Golf legend Sir Nick Faldo: “I did recommend that years ago”

Six-time major winner Sir Nick Faldo says men’s professional golf needs adopt the Formula One model. 

Faldo was speaking to the PGA about the current state of the game when he made the claim.

Faldo, 67, has always offered strong opinions on golf’s ‘civil war’.

Faldo has put Jon Rahm and Phil Mickelson in his crosshairs and also prodded his old rival Greg Norman with some interesting takes.

Now he is calling on the game’s biggest stars to ‘sort it out’.

“The pro game has had a bit of a walloping with what happened with the split and players divided,” Faldo said.

“Many of us just played for the trophies, and now it has changed quite dramatically.

“The public hasn’t welcomed that, and we see that TV numbers as much as 20 per cent down.”

TV figures from the latest Presidents Cup painted a dismal picture.

According to Sports Business Journal, the Sunday singles from Royal Montreal drew 1.37m viewers.

That represents a staggering 28% drop.

Viewing figures in the majors has also suffered.

The final round of The Masters were also down 20%.

Faldo has a theory.

“Golf is a difficult game to to oversell,” he said.

“We know golf, and the discipline of it, and what it is all about.

“And if you’re a golfer, you appreciate that.

“But to look in from the outside, you can expect something completely different, a whole new entertainment – or ‘supercharged excitement’, as somebody used as a tagline.

“It’s golf! Good luck! Golf is chess in a field. So we’ve got to be careful of that.”

He added: “I think they’ve got to develop more characters, somehow.

“Take the Formula One model. That’s what I would do. I did recommend that years ago.

“The drivers have to talk, interviews are mandatory, even though you’re just about to get in the car and you could kill yourself at the first corner.

“It’s pretty tough for a golfer to say, ‘It disturbs my swing.’

“But we’ve moved on. It’s a time when the players have got to give.

“They’ve got to sell themselves a lot more now.

“Golf got a bit carried away with its popularity. You’ve got to work on it.”