Nick Faldo's Equipment

[The Gachet]

Here is another personal video taken from the 1993 Volvo PGA Championship practice day at Wentworth starting off with a couple of practice holes with Nick Faldo and Roger Winchester.

 

If you watch Faldo's second shot in to the long par 4 third hole with about a four iron the ball actually lands right next to the hole on the middle tier but finishes up on the back upper teir which is why Faldo appears disappointed.

 

On the next hole he is seen teeing off with the Taylor Made 16 degree Raylor knocked down to 13 degrees of which you also get a close up of his bag on his second shot (as below) and it is the same as his 1992 Open set-up apart from all Mizuno TP wedges. (M85W driver, TM Raylor, Mizuno TP-19 irons, TP wedges, Ping BeCu B60 putter)

 

 

 

Back on the practice ground you see Faldo again including Sandy Lyle, Paul McGinley, Anders Forsbrand, Ian Woosnam, Bernhard Langer, Roger Winchester, Ove Sellberg and Jose Maria Olazabal.

 

You also see David Leadbetter working with Nick Faldo and Sandy Lyle.

 

Part One

 

 

Here are the full results from the actual tournament:

 

http://www.europeant...oard/index.html

[chip75]

[quote name='okesa' timestamp='1325435879' post='4013043']
[size="3"]If you are interested it's also worthwhile watching ebay uk,there have been genuine ex-Faldo golf balls sold on there,Rextar Promodel with the 'FALDO 11' identification logo stamped on them.
[/size]
[/quote]

I think Bridgestone made normal production runs of Faldo 11's. So they may not have all been in Sir Nick's hands. The advert has been posted in this thread a few times.

Great video Paul, looking forward to Part Two!

[Thrillhouse]

youre a legend gatchet!

[okesa]

[size="3"]Terrific viewing and an interesting insight,thank you again Gachet,were there many following the practice round?
It looks as though you were able to get pretty close to the action.

Chip,you may well be correct about production runs of the 'Faldo 11' Rextar,I bought some off ebay and was entirely satisfied with their provenance.
In any event,owned or not by the maestro they are still relatively uncommon and a nice addition to a collection.[/size]

[mshills]

[quote name='Bodee' timestamp='1325385369' post='4011767']
[quote name='chip75' timestamp='1325384008' post='4011683']
[quote name='Bodee' timestamp='1325382910' post='4011629']
First off......Thanks to all who posted on this thread...simply amazing, informative, and just a pure joy to read!! But I have to ask.....what kind of golf ball is NF using? Is it a British ball? I am personally loving that persimmon driver!!
[/quote]

It's a Bridgestone Rextar Promodel, it was a Japanese ball. He had his hand in the design of it (he worked hard to convey the importance of sound (the click) to it's engineers). The were a very nice ball.
[/quote]

Just checked Ebay out of curiousity and saw a dozen Rextar balls listed for a mere $100(US). Also, some very nice blade irons. Irons need to be reconditioned, but very appealing to my eye.
[/quote]

Indeed a nice ball, but not that nice!

[The Gachet]

[quote name='okesa' timestamp='1325535158' post='4018239']
[size="3"]Terrific viewing and an interesting insight,thank you again Gachet,were there many following the practice round?
It looks as though you were able to get pretty close to the action.

Chip,you may well be correct about production runs of the 'Faldo 11' Rextar,I bought some off ebay and was entirely satisfied with their provenance.
In any event,owned or not by the maestro they are still relatively uncommon and a nice addition to a collection.[/size]
[/quote]
Believe it or not there was only about ten spectators following the group and you could even walk up and down the fairways with them !? Madness !!!

In later years they then kept you behind the ropes but now they have stopped any public from entering the championship on practice days which is a real shame, they did that about six / seven years ago with the Wednesday pro-am day now being the only non-tournament public entry day which is in fact free admission.

I remember following Craig Parry round a couple of years earlier and we were just basically walking with him and his caddy while chatting away, it is pretty surreal when looking back. I can vividly remember him hitting about a two or three iron in to the eighteenth, probably about three or four balls in all trying to carry it all the way to the dance floor, he was really thudding down in to the back of the ball just like most amateurs would play a short iron.

