English golfing great Nick Faldo can take a lot of credit for Oliver Fisher’s rise to stardom.Fisher progressed through the ranks of Faldo’s mentorship programme Team Faldo, a concept that aims to identify and nurture the next generation of golfing champions.
After winning his last Masters in 1996, Faldo was posed the question where the next Nick Faldo was coming from. At the time, Lee Westwood was one of the only English golfers ranked inside the top 100 in the world.
With the golfing heritage in this country, Faldo knew this was unacceptable. That is why, in 1996, he established the Faldo Series.
Kerry McDonald, Director of the Faldo Series Europe, explained Faldo’s vision:
“Nick set about trying to put in place a programme that combines top quality competition on world class courses, that test every aspect of a good golfer’s game and help prepare them for tough golf courses that you would face in the professional world.
“He also felt that it was vital that these guys understood that to be a professional golfer these days, you need to be better prepared than ever before. You need to be mentally strong, physically strong, know about diet and nutrition, and also know about the business side of golf.
“All of these aspects are rolled into the Faldo Series ethos, which are really about professional development and about these guys gaining a better understanding on what is required to reach the next level.”
Fisher performed very well in the Faldo Series, and was named Faldo Series champion in successive years in 2004 and 2005.
The Essex-born teenager was hand picked by Faldo in 2003, and soon became a member of Team Faldo. It was here, where Fisher received invaluable advice and support from arguably one of the world’s greatest ever golfers.
And McDonald always knew Fisher was going to be a success:
“I am often asked the question what sets Oliver Fisher apart from a lot of top young amateur golfers out there. And it’s hunger, it’s desire, and it’s the ability to want to know more and to learn.
“One of Ollie’s greatest assets is his ability to absorb information and process it in order of what he feels he needs. Ollie has done that, in my opinion, very successfully with Nick. He was always asking questions and being inquisitive.”
But McDonald played down comparisons between Fisher and Faldo. He said: “I’m sure Oliver Fisher wants to be the next Oliver Fisher. He doesn’t want to be the next Nick Faldo.
“Oliver Fisher is going to be a very good golfer. Will he be Britain’s next major winner? There is a very good chance if he develops. He just needs to keep pushing on and performing.”
The Faldo Series also aims to combat many of the stigmas that are attached to golf, as McDonald expresses:
“It shouldn’t be about where you come from, what colour your skin is or how rich you are. It’s about how good you are or how good you could be, and how good you want to be.
“If we [the Faldo Series] can help try and break down some of the barriers that exist within golf, then I think hopefully golf will become more popular, and we will start to see more players playing regularly and more so at the top end of the pyramid. This will lead to more players competing on the professional circuit.”
One to Watch
Kerry was a little nervous about labelling future stars, but he did mention one outstanding candidate from Team Faldo who is destined for great things: the “phenomenally talented” Carly Booth.
Image from Nickfaldo.com
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