How did Rickie Fowler spend summer vacation? Start with a new baby, new equipment, brisket

Rickie Fowler did a lot of everything and a little bit of nothing during his mini summer vacation.

Bonus bath time with his oldest daughter, Maya, was one of those a lot of everythings.

Fowler, 35, became a father for the second time after his wife, Allison, gave birth to the couple's second daughter, Nellie, on Aug. 10. Being home to help with the newborn also allowed Fowler help mom and to make some precious memories with their 2-year-old daughter.

"Had a lot of one-on-one bath times with Maya the last two and a half, three months," said Fowler, who is playing in this week's Sanderson Farms Championship at the Country Club of Jackson, his first tournament since The Open Championship in late July. "It's much more one-on-one time if Allison needs to be with Nellie.

"It's been fun. We've had to kind of try and be as strict as possible in ways because she's in the stage of trying to get away with as much as she can and see where those boundaries and limits are. But it's all part of it. She's 2-and-a-half, going on three. They're supposed to be a little naughty."

From brisket to sausage to cornbread to slaw

Another of the a lot of everythings Fowler did during his break was up his kitchen game.

He said he began to master the art of cooking brisket, one of the nine beef primal cuts.

"Those are always fun because it's a bit more of a time commitment, starting them anywhere from 10 at night to midnight," Fowler said. "It's been fun to kind of maybe grow a little bit in the kitchen as well as out on the grill or the smoker."

It wasn't just brisket, though, Fowler said.

There also was sausage and cornbread and cole slaw on the Fowler menu.

Sometimes, Fowler said, Allison would pitch in in the kitchen

"We had to make sure it was a proper meal," Fowler said. "Those were probably some of the more fun or memorable outside of the, 'Shoot, we need to throw something together, put some mac and cheese in and we'll figure out the rest.' "

'It was odd packing, back to life on the road'

Summer vacation wasn't all work and no play for Fowler, the 2010 PGA Tour Rookie of the Year who has six wins to his name.

The man who tied for second at the The Open Championship, U.S. Open and PGA Championship in 2014, and second at The Masters in 2018, spent quite a bit of time experimenting with a new putter and mini-driver, among other things.

Changes in his bag, beginning at the Sanderson Farms Championship, was a result of that labor.

"In a season you might have a week or maybe a two-week break, and it's sometimes tough to make changes in there," said Fowler, who added he doesn't like to make change for the sake of making change.

"I wouldn't be putting something into play if I didn't think there was a real potential benefit, and sometimes you don't know if it's going to be good or bad or maybe not as good ... until you put it in tournament play or tournament conditions. There's things that can work well at home, but until you're under the gun, you really don't know."

Fowler knows one thing: With rest comes rust.

"As can be," he said.

His family stayed put in Jupiter, Florida, this week, his first extended time away in a while.

It's time to go back to work,

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"It was odd packing, back to life on the road," Fowler said. "It made more sense to come solo. I'm enjoying a little bit of a less hectic week than what it's been at home running around with our soon-to-be three-year-old and eight-week-old at home. But it'll be nice, they're going to be with me for Vegas coming up."

Paul Skrbina is a sports enterprise reporter for the USA Today Network. Reach him at pskrbina@gannett.com and on the X platform (formerly known as Twitter) @paulskrbina . Follow his work here .

This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: How did Rickie Fowler spend summer vacation? Start with a new baby, new equipment, brisket