Rickie Fowler lashes out at new dropping rule

A week after being penalised for becoming the first player to be penalised for breaking the new rules detailing how to take a drop, Rickie Fowler has hit out at the new procedure, describing it as ‘unathletic’ and ‘not cool’. 

The five-time PGA Tour winner was docked a shot during the second round of the WGC-Mexico Championship for taking a penalty drop from shoulder height and not knee height as detailed in the new rules of golf, which came into effect on January 1 this year.

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He made his feelings known about the new rule during the first round of this week’s Honda Classic, when he was caught on camera improvising a, ahem, somewhat different way to drop…

He expanded on his frustrations following his second round at PGA National in Florida.

Fowler said: “A lot of guys were talking about it early in the season, back when I hadn’t started yet, when we were watching guys take drops. We were all laughing, making fun of it.

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“We all want to grow the game, and you’re not going to grow the game making it look funny, or making guys do unathletic things. You want the sport to look cool.

“Ultimately, you want to bring more of the younger generation in. When you have people making fun of it, that doesn’t do the game justice.”

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He added: “We want people to watch, and we want to bring people into the sport who aren’t necessarily already playing golf. If they see something that may not look cool, that doesn’t help.”

Rickie Fowler’s drop thoughts – agree or disagree?

Do you agree or disagree with Rickie Fowler that the new dropping procedure ‘doesn’t help’ grow the game? Leave your thoughts in our Comments section below.