Sir Nick Faldo ????

when did that happen???
heard nothing about him being a sir

Faldo is an idiot. He lost the Ryder Cup for Europe and should be banished to a small remote island with a TV showing re-runs of his miserable performance.

Whoa.....was that out loud? Sorry.

Always has been in my book.

Knighthood announced 15mins ago in Queens Birthday honours list

How did he lose the Ryder Cup, I watched pretty much all of it and didnt' see him hit a single shot. His Captain's pick (Poulter) carried that team.

Uh...Its called leadership.
He doesn't have any. Never has. Not a people person......you can even ask Tiger.

Besides that, he left off the team two of the winningest players in Ryder Cup history.

Of course, if you are rooting for the US, sure, he did a great job!

Well, I like Faldo; then again I am from a school that says anyone, and I mean anyone that holds "6" majors among other championships is worth listening to. Besides, listening for a tid bit or two is about as close as most posters will get to anyone that holds even 1 win on any tour.

Learn from those willing to put it out there for you... because it's not likely your favorite players going to step to the mic and tell you what you need to hear... then again I wouldn't be a bit surprised to learn every one's favorite players would tell the public to listen to what Faldo has to say; you might learn something. Could be why the likes of Anthony Kim and many others like Ernie Els listen. Course there are a great number of online posters that think they know whats best, yet can't hit the darn ball for squat.

Faldo was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in 1998. He retired with 211 official wins, 43 tour wins (PGA 9, European 27, other 7). His European tour winnings totaled €8 million; $5 million was his take in U.S. tourneys.

Along with his three U.S. Masters, he won three British Open championships, and topped the Official World Golf Ratings for a total of 98 weeks.

That negates his 3 masters and 3 british open wins? Thanks for clearing that up for me...

We have an old english saying ' throw a pebble into the water and watch the ripples'

About time.

SpinMill 75, you, sir, are a chump.

Watch what you say fellas, or Faldo might "lampoon you with his Sunday best."

This is something I've never understood in golf or any sport for that matter. Sure there are some scenarios where coaches just flat out don't work in certain situations. That's fine but I think way, way too much blame is placed on the coach. Faldo even if he was a great leader can't make his players play better than they did. He didn't lose the Ryder Cup...his players did. I'm a huge NFL fan, so why exactly do the Lions suck every year? Every coach they hire is not capable of doing the job? No, they just don't have the players to win.

+1
Far too much importance is placed on the head coach. I can certainly relate to your NFL scenario- being a diehard Bears fan I can tell you that Da' Coach's importance was completely overblown. The combination of the best defense ever, coupled with the best running back ever equated to our Super Bowl win. If anything, the many inflated egos (read- Ditka, Buddy Ryan, etc...) became the downfall of what should have been multiple SB wins...
If you can't get up for the Ryder Cup, then you just dont get it. Their were no ill conceived pairings, no ill advised planning, no insane demands. They got beat; plain and simple. Next time bring it and the Cup will return to Europe. Which, to be honest, I fully expect...

I was NOT expecting to read something that funny in this thread.

Right, because when you think of team players who never think of themselves, Tiger immediately comes to mind.

LOL!!!

Id also like to see the part where they tell Faldo they jacked up the lofts by 4 degrees. Low rocket? you bet.

Knighthood ey? Cool for him.

Just so we can get things straight before the name calling......

Did my post ever say Faldo was a crappy player? I was merely expressing my op. that I think he was a poor choice as the European Ryder Cup Captain. On paper, Europe was a far superior team that had owned the US team. Europe, with good leadership like they have had in more recent years, would have ran over the US team....Instead, the team was in a mess before the first ball was struck - and for that I fault Nick Faldo. Believe me, unless you have been living under a rock, I'm not the only person.

So, if expressing my thoughts merits me being a "chump" so be it.

I have always thought NF was a great player in his day, but like a lot of greats.....there is a huge difference between a great athelete and a great coach.

I was making a remark about the latter.

Why is faldo being knighted? I've never been to the UK, but I definiely don't get it. Is anyone else starting to feel like you cant pick a favorite golf broadcaster, but you just need to try and enjoy the one who sucks the least?

Thinking that Europe would have "ran over the US" is pretty dumb. THe U.S. playedout of their minds that week. Did Sergio get owned my anthony kim because faldo didnt lead him properly? You obviously have a long term dislike toward Faldo and thought losing to a red hot US team is a good exscuse for you to slam him. No matter who the Euro coach had been they would have lost that week.

