How Far Did Nick Faldo Drive The Golf Ball?

Sir Nick Faldo was one of the vital constant performers in males’s skilled golf by means of the Eighties and Nineties. He started his profession on the European Tour and loved early success, successful 11 instances between 1977 and 1984. He had possibilities in a few Open Championships however felt he wanted to search out extra consistency to be a real Main contender. Beneath the tutelage of David Leadbetter, Faldo utterly rebuilt his swing within the mid Eighties. It was a prolonged and difficult course of, but it surely was one that will pay dividends. Faldo’s new motion stood up beneath strain and earned him six Main titles within the house of 9 years between 1987 and 1996.

Though he was famend in his prime for being a technically glorious golfer, he wasn’t identified for being a protracted hitter. Faldo purposefully performed with precision reasonably than energy. In his early days, his swing was looser and longer however the stats would counsel it didn’t essentially produce better distance. Within the early Eighties, pre swing change, the driving distance stats present that Faldo averaged between 256 and 263 yards from the tee with an general common of 258.6.

After his swing re-build, Faldo’s driving distance common remained across the similar degree. In 1989 on the PGA Tour, he averaged 255.1 yards off the tee – 146th on the rating. Between 1995 and 2000 he by no means ranked within the top-100 for driving distance and all the time averaged beneath the Tour common for the season. His finest common was in 2000 when he recorded 268.3 yards. His common by means of the Nineties on the PGA Tour was 263.3 yards.

He might not have been one of many longer hitters, however he was one of many straightest. Within the 1989 season on the PGA Tour he was fifth in driving accuracy, discovering greater than 76% of fairways he aimed toward. In 1996, the yr of his final Masters victory, he was second in accuracy with a median of 78%. Between 1995 and 2000 on the PGA Tour, Faldo by no means averaged lower than 75% accuracy from the tee.

Nick Faldo was not a bomber – He didn’t attempt to be. He averaged across the 260 – 265 yard mark from the tee. His actual talent was find fairways and taking part in with dependable consistency. His repeating motion allowed him to maintain the ball in play, giving himself the absolute best possibilities to search out greens, make birdies and win tournaments. In complete, he received 43 occasions as an expert over 19 years between 1977 and 1998. He received six Majors, however, he additionally recorded 20 additional top-10 Main finishes. Faldo rebuilt his sport to be a big-event participant and, for a spell within the late Eighties and Nineties, that’s precisely what he was.