My Courses: Rickie Fowler

Professional golfer Rickie Fowler owns six PGA Tour victories, including the 2015 Players Championship, and has competed for the U.S. on five Ryder Cup teams and three Presidents Cup teams. With nine top 5s in major championships, it’s evident that he knows how to handle the toughest tracks. So which courses does he find the most demanding—and which ones are his favorites? We posed those questions to Rickie at a COBRA Golf event at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz., on the eve of the 2025 WM Phoenix Open.

Here are Rickie’s picks in this edition of “My Courses.”

MY FAVORITE COURSE: Royal County Down. We played it in the ’07 Walker Cup. My favorite style of golf is links golf and yeah, County Down, on a day with good weather, it’s tough to beat. There’s plenty of others on my list but that’s been the one that sits on top.

FIRST COURSE I EVER PLAYED: I’m actually not sure. I’m probably going to say it was The Colony [now known as California Oaks], which was a little executive course back where I grew up in Southern California, in Murietta.

THE COURSE I’VE PLAYED MOST OFTEN: If it’s over the last 15 years, I’d probably say it’s Medalist which is back home in South Florida, up in Hobe Sound.

COURSE THAT PRODUCED THE SWEETEST MEMORY: For some of my best memories, I might go back to Karsten Creek. I went to school at Oklahoma State for two years and I played a lot of rounds of golf while I was there. Really good memories.

HARDEST COURSE I EVER PLAYED: I’ll go with the U.S. Open at Olympic [in 2012]. It’s a U.S. Open setup, so you’re going to have some thick and healthy rough and they’re some of the hardest fairways to hit in the world. A lot of doglegs and the fairways slope in the opposite direction and that’s what makes those fairways among the hardest to hit. So, with that, and then you’re playing U.S. Open rough. It doesn’t matter how short the shot is coming in, if you’re not in the fairway, good luck.

BEST COURSE I EVER PLAYED: Well, I said my favorite was Royal County Down and there are a few others on my list, but when I think of the best I’ve ever played, Augusta’s obviously there, Shinnecock [Hills], Cypress [Point], and then Royal Melbourne.

A COURSE NOT IN THE TOP 100 THAT SHOULD BE: Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to play very many. I mean, I’ve played a handful of the top 100, but it’s not like we travel and just go play golf courses type of thing. I don’t know if I have any hidden gems. The ones that I’ve played that are good are in the top 100. So, I’m going to have to do some more research and go play some more for you.

A COURSE IN THE TOP 100 THAT HAS MY NUMBER: I’d have to throw Shinnecock on there. I played well there in the [2018] U.S. Open and have had good scores in casual rounds as well, but it’s a golf course that will beat you up if you’re not on your game.

THE NO. 1 COURSE ON MY BUCKET LIST: Bandon Dunes.

THE COURSE I’D PLAY IF I HAD JUST ONE MORE ROUND: That’s a hard one. I might have to flip a coin between Augusta and Cypress.

THE COURSE I’D PLAY IF I COULD PLAY ONLY ONE COURSE FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE: Cypress Point.