You just answered the big question.....

Its like this,

Paul Azinger - great player/great leader/team player/team leader = USA Wins Ryder Cup

Nick Faldo - great player /bad leader/not a team player/ not a team leader= Euro loss

Its really not that hard to figure out.

Had Europe had Ian, Sam or Langer as Captain that week.....who knows?

If you have never played on a team, this equation would be lost on you...sorry.

Zinger had a genuine interest in his team winning, and Faldo had a genuine interest in his own personal legacy (pending that he captained a winning ryder cup team). Thats the difference in my eyes. Don't get me wrong, Faldo is one of the best golfers of all time (much better than Zinger), but he surely was no team leader and definitely not an inspiration to the European team in the same way that Zinger was to the US. Don't forget- Tiger wasn't playing. Hats off to cap'n Zinger!

guys - this isn't about how faldo captained the ryder cup team - its about the man himself and what he has done for the game - 6 majors say's it all in my book. he is a legend in his own right, we all make mistakes in life, lets not slam him for the one he made.

WHY IS FALDO BEING KNIGHTED?
Knighthoods are a British award.Nick is the most successful British golfer of the modern era, no other (BRITISH)player can get near his record also his work with the Faldo junior series which has and is creating a lot of the rising stars on the european tour.The award is based on his career not one week as a captain of a team on American soil.Please if you don't like him fair enough but the guys record holds up so the Sir is warranted
Just my 2p

Hm. Faldo is an interesting character. There's no arguing with his record of six majors and his final round at the '96 Masters is one of the greatest I've ever seen. Let's not forget his Ryder Cup playing record either.

In terms of his current employment, his insights from the commentary booth are often interesting. Clearly he is incredibly knowledgeable. However, things go wrong when he starts trying to be funny. He just really isn't funny at all and you'd think he'd have realised this by now.

As for his overall career, a Knighthood is more than justified IMO. He's made an incredible contribution to golf and to developing young talent in the UK.

Well said, regarding the last three posts. I've actually met Nick and I found him to be a warm and funny guy and not without humility either. Of course, the media will always single out his mistakes and gaffes both on and off the course, whilst conveniently forgetting his acheivements. The impact that he has made on the game is without question deserving of this honour. I wish him all the best - no funny jokes to her Majesty when you pick up your gong though - the "pretend to trip" gag could be a little out of place.

I too have met Faldo, and have had other dealings with him, and have a mixed view of him.

But as far as a Knighthood is concerned, whether you agree with the awarding of these honours or not, he is comfortably on a par with many who have received them before, so there really should be no argument about whether he is deserving or not.

Great golfer; winning 6 majors speaks for itself. The knighthood is deserved.
He was a self-absorbed jerk. The "new" Faldo blathers on and is a bit of twit as a TV announcer (Tip: Americans don't speak Cockney or care about rhyming slang).

I just hope he does not thank the Queen "from the heart of his bottom" (as he did the Press when he won the Open).

Congratulations to Sir Nick. Many have long felt that England's aguablyy finest-ever golfer was deserving of a KCB. As others have alluded to, his nororiously insular personality on the course won him a legion of armchair critics, but his achievements on the course and in his various charity and community projects put him in rarefied company at the very top of the game - and perhaps right at the top where our nation is concerned. I've also exchanged a few words with Faldo and, even at the height of his fame, he was warm and accomodating and very different from the oft-quoted media image.

As for the Ryder Cup critics; yes it was a blip on an otherwise fine career. But his commitment to, and success in the event has never been in doubt and his record points total sits proudly alongside his other achievements in the game. To sully a man for a single captaincy in an event where many were found lacking is a bit short sighted in my opinion and certainly has no bearing upon the deservedness of this award.

I think it's a fitting feather in the cap for a man who has had an admirable life and career, and it's an honour richly deserved.

Poulter was superb as his pick - and no leadership in the world could help the golfers on the course having horrid times - casey, Garcia and harrington will never play as bad again .. hardly Sir Nick's fault.

Good luck to Lord Faldo

explain how those 'other' Captains would have helped Casey from continuously miss 3 foot putts? or garcia to replicate his previous great golf?

Faldo was bloody unlucky in that several of his players had off games ALL AT THE SAME TIME ... A BIT LIKE THE USA TEAM OVER THE PREVIOUS 4 RYDER CUPS .. BUT I guess it was the captains fault the USA team has been thumped in recent years. ;D

I get some don't like Nick's team leadership, that's fair. But, to criticize him in other ways because of that dislike is just taking your dislike to far.

