Nick Faldo Low Scope Fade Drill: When The Heat Is On

You’re Playing The Best Round Of Your Life. You Can Feel Your Hands Cradling The Trophy Like A Newborn Baby. But You Arrive At The 18th Tee And Start To Shake In Places You Never Knew Existed. You See Hazards Everywhere You Look. Your Heart Is Pounding Out Of Your Chest. All Your Glands Start Oozing Copious Amounts Of Sweat, Especially Your Hands Which Make Gripping The Club A Near Impossibility. Your Eyes Start Twitching. You Think You Might Have Been Poisoned By A Russian Spy. But It’s Worse Than That. You Have Injected Yourself With A Large Dose Of Pressure. You Are Close To Becoming A Champion. The Heat Is On. Fear Not! For If You Have Practiced The Nick Faldo Low Scope Fade Drill, You’ve As Good As Already Made Par…Or Even Birdie.

I added the Nick Faldo Low Scope Fade Drill to the Golf Practice Planner today because I asked myself why do Nick Faldo, Jack Nicklaus, and all other pros have “go-to” shots when under pressure?

It’s easy to get lulled into trying to hit the most beautiful shot, but professional golfers are highly aware that golf is a chess game played on a very large green board. The pros know that golf is a game of strategy and not a game of-who-can-swing-the-prettiest.

That’s where the Nick Faldo Low Scope Fade Drill comes to the rescue. By the end of this drill, you’ll know how to hit a low fade when the pressure is on. 

I have to admit to being a Faldo fan. Most professional golfers aren’t exactly interesting to listen to, but Faldo is. He’s funny, down-to-earth, and has timeless drills that are still as relevant today as they were decades ago.

The thing I like most about Sir Nick Faldo’s drills is that most of them aren’t technical. Really! I mean it. Faldo is regarded as the most technical player of all time, but the reality is that his drills are designed to banish any technical thoughts when he’s on the course. That’s why he won six major championships.

The Nick Faldo One Wrap Drill is a trigger, not a technical swing thought. There’s a quantum difference between the two, so I’m gonna bold the next sentence for you.

The “trigger” will set you free on the course, but the “technical thought” will put you in a mental prison and send your scores skyrocketing.

If you like this drill, don’t stop there!

Sir Nick Faldo personally liked two other drills when I posted them on my Twitter account. I know! Cool, isn’t it.

It’s not every day the best British golfer of all time gives you a digital-like. But the drills are highly likable, so I understand why he liked them.

Okay, stop bragging George. Give them the two drills.

Sir Nick Faldo liked the Nick Faldo Golf Shot Nicknames Drill and the Nick Faldo One Club Challenge Run Drill. Hope you like them as well. 

Name
Nick Faldo Low Scope Fade Drill

Category
Golf Mindset Practice Drills

Difficulty
6 out of 10

Time
10 minutes

Props
Golf club. Golf Practice Planner.

Steps

Step 1: Watch
Watch the video.

Step 2: Low Scope Fade
Address the ball. Hit a shot getting the club low through impact. Feel that you’re scoping the clubface open through impact. The result is a low fade.

Step 3: Shot Nickname
Faldo gives his shots a nickname. You should too! Give this shot a nickname (e.g. “Low Scoupie”). When on the course, and each time you practice the shot, silently call out the nickname you’ve given it (e.g. “Scoupie”) to allow your subconscious to take over the shot.

Step 4: Keep Score
Hit 10 balls silently calling out the nickname shot (e.g.”Low Scoupie”) as you hit the shot. Calling out the nickname during the shot will short circuit your thinking brain (a good thing!). Give yourself one point each time the shot felt effortless because you summoned up the nickname which activated your subconscious. You get no point if you became conscious and thought about technique.