How a bad round at St. Andrews led to Nick Faldo overhauling his swing — and it worked

1. Closer setup

Faldo would work hard on his posture, which he writes would often get “sloppy.” He’s stand slightly too far away from the ball, which would move his weight too far onto his heels, and he’d chin would drop too far down and occasionally behind the ball.

2. Less shoulder tilt

An overriding theme of Faldo’s old swing that it was steeper — or more vertical — than the swing on the right, when he was World No. 1. By this point 1984 Faldo’s right shoulder is higher than 1992 Faldo, the clubhead is more outside his hands, and tracking more vertically.

“My swing was always prone to being fairly upright. I don’t suppose I helped matters by trying to copy the likes of Nicklaus and Miller — players who at the time believed very much in working the club from the ball with a deliberately wide one-piece takeaway,” Faldo writes. “But that was the fashion.”

3. Shallower shaft

You can see of the effects of that swing as the club reaches halfway back. A large part of the reason steeper swings, modeled after the likes of Nicklaus, were so in fashion was because it imparted more backspin on the ball, which made the softer golf balls and persimmon driver heads easier to control. But for Faldo, it caused issues in the elements.

“A steep angle of attack…caused me to hit the ball with a volatile ‘balooning’ trajectory, and so my game was vulnerable to any kind of wind.”

4. Stable clubface

This is perhaps the most apparent difference between Faldo’s two swings.

Faldo has overcorrected from his takeaway and rolled the face “too open,” according to Leadbetter’s file on Faldo shared in the book Fairway Dreams. His elbow is closer to his side in 1992, which Leadbetter writes is the product of him feeling more “stability” in his right shoulder.

His swing got shorter over the years, but thanks to the switch from persimmon to a metal driver, a strength-training routine, and a flatter lower-spin path, he increased his consistency without losing driving distance.

According to PGA Tour stats, his driving distance stayed pretty flat (256 yards in 1984 to 255 yards in 1989) but his driving accuracy jumped from 70 percent to 75 percent, and he dropped his scoring average almost two shots as a result.

5. Shoulders more closed

Younger Faldo is sliding his lower body aggressively towards the target, which dragged the club into a steeper position. That’s what caused the spin that was difficult to control, Faldo writes, and created consistency issues.

“I had to practice hard every day just to maintain a consistent level of ball striking,” he writes.

6. Lower arms

With so much slide towards the target with his lower body, Faldo said his follow through came to resemble an old cliche he was taught: “Reach for the sky and let it fly.”

Having his arms exit lower was the result of the previous work in his swing, Faldo went onto say. The ball came out lower, with less spin, and created a ball flight he could depend on. And, in time, he used it to become the player we remember today.