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Rickie Fowler - Golf's Biggest Needle Mover?

JB

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James is back with his latest article and this one is a great read. The talk of guys on tour who move the needle has been abundant lately and James discusses the question of whether or not Rickie Fowler might just be the biggest of them all.

http://bit.ly/U9iflI
 
Interesting read. There is also a truth in there, for generations people have believed in something from their own era, and the older people always believe that they are right and the youth are not. They are almost every time wrong. c-tape - cd, vhs - dvd, internet etc. Todays youth have a lot more purchasing power than before, and that's the way it has developed for several generations. A kid following golf today is a lot more likely to connect with Ricky Fowler than, well...almost any other player. Rory is young, but he is not as flamboyant or "socially interesting", and he might appeal more likely to the scratch level youngster, and Ricky appeals to the masses. Sure, he move the needle quite a bit. I'm not saying that Ricky is the biggest needle mover, but, he could be.
It's not just the clubs...the apparel & merchandise related to him moves the needle too.

P.S.

JB, shouldn't you be a sleep or something... :D it's like 6 AM over there!
 
Some good perspective in this piece. There is no arguing Rickie moves the needle. But I’m not sure if it is as loud as two years ago. One thing about golfers, they want to see results and shots. It’s a rare thing to see Rickie on any type of consistent coverage. It’s generally a shot of two but he doesn’t play well enough to carry the popularity. The load colors can only go so far.
I’d like to see him become more of a factor on the PGA but sadly I think his swing and mental fortitude are holding him back. He definitely has fans, but the heard is being thinned.
 
You do have a point Freddie, but also there are a lot of youngsters who are not so result oriented as we grown ups, but as usual, you have solid point.
 
Great article. for me there is no doubt that RF is opening up the game a little - but as already posted - it would be great to see his performance match his profile
 
“The Fowler fan base brings to mind descriptors like vibrant, energetic, young, and devoted. However, the ultimate descriptor is the simplest one – orange”



Great write up, we share many thoughts on this.

Your quote from above is really important to me because it really shows how much a young person can really do. It’s rare when I can go to a course and not see someone wearing orange or other bright colors, and I compliment Rickie and his team on changing the face of the game as many of us knew it. They have added a new dimension to golf and even though I’m not a huge fan of the color volume, I respect the fact that they are modernizing the game and taking some of us out of our comfort levels and elevating us to new levels.
 
Castor Hades said:
You do have a point Freddie, but also there are a lot of youngsters who are not so result oriented as we grown ups, but as usual, you have solid point.
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I thought about his youthful following and he will always have them but event they get board and want to emulate proven winners. But I think that would be more for longevity.
 
What does "move the needle" mean? Does he sell clothing? Sure. Probably more than anyone. Does he increase interest in golf or playing it? I think the effect there is smaller.

He may just be the best of a poor lot. Tiger's polarizing, Phil's got his diehards, but Rickie's the one young guy who seems popular just for being him. DJ, Bubba, the rest...their golf's a big part of the draw.
 
Like Freddie said, if he pans out to be consistently competitive and continues to secure more TV air time I absolutely think he could grow into the biggest needle mover.

For someone who rarely competes on a Sunday, he has lapped the field.
 
Great article James with many very good points! You are spot in the ability of a golfer to "move the needle" in various aspects.

It is most certainly not Rickie's success on tour but really rather his style and Cobra/Puma's ability to market him very very well.

The average consumer could not likely even pick Snedeker out of a lineup but he is the hottest golfer on the planet right now.

IMO, TW does not move apparel or clubs but moves the needle because he is enjoyable to watch regardless of how he is playing.

Great thoughts man!
 
Tadashi70 said:
I thought about his youthful following and he will always have them but event they get board and want to emulate proven winners. But I think that would be more for longevity.
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This is what I see daily speaking (warning! Teacher Alert!) but....

I actually disagree on the winning part. For golfers our age, absolutely, for today's youth as a whole the killer instinct and desire to win at everything all the time just isn't there. To me, this is where The Orange Clad One's laid back attitude and approach to it all is most relatable to the coming and current youthful generations. It's not all about winning anymore, everyone is being raised to be told they are ALL winners and there are no losers, but that's a societal thing and not a golf thing. Just my take on it brother.

