Believe it or not, for someone who’s regarded as having one of the game’s strongest ever minds, Sir Nick Faldo once stood over a ball and felt his legs buckle with nerves. It was a Ryder Cup match. “Oh sxxt”, thought Europe’s greatest ever golfer as he stepped away to take a moment. Of course, he executed the shot to perfection, as he so often did in pressure moments throughout his trophy-laden career.
The 62-year-old doesn’t suffer the same sort of moments these days. In the commentary booth, he watches others go through the mill. He does, however, have a tendency to shout at the television when he doesn’t like what he sees, which is normally something strategy related.
Faldo’s game was not built on power. His greatest assets were consistency, distance control, and course management. It’s one of the reasons he gains so much pleasure from his course design projects, using his strategic mind to test modern pros and amateurs.
When we speak, Sir Nick is hosting the Grand Final of the Faldo Series in the UAE. It’s this great golfing brain his students have access to, so we’re keen to learn one or two mental secrets as well…
You had 18 straight pars in the final round of the ‘87 Open at Muirfield. Was that the finest strategic round you played?
No, it wasn’t. Trying to win an Open was a whole new experience. You’re churning inside. I was doing the best I could. I felt really nervous on the greens. I wasn’t striking the putts as well as I wanted. It was just hard work because it was such a strange day. This Scottish mist came in and it was like pea soup and the ball was going nowhere. You constantly had to adjust.
In your book, Life Swings, you talk about playing “strict par golf”, but were you actually just learning on the spot?
This story is from the January 2020 edition of Golf Monthly.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the January 2020 edition of Golf Monthly.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
"I'm just trying to inspire people to play golf”
Golf Monthly meets social media sensation Mia Baker, who is on a mission to get more people into golf... and smiling all the way
A PLACE ΤΟ YOURSELF
Jeremy Ellwood discovers the Old Millhouse in Dalkeith to be the perfect away-from-it-all base for exploring the East Lothian coast's many fine links
Border patrol
Andy Wright ventures due east from his Troon base for a stay at Macdonald Hotels' Cardrona resort in the Borders near Peebles
Moortown
Golf fans know that Dr Alister Mackenzie was the man responsible for Augusta National; many will also be aware that the surgeon-turned-course architect first honed his design skills on his home patch close to Leeds.
Rickie Fowler
The 34-year-old American is back in form and eager to share his favourite tee-to-green tips
How to cure the chipping yips
INSTRUCTION - SAVE PAR
Beef up your ball flight
INSTRUCTION - FAULT FIXER
HYBRID MASTERCLASS
Top 50 Coach Lysa Jones explains how to make the most of this versatile club
The great debate
Nick Bonfield explores the concept of greatness in professional golf and ponders how it should be defined
BREAKING the mould
To mark shoe giant FootJoy's 100th anniversary, Neil Tappin flies out to its HQ near Boston to find out more about the brand's past and future, before setting up tent in the buzzing campsite it sponsors at The Open