Rickie Fowler is a cautionary tale in overexposing a superstar

[chigolfer1]

9 hours ago, BlackDiamondPar5 said:

While this thread is about Fowler there are some interesting parallels to YJS (sorry I love that acronym even though he's not so young anymore). 

 

Spieth's issues have been dismissed as mental (right or wrong). Whereas we don't seem to know what's going on with Rickie.

Interestingly both of them started their tumble around similar life events.  Now I'll be the first to say that correlation does not equal causation but as humans we only have some much bandwidth.  When something takes up more time we tend to spend less time on other things.  We've all experienced it.  The first really serious girlfriend in school and grades may suffer. Get too involved in sports and grades may suffer.  Get too involved with work and your marriage may suffer etc.  Then there are external factors--- 2020 was tough for most of us. Maybe 2020 brought on private family issues for Rickie. We don't know.  It's just a discussion about a guy I like and wish the best for. If he said, "honestly guys I just don't want to spend as much time on my game anymore"  I'd say good for you Rickie, you need to manage your time as you see fit. 

 

But back to the charts-- Whether it be a chart on company revenue, profit, production output, productivity or a golfers ranking, when I look at charts that looks like this I'd ask, "What happened?"

 

 

 

 

Well it's sorta in the article above on when/why this might have started happening.

[Nard_S]

I think Faldo is a bit jealous of how popular Fowler is. Guy is easily liked, he's really hard to hate and that could never be said of Sir Nick. 

[fanofseri]

Nick Faldo is a jerk.  Don't believe me? Just ask Brenna Cepelak.

[TiScape]

6 hours ago, Nard_S said:

I think Faldo is a bit jealous of how popular Fowler is. Guy is easily liked, he's really hard to hate and that could never be said of Sir Nick. 

He issued an apology and actually said just that. He said his comment was probably born out of a little bit of jealousy because he only has one commercial. And is that one commercial the one for the shoes that claim to increase your swing speed and lower your handicap? 😳

[Langlands]

6 hours ago, fanofseri said:

Nick Faldo is a jerk.  Don't believe me? Just ask Brenna Cepelak.

I guess we would all be jerks if it was based on the opinions of our ex-girlfriends.

[Fischputza]

At least he will always be remembered for wearing orange attire...this is something

Edited March 5, 2021 by Fischputza

[freeze16172002]

Looks like he lost his #1 spot to Bryson with puma/cobra. Hard to be #1 when you can barely make cuts, but if anyone could it would be Ricki

[caniac6]

For a long time, Rickie always was close, but just didn't finish enough. He had that great year when he had all those high finishes in majors. He won a Players. Played good enough to be a fixture on Ryder and President's Cup teams. Made a ton of money, and was on tv all the time. I just don't understand why a guy with a really good career would want to change a swing that has achieved so much. I think the winning would have come if he just stayed the path. 

[Fairways_and_Greens]

4 hours ago, Langlands said:

I guess we would all be jerks if it was based on the opinions of our ex-girlfriends.

Wait, you guys have girlfriends?

[Nebraska]

So over Nicky Faldo, acting like the voice of sagged wisdom.  Honestly having a hard time thinking anyone  should take life advice from a guy who’s own life has spiraled to the point that he’s marrying a former stripper.  
 

[Soloman1]

14 minutes ago, Nebraska said:

Honestly having a hard time thinking anyone  should take life advice from a guy who’s own life has spiraled to the point that he’s marrying a former stripper.  
 

 

 

Nothing like a little righteousness in the morning.

[bscinstnct]

31 minutes ago, Nebraska said:

So over Nicky Faldo, acting like the voice of sagged wisdom.  Honestly having a hard time thinking anyone  should take life advice from a guy who’s own life has spiraled to the point that he’s marrying a former stripper.  
 

 

He is?!

 

Welly welly welly well! He’s a saucy one, that Sir Nick ; )

 

 

Edited March 5, 2021 by bscinstnct

[oikos1]

On 3/4/2021 at 7:40 AM, BlackDiamondPar5 said:

While this thread is about Fowler there are some interesting parallels to YJS (sorry I love that acronym even though he's not so young anymore). 

 

Spieth's issues have been dismissed as mental (right or wrong). Whereas we don't seem to know what's going on with Rickie.

Interestingly both of them started their tumble around similar life events.  Now I'll be the first to say that correlation does not equal causation but as humans we only have some much bandwidth.  When something takes up more time we tend to spend less time on other things.  We've all experienced it.  The first really serious girlfriend in school and grades may suffer. Get too involved in sports and grades may suffer.  Get too involved with work and your marriage may suffer etc.  Then there are external factors--- 2020 was tough for most of us. Maybe 2020 brought on private family issues for Rickie. We don't know.  It's just a discussion about a guy I like and wish the best for. If he said, "honestly guys I just don't want to spend as much time on my game anymore"  I'd say good for you Rickie, you need to manage your time as you see fit. 

