[PHOTO: Orlando Ramirez]
File this under: it’s so simple, why didn’t I think of that?
Of course, markings on driver faces aren’t anything new. Every driver on the market has a different variety. But on his new Cobra Darkspeed LS driver, Rickie Fowler is getting creative.
Starting at the Farmers Insurance Open a few weeks ago, Fowler’s driver was spotted with a new set of lines. Three of them, to be exact. One directly down the centre of the driver face, and one either side of that, about an inch apart.
https://www.instagram.com/reel/C2dgVKJNK-C/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading
Fowler added the markings himself, and before you ask: yes, this is legal. Hideki Matsuyama was disqualified from an event in 2022 for marking up his 3-wood, but that’s because he accidentally used a substance that made the club non-conforming. Fowler’s added lines were minimal and applied with a substance that didn’t affect the performance of the club, so fair game.
Anyway, there are a few game improvement-related reasons why something like this could help you, too.
1. Aiming the clubface first is super important
The first, and perhaps most obvious reason why this may help is that for some golfers using multiple lines like this can make it easier to aim the clubface, which is pivotally important in golf.
A mis-alignment of the clubface at impact of just one degree can result in a miss of more than 10 yards, as Golf Digest Best in State Teacher Adam Young explains.
As Best in State Teacher Joe Plecker demonstrates below, most coaches recommend aiming the clubface before taking your setup, to help you return the clubhead to square by impact. Whatever helps you do that, the better off you’ll be.
2. Feedback creates clubface awareness
Although most drivers are equipped with face lines to help with this already, Fowler’s added lines provided him a little extra feedback on where on the clubface he hits the ball.
Making solid contact more consistently is one of the easiest ways to gain distance, and our brains often react best when you give it lots of feedback so we can understand where the guardrails are. What does a shot off the heel feel like? And what is a toe strike?
PGA Tour player Sahith Theegala goes so far as to intentionally practice shanking the ball to give himself more clubface awareness. Golf Digest No.3-ranked Teacher Sean Foley recommends golfers practise spraying the clubface to see where they’re making contact, and work on hitting the ball on different parts of the face.
Rickie’s artwork is another variation of that idea. One that clearly suits Rickie’s eye, and one that the rest of us can learn from.
