1894 replies to this topic

[Shah G]

Does anyone know what  Nick Faldo used to use as his clubs. I mean i know he was with Mizuno during the 1990s.... but what type of irons. Blades??? cavities??? Plz share ur info!!!

Edited by Shah G, 22 April 2008 - 01:30 AM.

[jgpl]

In his 3 British Open victories he used the following: Mizuno MS1 blades (1987), Mizuno TP 9 blades (1990) and Mizuno TP 19 blades (1992).

He is currently using a set of MP60's (without Mizuno sponsorship) hand ground by himself on the seniors tour

[The Gachet]

He also used the Mizuno TP-19's for his US Masters victory in 1996.

He used the Ping i3 Blades in the early 2000's before going to Nike using the Pro Combo's, then the MP-60's as stated above and now the Taylor Made r7 TP irons as seen using at the 2008 US Masters Par-3 Contest.

[jebb]

From memory only:

Mizuno TP19 irons
MacGregor driver at one stage
Mizuno Hot metal fairway wood
Ping B60 BeCu putter

This was his c1992 kind of set up.

[chasm]

I'm 95% sure he's moved on from the MP60s to Taylor Made.  He flirted with some Pings too before coming back to Mizuno (all this from various instruction articles and his column in Golf World magazine).

[lotbean21]

Faldo was sponsored by Wilson, early on. I thought his first 2 Masters wins were with Wilson blades. He definitely used a Wilson TPA putter to win his first or second Masters.  
I know Mizuno poached him after his second masters victory.

Edited by lotbean21, 22 April 2008 - 06:27 AM.

[The Gachet]

It was always my understanding that he used a Wilson TPA XVIII black mallet headed putter in his early Master's wins but I read somewhere later on that it was actually the Taylor Made TPA XVIII version which looked identical !?

Not sure if anybody can confirm this but you would have thought being sponsered by Wilson in his early days that it would have been that version.

[villa]

Nick was always a blade player and apart from a set of Spaldings when he first turned pro (which he ground to his specs himself) he always used Mizuno (even when he was with Wilson). He used various different models over the years as stated above. For a short period towards the end of his time with Mizuno, Nick even had spells with the T-Zoid Pro and T-Zoid True irons. He used to use a Wilson sand wedge (with 4 port holes in the back) until Mizuno released the Faldo line of wedges.

Mizuno used to have a clubmaker called Turbo who personally ground all of Nick's clubs for him during the late 80's / early 90's. As Jebb rightly said, Nick used a Macgregor wooden driver and Mizuno Hot Metal 3 wood up until the point when Mizuno released the T-Zoid range. He then went on to use the T-Zoid T3 woods (notably at his Masters win in 1996). He also used a 5 wood that week but because of the difference in lofts compared to modern clubs, he still carried the 2 iron.

Nick then had a short spell with Adams in the late 90's. They spent a fortune getting him and even released their own line of Faldo wedges and a Faldo driver (which I owned, it was rubbish) though he still had Mizuno irons in the bag. He then had a break before joining Nike where as someone pointed out, he used the Pro-Combo irons. I read in an article that he left one of these companies because they were forcing him to use a driver that he didn't like. Not sure who it is though.

Since then he's played whatever he wants (MP-60's, i3 blades, TM TP's etc). He said he liked to use Ping because he could phone them from home and they would deliver exactly what he wanted the following day.

I've heard both said about the TPA putter that he used to use. I don't think anyone's sure whether it was a Taylor Made or Wilson. He also used the Ping B60 to good affect for some years but most notibly, the Odyssey Rossie Dual Force was possibly the one he's most famous for. I've heard people from Odyssey say that they don't know where they'd be without the sales boom that came from Nick's wins with that putter. It was shortly after this that Callaway bought Odyssey. All he asked of them was to make him a gold one like Ping did when he won with the B60.

Edited by villa, 22 April 2008 - 07:17 AM.

[Logie]

Interesting read there Villa, thanks.

[freddiec]

The driver faldo used for a long time during his prime was the M85W MacGregor Eye O Matic. (Like this one)

Edited by freddiec, 22 April 2008 - 07:40 AM.

[mat562]

Some good info on this thread.

His best years were with an old MacGregor persimmon driver and a variety of fairway woods - he used an old Taylor Made 16 degree Raylor bent to 13 degrees for a long time, and won at St Andrews in 1990 with a Tour Brassie Taylor Made and a prototype, deeper-faced 8-degree Hot Metal Mizuno driver with the old Exsar Gold shaft in it. In the late 80s he was using an old Wilson Staff JPII sand wedge and I remember seeing him at Wentworth in '89 with a 60 degree 588 in the bag. His driver at Augusta in '96 was a beige-hued T-Zoid. He also played the T-Zoid Pro irons for a while (I think he won in LA with a set for his last victory in the US).

