golf entertainment is starting to focus a lot more on access—what do you think players think about that?

RF: It can definitely be a little tough in some situations. You want people to be themselves but if you’re mic’d up you might be a little more guarded. I think having times where you might not be mic’d up or around the mic is a good thing. Some guys may need to vent a little bit. But it’s also showing that guys get upset or they’re having a random conversation. It’s a fine line. Everyone for the most part is fairly willing to experiment and see how we can open things up to people so that it’s not just “oh look he hit a good shot,” and then move on to the next one.

SI: CBS is enhancing their broadcast—did you see Max Homa’s mid-round interview? What do you think of that idea? 

RF: You don’t want it to be too invasive or have to go out of your way or anything like that. I did see a little bit of Max’s spot and it’s a lot easier being able to just throw an ear bud in and just be able to walk and talk. I think I was one of the first one’s to do a mic’d up round where I wore a mic the entire time. It wasn’t ideal just because you have a pack and you’re wearing a wire and all that. If there’s a way of doing more with the ear bud and walk-and-talks, some guys might not be open to it, but for the players that are into it, it’s a great way to just hear what’s going on and get access to what’s going on inside the ropes. It’s cool to hear it from the players rather than just what the announcers think. You’re getting it straight from the source.