 

But back to the charts-- Whether it be a chart on company revenue, profit, production output, productivity or a golfers ranking, when I look at charts that looks like this I'd ask, "What happened?"

 

 

Lol.  Very compelling evidence.  Well done.  In fact, after seeing that chart, I don't think we have to ask "what happened" anymore.

[Nard_S]

8 hours ago, TIScape said:

He issued an apology and actually said just that. He said his comment was probably born out of a little bit of jealousy because he only has one commercial. And is that one commercial the one for the shoes that claim to increase your swing speed and lower your handicap? 😳

I think Nick tries & wants to be more liked more these days. If he said those things in a conversation with a twinge of humor, it would work. But in dialect of Twitter, it falls a bit flat. My guess is that Faldo has watched Fowler botch so many majors with poor game management that he just has had enough. Ricky needs a sport psychologist, not new shafts or a new coach. When he was top tier, in contention, he needed to behave more like Faldo and not a reckless motocross kid from middle America. 

[MtlJeff]

1 hour ago, Fairways_and_Greens said:

Wait, you guys have girlfriends?

 

Yes but we dont all talk about it.

 

(it's nothing to do with not being boastful, i just don't want my wife to find out about my girlfriends)

[KRAMER1997]

https://golf.com/news/nick-faldo-walks-back-commercials-dig-rickie-fowler/

 

Rickie will be back. 

[BlackDiamondPar5]

2 hours ago, oikos1 said:

Lol.  Very compelling evidence.  Well done.  In fact, after seeing that chart, I don't think we have to ask "what happened" anymore.

Careful there. As I said, correlation doesn't equal causation. 😉

 

[Soloman1]

The USGA and R&A agree that saying "Correlation doesn't equal causation" is a two stroke penalty.

[ThinkingPlus]

31 minutes ago, Soloman1 said:

The USGA and R&A agree that saying "Correlation doesn't equal causation" is a two stroke penalty.

That's because they don't really understand either word.

[TiScape]

Little Ricky finished today’s round at +2. Current projected cut line probability is +2. 😬 
 

[BlackDiamondPar5]

1 hour ago, Soloman1 said:

The USGA and R&A agree that saying "Correlation doesn't equal causation" is a two stroke penalty.

Haha you're right!  I should say "necessarily equal" or "imply."  I took the lazy way. Kind of like kicking a ball away from a staked tree instead of doing a proper drop. But this is a casual conversation, kinda like a casual round 🙂

Edited March 5, 2021 by BlackDiamondPar5

[oikos1]

4 hours ago, BlackDiamondPar5 said:

Careful there. As I said, correlation doesn't equal causation. 😉

 

Agree.  I noted it as a major life changing moment like having kids, a death in the family, a change in a job, battling substance abuse, etc.  The "implied" joke gave it a little zing.

[Shilgy]

7 hours ago, MtlJeff said:

 

Yes but we dont all talk about it.

 

(it's nothing to do with not being boastful, i just don't want my wife to find out about my girlfriends)

Read it again....they were all saying they had ex-girlfriends.  😆

[BallerNate]

On 3/4/2021 at 8:40 AM, BlackDiamondPar5 said:

While this thread is about Fowler there are some interesting parallels to YJS (sorry I love that acronym even though he's not so young anymore). 

 

Spieth's issues have been dismissed as mental (right or wrong). Whereas we don't seem to know what's going on with Rickie.

Interestingly both of them started their tumble around similar life events.  Now I'll be the first to say that correlation does not equal causation but as humans we only have some much bandwidth.  When something takes up more time we tend to spend less time on other things.  We've all experienced it.  The first really serious girlfriend in school and grades may suffer. Get too involved in sports and grades may suffer.  Get too involved with work and your marriage may suffer etc.  Then there are external factors--- 2020 was tough for most of us. Maybe 2020 brought on private family issues for Rickie. We don't know.  It's just a discussion about a guy I like and wish the best for. If he said, "honestly guys I just don't want to spend as much time on my game anymore"  I'd say good for you Rickie, you need to manage your time as you see fit. 

 

But back to the charts-- Whether it be a chart on company revenue, profit, production output, productivity or a golfers ranking, when I look at charts that looks like this I'd ask, "What happened?"

 

 

Yup, I know a lot of dudes with this graph! 🤣

[me05501]

Honestly, I wish more public figures would just tell the truth about their personal situations and motivations. 

 

Rickie could say "You know, to be honest, I've gotten more out of golf than I ever imagined was possible, and it just keeps giving. I'd love to have the fire that drives me to go after the Grand Slam but it's not in me. I have plenty of money, I love my gorgeous wife and I love the life that golf has allowed me to live. If I never won another event on Tour I'd still sleep well."