Iron-wise, his major victories were with what were reported to be Mizuno MS-1 blades but appeared to be TP-9 blanks at Muirfield in '87; with Mizuno TP-9 irons in the '89 Masters; and TN87s for both majors in 1990; In 1992 he won the Open with Mizuno TP-19s, and he won at Augusta with MP-29s, after playing TN-87s and TP-19s for most of the early 90s.  Putter-wise, his majors were won with a Ping Pal 2 BeCu, a TM TPA XVIII for the '89/'90 seasons, a Ping B60 BeCu and a Odyssey Dual Force Rossie II.

As Villa pointed out, he entered into a deal with Adams and debuted their bag at Birkdale in 1998. NIce bag. Full of Mizunos though. TP19s and Mizuno wedges. He did have that horrid Faldo-model driver though, and an Adams 3 wood. He then faffed about with Nike for a while and also bagged some WRX i3s for a while too as I remember. In recent times, he's been bagging a mishmash of clubs, but the irons have been MP60 and, latterly, TM R7s.

The famous TPA putter was a Taylor Made model - predating the buyout of the design by Wilson. As far as I remember, he first used it on the Sunday of the Masters in '89 after putting like a dog with a Titleist Bullseye for three days - apart from that 100-footer on #2.

Ball-wise, his best years were with Bridgestone/Rextar - albeit he was a Titleist player early in the day. Strangely, after winning at Muirfield with a Titleist, he then played in the 1987 Lawrence Batley event at Royal Birkdale in August '87 - and managed to clobber me from the 18th tee with a 90 compression Maxfli HT... At least he shouted 'Fore!' though.

Edited by mat562, 26 August 2011 - 10:09 PM.

[Shah G]

Thnx guys...thanx a lot for the valuable info!!!!

[The Gachet]

As Mat stated above he used a Rextar Pro Model golf ball before changing to the updated Precept Tour which were both numbered 11 since he won both his first two US Masters in a play-off at yes you guessed it.......................the 11th hole.

Good info Mat, loved the read forgetting about that knocked down Raylor he used to carry and then the Brassie !  I owned both, nice clubs back in the time.

[mat562]

I was often to be found peering into bags during my teenage years...

If I remember rightly, those Spaldings that Villa mentioned were hand ground with a file in his dad's shed in Welwyn Garden City...

Edited by mat562, 22 April 2008 - 09:47 AM.

[villa]

The Gachet, on Apr 22 2008, 09:33 AM, said:

As Mat stated above he used a Rextar Pro Model golf ball before changing to the updated Precept Tour which were both numbered 11 since he won both his first two US Masters in a play-off at yes you guessed it.......................the 11th hole.

Good info Mat, loved the read forgetting about that knocked down Raylor he used to carry and then the Brassie !  I owned both, nice clubs back in the time.

Matt is the king, I forgot about those Taylor Made fairway woods as well!

I believe he was involved with the development of the Rextar ball. He said that was part of the reason he chose to sign with them.

[The Gachet]

Here is a photo of Faldo's bag at the 1996 US Masters consisting of the Mizuno TP-19's, T-Zoid Woods and the Odyssey Dual Force Rossie II Putter. He had a choice of two putters that week as they were both differently weighted to contest with the various speeds of green conditions at Augusta.............not carried at the same time of course along with the additional Mizuno TP wedges he had aswell.

Edited by The Gachet, 22 April 2008 - 10:02 AM.

[stryper]

jgpl, on Apr 22 2008, 03:24 AM, said:

In his 3 British Open victories he used the following: Mizuno MS1 blades (1987), Mizuno TP 9 blades (1990) and Mizuno TP 19 blades (1992).

FWIW, if you're like me and you're not familiar with the older Mizuno models, you can see what they look like here.

[villa]

Fantastic pics The Gachet, thanks for that.

I was watching the '96 Masters on ESPN Classic a couple of weeks ago and saw him pure that breadknife 2 iron on 14.

[mat562]

The best shot I've ever seen was a Faldo 2 iron - I was standing pretty much right behind his 2nd to #18 in the World Matchplay final against Woosie in '89. Draped a soft 5 yard cut all over it for a winning eagle... The most perfect strike and flight I've ever seen, and particularly so in the circumstances and with a big iron in his hands.

It's a pity that any photos of him leaping in the air after he holed the putt will always feature a horrendous red 'Geometric George' Pringle sweater...

Edited by mat562, 23 December 2011 - 04:40 PM.

[The Gachet]

Cheers Mat, Faldo was my top player back then so I had to have the TP-11's and then the TP-19's. Followed him round Wentworth a few times, even in the early 2000's, pretty sure it was 2002 when he was using those Ping i3's he still had a few TP-19's in there from about the 8/9-iron to SW.

Whoops, I had two of those Pringle Sweaters but if it is of some consolation they were not red.......................purple and green I think !?ha  Great shot though !!!

Edited by The Gachet, 22 April 2008 - 10:21 AM.

[The Gachet]

No worries villa, liked your posts very informative and interesting.  Still believe he was the best ballstriker back in the early/mid nineties from what I experienced, it just looked a different class in the flesh.

