An Interview With Sir Nick Faldo
How did Valhalla stack up against your previous Ryder Cup experiences?
Obviously they are very different, but I was being serious when I said that it was my best golfing experience inside and outside the ropes without hitting a ball. It was such a great event with the atmosphere we had.
We included everybody, caddies, wives, girlfriends, fiancés, players – we were all part of the team. I feel we all got on really well.
Was it tougher being a captain than a player?
I think because I'd been removed from it, it was OK. If you were a player going straight into that role I'm sure you'd be itching to roll your sleeves up and think 'I can get a job done here and give it a go'.
But that's fortunately gone for me. I think with my television work I was removed from saying to myself 'I wish I was out there hitting it.' I haven't said that to myself for the last five years. So I was fine with that and I didn't feel the real competitive pressure of hitting a golf ball at the Ryder Cup.
What did you give to the role of captain that previous captains may not have done?
I was just being me. I approached the captaincy as how I would like to prepare as a golfer. I said this is what I like to do. I talked about visualisation and other bits and bobs. But the guys were motivated, they had been waiting all year to make that team, you just had to send them out to play.
On the final day, before the decisive putt dropped, was there a point where you thought 'it's over, we've lost'?
No I didn't. I think the whole thing with the final day was we were two points behind, you've got to get those two points back and then start looking at who is going to win for you.
We put the in-form Ian Poulter out at number 10 thinking that he might be the one to win it.
When you are two points back, you've got to work on the assumption that you've got to win four to their two to get back even, so you start pushing it down.
Is there anything you wish you had done differently?
You can't live in hindsight, I live in the moment and you assess the situation as best you can and you make the judgement the best you can.
Everyone on the side gave 100 per cent but sometimes even that is not enough, because that's golf, that's life.
What was the mood like on Sunday night when the defeat was sinking in?
We had a very special moment on Sunday night. We started off with a little debrief and everyone could say what they thought with all of us in the room. It slowly cleared out and ended up with just the 12 guys and we sat there and gassed for half an hour.
Lee Westwood said: "Well, we've never done this before." And it was unanimous that this experience has bonded us for life.
I thought, gee, that's pretty special. Even Sergio Garcia and Padraig Harrington got up and hugged each other. So that was an experience that you cannot put into words.
There were some outstanding performances on both teams that week, which European players performed above your expectations?
I think the one that really came out was G-Mac (Graeme McDowell). He really got into it and I spent some good quality time with him, he loved the visualisation stuff, he bought into it, did his thing and really came on.
There were quite a few guys who got into it, Justin Rose, Soren Hansen, Oliver Wilson. Seasoned guys you can look after and they go and do their own thing, but I think the time we had with the rookies, I think they gained some good experiences.
Do you think that only having Jose Maria Olazabal as your sole assistant left you short of support out there?
You've got 18 Ryder Cups experience between us and I think you're undermining Olly if you don't think he could do the job. He's a very passionate person, the players loved him. That was plenty.
The players also played a large part in the decision-making process, was that like having an extra assistant?
Well, they're the guys playing, you know. My goal was that I was there for the team. That was the most important thing, and I wanted them to be comfortable with what was going on because they were the ones who were going to have to do it. I feel we all were one.
You came in for a lot of criticism after the event. How much did that hurt?
I haven't honestly read the media for a long time and as I said, I know I did my bit. I sensed the tone that the media were going on Sunday night. But you know, the bottom line is it was a great experience, it's as simple as that.
What did you think of Paul Azinger's captaincy?
He did a bit more than he said he was doing. He liked to play the part with me by saying 'I don't know what I'm doing, you're the one who's really preparing yourself'.
But, deep down, he was really doing stuff, but once you get the guys on the golf course, they're the ones who have got to hole the putts. It doesn't matter what the captain says in your ear.
There's plenty of speculation about who will be the next captain in Wales. Who would be your choice?
I've no idea who they will give it to, that's the European Tour's decision. But Olly was loved by the team so we shall see.
It seems the role you played as a mentor to some of the rookies during the Ryder Cup is similar to that of your work with the Faldo Series. How much do you enjoy seeing the progression of young players?
I'm sure many a businessman, or a sportsman who has given a guy a break or a way to achieve their goal is happy to give something back.
I'm very grateful for what golf has given me so if I can create more opportunities for kids to enjoy themselves, and then maybe make a career of it, I'm more than happy to do that.
When you first created the Faldo Series did you even envisage it would get this big?
No, I didn't. We started with 400 players in the United Kingdom alone and now we're touching 4,000 in 15 countries.
Now, thanks to my team who have really brought it on, it's almost like a mini-professional event. So we pride ourselves on that.
The Grand Final is being staged in Brazil, the first time it has been held outside of the UK. How much of an achievement was that?
Every couple of years we try to create something new. So this is a great venture to get the poor old British golfers out of the winter and get them to Brazil.
South America is ready to explode with golf and in terms of developing the game they have some great plans for course construction and property. If we can add to that it's fantastic.
How different is the experience the Faldo Series offers to that of when you were starting out?
The opportunities that youngsters have to just jump on a plane and go and play somewhere are huge. My first trip was to Portmarnock in Ireland and then at the end of that year I went to South Africa - a night on a jumbo for the very first time was unbelievable.
But now kids have the chance to play all over the world. They have to learn to deal with time changes, different climates and how to look after themselves, that's all part of the experience now.
Do you think it prepares them for life as a professional golfer?
Talent and skill will get you to a certain level, but if you want to get to the next level you have to join the party.
So many young aspiring professionals train better and look after themselves, they're athletes now, not just talented golfers.
They have taken it to a new level and if you want to compete then you'd better be doing the same thing.
You've helped to nurture the talents of Nick Dougherty, Rory McIlroy and Oliver Fisher.
Do you think a former Faldo Series player can one day become a Major champion?
That would be a very nice goal to think that someone from the series or someone I had a little bit of personal involvement with could achieve that.
I'm very close with Nick (Dougherty), who almost made the Ryder Cup team and has won some tournaments, but to take it to that level of Major golf would be pretty special.