 

J.J. Watt could say "Of course I'd rather go to a team that can win a Super Bowl, but other things are important too. I like playing in a dome. I like perfect winter weather. I like the people running the Cardinals and they like me. I'll be as happy here as I was in Houston even if I never go to a Super Bowl as a player." 

 

They don't say these things because we buy into the idea that everyone is super-motivated to get to the top, even when getting to the middle is a damn nice career. 

[BNGL]

1 hour ago, me05501 said:

Honestly, I wish more public figures would just tell the truth about their personal situations and motivations. 

 

Rickie could say "You know, to be honest, I've gotten more out of golf than I ever imagined was possible, and it just keeps giving. I'd love to have the fire that drives me to go after the Grand Slam but it's not in me. I have plenty of money, I love my gorgeous wife and I love the life that golf has allowed me to live. If I never won another event on Tour I'd still sleep well."

 

J.J. Watt could say "Of course I'd rather go to a team that can win a Super Bowl, but other things are important too. I like playing in a dome. I like perfect winter weather. I like the people running the Cardinals and they like me. I'll be as happy here as I was in Houston even if I never go to a Super Bowl as a player." 

 

They don't say these things because we buy into the idea that everyone is super-motivated to get to the top, even when getting to the middle is a damn nice career. 

I would love that too, but the fans feel that they are owed something by showing up to watch these guys and gals play a game. 

[rgk5]

Rickie has fallen victim to trying to "get better" as Speith did three years ago.  As a consequence his two most important clubs have gotten worse. This week he is averaging 304 yds off the tee but only hitting 50% of his fairways. His strokes gained putting is an astounding -2.8 strokes per round. No one can score with those stats.

 

This is not a slam as I am a huge Fowler fan. Sam Snead used to say "you gotta dance with who brung 'ya", meaning stick with what worked before.  Rickie has to return to playing golf and not playing "golf swing'.  My old friend Mike McGraw was his coach at Okla. State and told ne an interesting story when I payed him a visit in Stillwater.  Mike had the team at an event in Florida. Rickies was hitting 6-irons on the range like Hogan, dead straight, with superb distance control.  One of Leadbetter's guys wandered over and asked if he could speak with Rickie. Mike said:

 

"Keep hitting 6-irons Rickie". 

 

The message? "You gotta dance with who brung 'ya."

[MtlJeff]

41 minutes ago, BNGL said:

I would love that too, but the fans feel that they are owed something by showing up to watch these guys and gals play a game. 

 

Yeah it would be an interesting social science experiment to see the reaction. Fans tend to think pro athletes are some different kind of species where happiness in their job, or liking the city they are in are all things that don't matter. I posted earlier in the thread, but Rickie even at golf, would be comparable to one of the top 50-100 CEOs in the country, he's enormously successful. But we don't say the CEO of a 5B company is a loser because he doesn't want to run Google. It's weird

 

On another related note, i remember when Lebron left Cleveland and went to Miami, and everyone was dumping on him. A really good sports writer at the time was ranting and said something like "Hey if you were 26 and could live in Miami or Cleveland...where would you live? Maybe hes just a guy in his mid twenties that has an opportunity to move to Miami for work, you wouldn't do that?" Looking at it that way, it all seemed so simple

[grm24]

+4, 76 on Saturday. T72 (DFL at the time of this post) after his third round.

[Nels55]

1 hour ago, MtlJeff said:

 

Yeah it would be an interesting social science experiment to see the reaction. Fans tend to think pro athletes are some different kind of species where happiness in their job, or liking the city they are in are all things that don't matter. I posted earlier in the thread, but Rickie even at golf, would be comparable to one of the top 50-100 CEOs in the country, he's enormously successful. But we don't say the CEO of a 5B company is a loser because he doesn't want to run Google. It's weird

 

On another related note, i remember when Lebron left Cleveland and went to Miami, and everyone was dumping on him. A really good sports writer at the time was ranting and said something like "Hey if you were 26 and could live in Miami or Cleveland...where would you live? Maybe hes just a guy in his mid twenties that has an opportunity to move to Miami for work, you wouldn't do that?" Looking at it that way, it all seemed so simple

The 'Decision Show' had a bit to do with how folks in Cleveland reacted to James leaving town for better weather and better guys to play with.  'Not one, not two, not three'...

 

It is kind of funny how people react to a superstar's decisions for instance when KD left OKC they hated him there but when he left the DUBS nobody seemed upset and wished him well.  I guess that the two finals MVPs helped a bit...  I actually like the current free agency system better then the old days when guys were forced to stay with the same team unless the team decided to trade them.  Makes the off season a lot more interesting anyway.