Nick Faldo Single Minded

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.