As announcers go here in the the US Renton Laidlaw wouldn't be on a mic, I hope. To those critical of Faldo's on-air demeanor attempts at being funny - let me ask you a vital question. Do you think the voices inside his headset are promoting him to be funny, maybe telling he what to say and when? Answer - you can bet your bippy...

he deserves it for his 6 majors..cant see any other english player winning more than him.
at least he gets to enjoy it for hopefully a lot of yrs unlike christopher lee who at 87 is on the downhill slope.

At Last some sense.......

Nick is THE greatest golfer to hail from our modest shores. Let us celebrate his success and realise that we can't all be perfect. I am sure that all those people who are blasting him for his negative points have failed at something.

ARISE SIR NICK.........

Vidal Sasoon and the guy who played the evil white wizard from Lord of the Rings are also getting this hono(u)r... How is Faldo not deserving when Count Duku from Star Wars is?

I take great exception to this post. Firstly, you spelled Dooku incorrectly. Secondly, it is clear that either Saruman or Count
Dooku would hand Faldo a complete beating sandwich on the links. And even if Faldo were getting the best of them, Saruman would
turn Faldo into a fly and Dooku would just use his 3i as a sabre and cut off Faldo's thumbs.

As someone who respects Faldo's career but dislikes his disrespect and negative tone towards any swing theory differing from his, I still believe him being knighted is fully earned and justified. Golf even in the Ryder Cup is an individual sport. You. Have it or you don't that day. Simple as that.

I have no problem with Nick's game or even getting a Knighthood, but please SHUT UP while I am trying to watch the golf. Having to listen to his stupid stories (most of which are about how great he thinks he is), or at his attempts at humor is absolutely painful. The worst part is we then have to hear Kelly's annoying fake laugh; just one of the 1000 annoying things about her.

The Golf Channel would improve so much if they got rid of those two, or just made them on course reporters.

Nick you are from across the pond, so act like announcers from Europe. Less is more, let the players' shots do the talking.

I found this good article on the British Daily Telegraph website which talks about the possible reasons for Sir Nick Faldo's knighthood, a few of which have less to do wiht golf than you may think.


"Sir Henry Cotton accepted the offer of a knighthood in 1987 but died later that year and the honour was bestowed posthumously.
Faldo's award means that he stands alone in the world of golf, a fitting position for a man who won six major championships and who frequently seemed to thrive best in his own company.
Faldo said: "I was delighted to hear the news that I will be receiving a knighthood and am more than a little bit humbled. It has come as a real surprise and the reaction from my children, family and friends has made this a very special moment for me."
Faldo stressed that a large part of the honour was its recognition of the Faldo Series that works to inspire young golfers. But having stated his pleasure at becoming only the second British professional golfer to be knighted, he seemed a little flummoxed by the timing.
Faldo, who will be 52 next month, won the last of his major titles in 1996. Faldo, the most successful Ryder Cup player in history, played his final match in 1997. Why wait more than 10 years to bestow so deserved an honour?
Why wait until Faldo had made a hash of the Ryder Cup captaincy to make him a knight of the realm?
Perhaps there is a political answer. When Faldo was so justifiably criticised after Europe's Ryder Cup defeat last year, middle England emerged defiantly from the hedgerows and waved their flags angrily at the media.
English yeomen and women still viewed Faldo, this most English of men, as a sporting hero. Maybe Downing Street, in dire need of middle England's votes, took note of all the crumbs and the crikeys in the shires.
But let us hope that Faldo was given a knighthood for the simple reason that he deserved one. He won the first of his three Open Championships at Muirfield in 1987 when he made 18 pars on the final day to grind out Paul Azinger.
He won the first of his three Masters titles in 1989 in a play-off against Scott Hoch.
Most of the sporting world first glimpsed Faldo when he made his debut as a 20 year-old at the 1977 Ryder Cup, just two months after Jack Nicklaus and Tom Watson had fought out the famous 'duel in the sun' at that year's Open at Turnberry.
Faldo, who had taken up golf six years earlier, beat both Watson and Nicklaus on his way to winning all three matches.
Peter McEvoy, arguably Britain's greatest amateur golfer and a man who has seen almost 40 years of English talent close-up, wrote of Faldo: "The notion promoted by envious Americans and a resentful press that Faldo is a robot. Faldo had unparalleled flair. Major victories do not lie and Faldo has won six of them, an achievement of which we should be incredibly proud.
"Is he Britain's finest ever sportsman in an individual sport? He is a leading contender. He is the gold standard from which the rest of modern British golf has to be judged."
For all his success Faldo was always unpopular among his peers. His opposing captain at last year's Ryder Cup, Paul Azinger, called him "a prick".
As the match progressed Faldo became an isolated figure, sitting out on a buggy with his son Matthew for company. Faldo did not connect with some of the players in his team and Europe was defeated for the first time since 1999.
Faldo joins the likes of Sir Roger Bannister, Sir Ian Botham, Sir Steve Redgrave and Sir Chris Hoy for company.
This insular, brilliant Englishman can look down on the rest of British golf and say: "I did it my way." "