He was a real powerhouse for such a short guy, very stocky and was known as 'Popeye' due to his large forearms.

Was a Maxfli staff player using DP-30 Australian blades and he also gave me one of his HT-100 Balata's signed to me, top bloke for sure ! Ahhh, those were the days !!!

[The Gachet]

 

 

 

 

 

[ragin cajun]

 

 

 

 

 

My favorite pick thus far. Look at that wear mark!

[okesa]

[size="3"]No,not madness,there just weren't as many loonies round at that time or if there were,they were locked away and not allowed to roam as they do in these 'enlightened' times.

Back in the 80's and 90's pals of mine would go to Open practice rounds then watch the event on tv,they always reckoned it was a lot more interesting and informal on practice days and you could really get to see how well players were striking the ball.

Is the second photo down from '95 Ryder Cup with Seve embracing NF after he'd just 'done' Strange?[/size]

[freddiec]

Gachet,
Another great video. You really got some incridible footage that week! That must have been a treat being able to get that close to Nick during that practice round and not having to fight your way up close. Just amazing. Great zoom into his bag showing the TP irons! Top stuff!

[The Gachet]

[quote name='okesa' timestamp='1325547601' post='4019173']
[size="3"]Back in the 80's and 90's pals of mine would go to Open practice rounds then watch the event on tv,they always reckoned it was a lot more interesting and informal on practice days and you could really get to see how well players were striking the ball.

Is the second photo down from '95 Ryder Cup with Seve embracing NF after he'd just 'done' Strange?[/size]
[/quote]
Yeah I too just went to a practice day at The Open last year purely for that reason as it was a lot less informal and you were also allowed to take photos.

You are also bang on about the second photo !

[PKMillerJr]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9Q3TWEEiHM

[PKMillerJr]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qOM8wL2Nyzw&feature=related

[Iggypop]

I'd been away from golf for some time and got back into it in mid 08'
I went out with my old Titliest blades and struggled whilst finding my swing and being a huge Nick Faldo fan found the Burner clip on YouTube - promptly upgraded to the new technology on offer and the things where rocket launchers. I hit about 5 greens out of 50! And promptly went back to Mizuno. Much better! The TM where fun but not much use
Great marketing though.
Another great set of vids thanks guys!
Love that "our" Sir Nick post is dominating like the boss!

[The Gachet]

Here is the second part of the personal video footage from the practice day at the 1993 Volvo PGA Championship at Wentworth.

In this video there is footage back on the practice ground with players Barry Lane, Ove Sellberg, Anders Forsbrand, Roger Chapman, Tony Johnstone, Sandy Lyle, Jose Maria Olazabal and coaches Bob Torrance and David Leadbetter.

It's then over to the first tee to see the start of the Canon Charity Shoot-Out where most players hit a strong fairway wood as a driver can reach the dip which either puts you on a challenging steep downhill lie or potentially right at the bottom with a very restricted view of the pin.

Eight players tee off, Tony Johnstone, Barry Lane (TM Flex-Twist Raylor), Sandy Lyle, Ian Woosnam (Maruman 600 Series 13° Spoon), Bernhard Langer (Wood Bros. Texan Driver), Nick Faldo (TM 13° Raylor), Seve Ballesteros and Jose Maria Olazabal (TM 13° Tour Spoon).

[b]Out of interest, would that white fluffy feather thing that blows in to Faldo's stance at the address put you off !?[/b]

Then it's back to the range with Roger Chapman, Michael McLean, Ove Sellberg, Mike Harwood, Anders Forsbrand, Mats Lanner, Peter O'Malley and coach Bob Torrance. You also see Frank Nobilo walk past too.

[u][b]Part Two[/b][/u]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SnYZ6UKNi_g

[Iggypop]

[b]I saw this on the BBC sport website today.

No wonder we are celebrating this era.

I make it 22 Majors v 3 at a quick count!

Still bugs me Woosie was above Faldo in 91. Not sure that would be the case with todays system?