[mat562]

I've still got my first proper set of irons: TP9s from 1986 that my dad obtained for me from a pro he knows with cut-down DG S400s in them. I went on to TP11s after those and played them for about 4 or 5 years, all-told, until they wore out. I got some MP14s during a visit to the US in '94 (?) as a replacement that I also then played to death. All great irons.

I actually bought a really nice set of TP19s, only to then foolishly sell them on soon afterwards in about '95 or so. That was probably the biggest mistake I ever made where clubs are concerned (apart from buying an engagement ring instead of some Cobra Greg Norman blades).  The 19s were lovely irons, but I preferred my MP14s and someone I knew wanted the 19s, so I let them go for a song. D'oh!


I was at the PGA at Wentworth as a spectator around the early 2000s, too, and remember him hitting the Ping i3/Mizuno blade combo into play. I couldn't get over the sight of Faldo with a PIng CB in his hands. It just looked plain wrong. If I remember rightly he was 'overspinning the short irons and wedges' - hence the somewhat odd mixed set of i3OS long and mid irons and Mizuno short irons.

Regardless of what bag he carries, I always associate Faldo as the ultimate advertisement for Mizuno irons. He just looked 'right' with that tri-coloured Mizuno bag.

Edited by mat562, 26 August 2011 - 10:17 PM.

[joecollege]

Excellant info. I always liked Nick and once even played Mizuno's because of him.

[The Gachet]

You are right, HE was Mizuno and no-one has ever taken that responsibility away from him........................yet !?

[villa]

mat562, on Apr 22 2008, 10:22 AM, said:

I couldn't get over the sight of Faldo with a PIng CB in his hands... It just looked wrong.

How true. I remember when Anthony Wall first joined the European Tour. He was using a set of Ping's (can't recall if they were Zing 2's or ISI's). He went to Faldo for advice and his first words were "you can take those out of your bag for a start". He may even have lent him a spare set of Mizuno blades because that's what he was using the following week!

The Gachet, on Apr 22 2008, 10:32 AM, said:

You are right, HE was Mizuno and no-one has ever taken that responsibility away from him........................yet !?

They pay Luke Donald a fortune because they thought he would take Faldo's throne but as yet, it hasn't turned out that way.

Every man and his dog on tour used Mizuno irons but for me, he still is Mr Mizuno.

Edited by villa, 22 April 2008 - 10:43 AM.

[mat562]

Olazabal always looked 'right' with those old TP9s in his hands too, I thought. I never liked that black staff  bag that he insisted on using though when pretty much everyone else on the mid/late '80s Mizuno staff had the plain white one.

I remember when Faldo signed one of the first 'big money' contracts with Mizuno, If memory serves, I think it was for the '91 season. Woosie's Maruman deal in late '87 set the ball rolling for the silly money club deals, but Faldo's contract was reportedly for something ridiculous as I remember. The joke was that he could just sling the Wilson bag in the nearest skip and keep playing with his Mizunos in a new matching bag. I think I saw Faldo playing Wilson irons once in all the time I watched him as a youngster, photo calls aside, whilst carrying the old red and white Wilson bag. He had some Staff Fluid Feel irons at the British Masters at Woburn one year and he actually moaned audibly to Andy Prodger 'I think we'll have the old ones back in Prodge..' as he left one tee.
This thread's brilliant. It evokes great memories of a misspent youth gawping into pro's bags and memorising pointless facts instead of doing schoolwork.

Edited by mat562, 26 August 2011 - 10:22 PM.

[stealthontour]

I was talking to him earlier in the year before he was taken on-board with TM. He thought the MP-60's he had were the best irons he's ever played, he was looking at some of the old blades he used in the late 80's early 90's and couldn't believe how small the heads were.
One of the only times he was never sponsored or paid by a manufacturer he chose the following clubs...
Driver: Taylormade R5 TP
Irons: Mizuno MP60
Wedges: Ping MB and Mizuno MP
3 wood and Putter chopped and changed, but he said the best putter he had was the TPA XVIII

Faldo is the reason I love golf, my sporting idol, I'm lucky I get to work with him a few times a year. Many like him, many hate him, but one thing you can't deny is he was the best player in the world for 5 years. 6 majors, the best Ryder Cup record of any player on either side and had the abilty to hit the right shot when it counted. I bet 80% of the tour pro's now days couldn't hit the shots he hit with those clubs (persimmon drivers, tiny butter knife long irons)

[The Gachet]

Here is a photo of Faldo's Precept Tour Golf Ball as discussed above.

[mat562]

villa, Anthony Wall was bagging Zing 2s (in an Adams bag) when he first went out on tour. And 588 RTG wedges if I remember rightly. I can see Faldo's point, but I know a man who did reasonably well with some Zing 2s for a few years.

[63Brummie]

I think you're right....but it's called the OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP not to be confused with other regional events such as the Masters and PGA
63Brummie.