Golf

Rickie Fowler shows how to hit a crisp flop shot — in under two minutes

Rickie Fowler final month on the Cognizant Classic.

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Rickie Fowler, earlier than he can carry out magic, needs you to use your creativeness.

His setup right here, whereas immaculate, is a bit restricted. There’s no bunker between him and his flag, which is 40 or so yards away. So please, simply image one. 

Got it? OK. Here comes the trick. 

Up, up, up goes the golf ball. Down, down, down it comes, a few ft from the opening, removed from the difficulty. The Fowler flop. 

Ta-da. 

Fowler was speaking on a video released Wednesday by TaylorMade, certainly one of his sponsors, and he was in pleasant confines. The video was titled: “How to hit a flop shot,” and it’s certainly one of his specialties, at the very least when you’re looking at relatable statistics. Since the 2019-20 season, his rankings in Strokes Gained: Around the Green are: twenty first (0.269) in 2022-23; thirty first (.274) in 2021-22; twelfth (.343) in 2020-21; thirty ninth (.222) in 2019-20.   

So how do you hit the flop shot?

Fowler had seven steps. Below is the video of them. Below that, we’ll assessment them.

1. Open the clubface. A should, Fowler stated.

2. Put your weight on the left facet, when you’re a right-handed participant. 

3. Take a weak grip.  

4. Put your ball in your left facet. 

5. “Feel the face kind of roll open [on the backswing], or whatever you want to think of forearms,” Fowler stated.  

6. “Get that face open and then I hold it so that the face — like I said, the big thing is staying open, exposing bounce,” Fowler stated. 

7. “And I like to try and feel like that clubhead passes [on the follow through],” Fowler stated 

On the video, Fowler admitted it was a lot, and it’s. It’ll take observe. You ought to assessment with a coach, too. 

There’s a payout, although. 

Magic. Also on the video, Fowler hit 4 flops. 

“So that’ll work,” he stated. “Like I said, imaginary bunker, right here. That wouldn’t exactly be the play, but to be able to have that in the bag is something that comes in handy when you get in a situation where you need it.”

Editor’s word: Last yr, Fowler and TaylorMade additionally reviewed greenside chipping on a video, and we additionally shared that. Below is that video once more, and beneath that’s the article written.  

Rickie Fowler was chipping for a few minutes, to flags about 30 yards away, when Chris Trott noticed two issues. They had been associated. 

Fowler’s pictures had been good. 

But it didn’t seem like he had hit in any respect. 

The turf was clear. No divot. 

Perfect picks. 

“I mean, it’s tough to even tell you’ve even been here,” Trott stated. “I know you just stood on that one, but it’s tough to tell.”

The alternate was going down throughout a video shoot for TaylorMade, which sponsors Fowler and the place Trott is a staffer, and the content material was labeled “Rickie Fowler’s Greenside Chipping Techniques,” so Trott presumably wasn’t shocked. The stats inform a comparable story. Even throughout Fowler’s lean years, he’s been strong across the inexperienced. This season, he was twenty second on the PGA Tour in Strokes Gained: Around the Green. Last yr, he was thirty first; two years in the past, he was twelfth; three years in the past, he was thirty ninth. 

But Trott was curious. You is likely to be, too. 

“How do we, as amateurs, train and get our strike to be this consistent?” he requested on the video. “… How do we work on that? You said body release, body rotation. Anything else that’s a key thought.”

There was. 

“Weight staying consistent,” Fowler stated on the video. “Kind of wherever you set it and get centered on the ball, no movement as far as transfer of weight.”

On the video, Trott then questioned in regards to the distribution, and the lie. 

“How much percentage-wise are we talking, like 90-10 or …” 

“I would say I’m like 70-30,” Fowler stated. 

“Does that change with the shot?”

“It will,” Fowler stated. “Especially if you get on a downslope. Obviously there’s going to be a lot more forward. Upslope, maybe closer to 50-50 because you’re not wanting to lean into the slope. But a flat lie, I’m saying 70-30 is where I’m at.”

It’s right here the place we’ll word that you must watch all the video, which is 8 minutes lengthy, and you are able to do so right here. We’ll finish issues right here with one other alternate between Trott and Fowler, the place the host questioned what occurs once you begin to wrestle. 

“If you’re ever lost on your pitching or chipping, how do you find it again?” Trott requested on the video. “Is everything about the consistency of the low point here? That’s what I see, and obviously I changed the lie, that changed it a bit, but how do we find it if we lost it in that area?” 

“I mean, if there’s not an instructor or someone to look at it and help you with it, a lot of times literally you have to go out and put reps in and just put the time in,” Fowler stated. “And I feel having the ability to go between totally different golf equipment and go in totally different conditions. It could begin with just a few fundamental pitch pictures, simply to form of get some singular reps in, however then go and transfer round and also you form of problem your self. Because sitting in one space in the flat or identical lie, you will get good at that fairly rapidly. 

“But kind of going from that and being able to adapt with ball above your feet, below or downslope, makes it kind of fun.” 

Nick Piastowski

Nick Piastowski

Golf.com Editor

Nick Piastowski is a Senior Editor at Golf.com and Golf Magazine. In his position, he’s liable for modifying, writing and growing tales throughout the golf house. And when he’s not writing about methods to hit the golf ball farther and straighter, the Milwaukee native might be enjoying the sport, hitting the ball left, proper and quick, and consuming a chilly beer to wash away his rating. You can attain out to him about any of those subjects — his tales, his sport or his beers — at nick.piastowski@golf.com.


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