[/b][b]WORLD TOP 10 - 1991[/b]

1. Ian Woosnam (Wal)

2. Nick Faldo (Eng)

3. Jose Maria Olazabal (Spa)

4. Seve Ballesteros (Spa)

5. Greg Norman (Aus)

6. Fred Couples (US)

7. Bernhard Langer (Ger)

8. Payne Stewart (US)

9. Paul Azinger (US)

10. Rodger Davis (Aus)

[b]World top ten 2011[/b]

1. Luke Donald (Eng)

2. Lee Westwood (Eng)

3. Rory McIlroy (NI)

4. Martin Kaymer (Ger)

5. Adam Scott (Aus)

6. Steve Stricker (US)

7. Dustin Johnson (US)

8. Jason Day (Aus)

9. Charl Schwartzel (SA)

10. Webb Simpson (US)

[Iggypop]

And the Article has Clarke saying its a golden era for Europe. Maybe so but the Seve & Faldo era must be a more valuable gold

[spooky]

I used to sit on the practice ground watching Mike Mclean when I was young (would sometimes see Paul Way as well).

[chip75]

[quote name='Iggypop' timestamp='1325612037' post='4022045'][b]I make it 22 Majors v 3 at a quick count![/b]
[b]Still bugs me Woosie was above Faldo in 91. Not sure that would be the case with todays system?[/b] [b]
[/b][/quote]

I think it's 14 to 3 at that point in time. Couples, Azinger and Olazabal were yet to win any (but I get what you're saying).

Woosie was a deserved no.1 at that point as Nick was having a wretched year compared to his two majors in 1990 (were Woosie won four times). But as you said the points he won the previous year would still be making some kind of interest today. I've never been a fan of the points system as the amount is pretty meaningless unless you're number one. I'd much prefer a stroke average vs. the Field (so birdie-fest courses where everyone shoots 66 doesn't do much for you but a 68 in a gale in the Open when guys are averaging 78 rewards you) kind of system than the one they have at the moment.

[The Gachet]

[The Gachet]

[The Gachet]

 

 

[The Gachet]

Anybody know what irons these are !?

 

 

[PKMillerJr]

 

Pretty flat soles on those blades. Ever hit them?

[tpgrrr1]

 

Gachet, are these irons Europe's equivalent to Mizuno MS-9? Which later turned into MP-9.

[okesa]

[size="3"]Brilliant Gachet,can you remember what was in the TM bags,were they playing the ICW blade lookalikes?Tried to get a closer look but there's enough lead to roof a church on the opening set!

Thanks Iggypop,I was beginning to think I was alone in thinking what you have posted and I believe it was the same 10 or 11 years ago,this is most definitely NOT a golden age that we're seeing now and global golf is to blame for that.
It used to be that all the top players went to the top tournaments to play against each other,now you have Westwood winning in Thailand,Poulter in Australia and events in the US all at the same time,so the players are spread more thinly and with respect,apart from Donald the Australian Masters was not exactly a world class field yet by winning Poulter has jumped 12 places up the rankings.
I also believe that the Fed-Ex and Race to Dubai formats are helping to validate money earning as an acceptable alternative to winning majors,apologies if it's slightly off-topic but I find it VERY annoying when people spout about how good these current players are.[/size]

[mat562]

Those ones of Barry 'Silk Cut' Lane's are the old Taylor Made TP Tours. The forged jobs with the gold painfill and a triangle ICW logo around the TM stamp on the muscle.

Very nice irons, they were. A bit rounded in the toe for my liking, but I knew a couple of lads who bagged them back in the day.

[The Gachet]

Brilliant Gachet,can you remember what was in the TM bags,were they playing the ICW blade lookalikes?Tried to get a closer look but there's enough lead to roof a church on the opening set!

That was in fact Barry Lane's bag and those blades were Taylor Made TP Tours as pictured below, very similar to the ICW5 however they were rare as hen's teeth and were a sort of tour issue / pro only type of release.

 

I did actually once see a set in a very prestigious golf store at the time and they were going for about £700 or £800 and this was in 1992/3 !!!

 

 

 

 

[The Gachet]

Just noticed Mat beat me to it !

[jebb]

Great info on the thread from Mat and The Gachet.

Btw I notice your fame is spreading with the Gachet videos now appearing on other sites!

Keep up the good work here please!!