I dont understand the amount of negatives posts towards commentators on this board, and the internet as a whole. A guy who I would prefer would p-ss off many others and vice versa. An announcer or commentator has never ruined or affected any event I have seen on TV, maybe Im not as sensitive as others.

Couldn't have said it better myself!

Actually, I've played team sports my entire life. I was on the USC baseball team in college....maybe you've heard of them?? Blaming Faldo is such a lame cop out. He didnt hit ONE SHOT the whole time.....Casey missed short puts because he was thinking about how self centered Faldo is and how he didn't lead him? You seem like the guy who loses the playoff game and you and your friends sit aroudn afterward whining because ur coach did manage the game well. The players win or loose the game...not the coach.

+1
Well said!

let's see........faldo lost an away game.......against the best captain the us has had in several years.......with the us team playing very well........with his main ryder cup horse (sergio) apparently moping around over morgan leigh and not playing well......with his controversial captain's pick outplaying almost everyone in the entire event.......with the us team possibly being better for NOT having tiger than for having him (i'm not, btw, blaming tiger for that)........in a sport where you can make all the right decisions and still get creamed for a variety of reasons.

yeah - sounds like his captaincy was a complete disaster to me.....those three days surely trump anything on the pro-knighthood side of the ledger.......and he's definitely an "idiot," as you called him spin mill.

He may have been the captain to the team that lost, but you should thank him for his contribution to points won for the european side over the years. Congratualtions NF!!!

/lead

Of all the sports in the world ( and golf is borderline for many between a sport and a game) I think a coach matters the least in golf. Less than baseball where I think the manager matters very little as compared to lets say football or basketball. Besides picking the captain how else does he affects the game significantly once they are out there, they even have their own swing coaches, psychologist,etc, etc.

Good players win DESPITE the coach....

Peace

Congrats to Nick. He's always been an inspiration to me and somebody I've considered to be a great sportsman, competitor and swinger of the club. He's a real traditionalist and a great person to receive this honor.

Crikey. It's a good thing Her Majesty's memory is a bit more enduring than those of many here, and that she can remember the stretch from the late '80s to the mid '90s when Faldo was arguably the best player in the world and his ballstriking was compared by many to the great Ben Hogan.

Thankfully Her Majesty is also aware of the Faldo Series for juniors and his various charity and community interests, and her memories of his eleven Ryder Cup appearances as a player, during which he garnered a record points total, aren't coloured by the single memory of his capataincy and a match that was lost largely as a result of having eleven players who performed well below par for a variety of reasons. I doubt Her Majesty is used to slightly fruity language, but there's a saying in my part of the world - You can't polish a turd - which just about sums up the situation at Valhalla last year from a European (and a Captain's) perspective; quite aside from the inspired play of the opposing team.

Ultimately, Faldo's career in golf, and his efforts off the course, have spanned over 30 years and outstrip a single week in Kentucky where things went a bit wrong for reasons not entirely within the realms of his control. In centuries gone by, it's probably true that his efforts at the opening ceremony would have resulted in a death warrant being issued by the monarch, but that gaffe aside, Faldo is our country's most successful golfer and has been a fine ambassador both for the sport and for our nation. Well done to him and it's an honour richly deserved in my book.

This is ridiculous. Are people seriously talking down his Knighthood because he captained a losing Ryder Cup team and apparently he's an 'annoying' commentator.

His 6 Majors sure don't mean much to the critics.

I think the Brits of this board, despite their allegiance, are offering a much more balanced view on this.

Now then, when is David Beckham getting knighted?

It wouldn't surprise me if he got knighted after he retired. He's been a global brand for 10+ years and has, for the most part, been a model professional and role model for a generation. He also does a lot of charity work and has established soccer schools in the UK and the US.