Plus, the dude does have mental fortitude to grind and bring it, it's just on Friday's now to make cuts rather than Sundays to win.
 
Great article James! I think that Rickie is more of a market creation IMO at this point then someone I care about because of his golf game. I think when you talk about 'moving the needle' there are Tiger, Phil and everyone else.
 
I think Fowler has a ton of influence right now, but it is waning. He needs to find his way back to being in contention on Sunday every once in a while if he wants to continue his upward trend.
 
Good read, Jamesman!

Rickie makes golf a little cooler for the youngsters and I think that's a good thing. Definitely somebody that the younger generation can identify with. I do wonder how long it's going to last though.
 
Great article Jman, while I certainly agree that Rickie is a needle mover I still only need to follow any Sunday tournament thread in which Tiger is playing well to see who still moves the needle like no other. Love him or hate him, Tiger is still the man.

I constantly tell my golfing friends that we would be wearing orange clothes and flat brimmed hats, a trend directly attributable to Fowler, so yes he is a huge needle mover but still behind a very few at this point.
 
Tadashi70 said:
Some good perspective in this piece. There is no arguing Rickie moves the needle. But I’m not sure if it is as loud as two years ago. One thing about golfers, they want to see results and shots. It’s a rare thing to see Rickie on any type of consistent coverage. It’s generally a shot of two but he doesn’t play well enough to carry the popularity. The load colors can only go so far.
I’d like to see him become more of a factor on the PGA but sadly I think his swing and mental fortitude are holding him back. He definitely has fans, but the heard is being thinned.
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I agree with this. Outfits can only get you so far. I don't believe he is as popular as he was 2 years ago either because he hasn't been able to consistently scare the leaderboard. I think he is more focused on looking good than he is on his game.
 
Nice read.

As others have pointed out, it's cool to see Rickie connect with the younger fans and you always see young kids following him when he's on the course. I think it was at Quail Hollow when he and Rory battled it out? That was a lot of fun to watch, but we need more performances like that before he really makes an significant impact.

But I don't think it can be said Tiger and Phil don't garner the same attention they once did and while they probably don't move as much merchandise as Rickie, but when Phil makes a remark about income taxes and it's all over the news everywhere. His week at Scottsdale garnered a little bit of attention as well. Whenever Tiger's name is on a leaderboard anywhere people still flock to see him. Rickie's great, but I still think the 'old guard' is still alive and well as far as their needle-moving is concerned.
 
Great article and I agreed with all of it. The only thing I would add which has been mentioned here is that he needs to win to continue to move the needle.
 
Great article, I think Rickie is polarizing for sure, I know I pay attention when he's in the field vs. not. It was great with him paired with Tiger at the Farmers Open this year!!!
 
Great write up Jman. I think he's right there, VERY close to being one of the biggest draws in golf, but he just needs to win more. The second he starts winning and/or contending on a regular basis the sky is the limit for him and for his brand of Cobra/Puma gear. The stuff already flies off the shelves, it'll do it even more if he can get over the hump and contend more often. People want to watch him, but they want to watch him late on a weekend, not only see highlights of his finished 2 plus hours before the leaders.


He's close, I'll definitely agree with that and I see exactly what you're saying. But to me in order to be a real needle mover you have to rack up wins, simple as that.
 
Good article Jman. You make a very solid point. I can't wait to see how Rickie grows and progresses over the years.
 
My question is... Does he move the needle because he is a golfer, or does he move the needle because he is a celebrity? I think it's more of the celebrity status than it is his golfing.
 
War Eagle said:
My question is... Does he move the needle because he is a golfer, or does he move the needle because he is a celebrity? I think it's more of the celebrity status than it is his golfing.
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I think he brings in the younger generation moving the needle. I bet kids see this young guy in these flashy colors and want to come and see him play weather at the course or on tv.
 
Rickie Fowler “moves the needle” with 8-12 year old girls and boys. Fowler’s marketing has been genius. Wear loud colors that you can see three fairways over and get put on lists with the World’s top golfers, check. Now it’s time to let his play (wins and majors) do the talking. His foot is in the door, now he needs to let how he plays in between the ropes dictate who he is with the demographic that actually buy tickets, apparel and golf equipment.
 
In terms of orange, definitely. He has made a style impact. And I think this has translated to Cobra a little. But he better start contending and winning or that will fade quickly
 
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