Nick Faldo

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Nick Faldo : biography

18 July 1957 –

Other wins (7)

  • 1979 ICL International (South African Tour)
  • 1989 Suntory World Match Play Championship (England – not an official European Tour event at that time)
  • 1990 Johnnie Walker Classic (Asia – the European Tour first sanctioned this event in 1992)
  • 1992 Toyota World Match Play Championship (England – not an official European Tour event at that time), Johnnie Walker World Golf Championship (Jamaica – unofficial event)
  • 1994 Nedbank Million Dollar Challenge (South Africa – unofficial event)
  • 1998 World Cup of Golf (with David Carter)

Other activities and awards

In 1991, Faldo launched his golf course design practice Faldo Design, which has designed or remodelled dozens of courses spread across several continents. Designs include Chart Hills Golf Club (Kent, England), Sporting Club Berlin, Cottonwood Hills near Hutchinson, Kansas, and the Wadi course (now named The Faldo) at Emirates Golf Club, Dubai. Faldo will be designing a championship golf course and a golf academy at Lavasa, India.

As a way of opening his first course design in the UK (Chart Hills in Kent), Faldo teed up on the dog-leg right par four. He drove into the middle-right of the fairway, he then teed another ball and drove off, the two balls finished within 6 inches of each other and to this day can be seen set into the fairway in a protective case. This was a mark of the man’s golfing ability at his peak. Faldo also worked on several overseas golf courses like The Fortress at Louisbourg Resort Golf & Spa on Cape Breton Island, Canada. Most recently, he designed a world-class course in San Miguel de Allende, México. Ventanas de San Miguel hosts an 18 hole par-70 course that was opened in late 2010.

He has other business interests including coaching schools and pro shops. In 1996 he launched the Faldo Series to provide opportunities to young golfers under the age of 21 from around the world both male and female. There are over 7,000 participants each year and there are 38 tournaments in 28 different countries. Age category winners at each event qualify for either the Faldo Series Grand Final, hosted each year by Faldo at the Lough Erne Golf Resort, Northern Ireland or the Faldo Series Asia Grand Final, also hosted by Faldo at Mission Hills Golf Club, Shenzen, China (A Faldo Design course). The registered charity boasts a number of successful graduates, the most notable being; Rory McIlroy, Yani Tseng, and Nick Dougherty.

Along with the Marriott hotel chain, Faldo established The Faldo Golf Institute in 1997. This is a golf instructional program designed to help golfers of every level improve their skills and enjoyment of golf. The Institute has five locations: Orlando, Florida; Atlantic City, New Jersey; Palm Desert, California; Marco Island, Florida; and Hertfordshire, UK.

In 2007, Mercedes-Benz tapped Faldo to act as brand ambassador, to promote the revival of the Maybach brand of ultra-luxury automobiles.Hodzic, Muamer. Nick Faldo is the new Maybach brand ambassador. Accessed: 8 March 2009; (Archived by )

Faldo has written several golf instructional books.

Knighthood and other honours

Faldo was voted BBC Sports Personality of the Year in 1989 and inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1997. In 2000, Faldo was ranked 18th greatest golfer of all time by Golf Digest magazine.

He was awarded the MBE in 1998, then made a Knight Bachelor in the 2009 Birthday Honours for his services to golf.

Playing style

At the height of his career Faldo was noted for being remarkably composed under pressure and intimidating to his opponents. Faldo’s final round of 18 consecutive pars in cool misty conditions at Muirfield during the 1987 Open Championship was an example of steady play under pressure. Former player and BBC commentator Peter Alliss suggested that much of the flair in Faldo’s game was lost in the mid-1980s when he remodelled his swing. Alliss said: "Faldo had cut out the excitement, but he had also eradicated the mistakes."