How quickly did you start to see some progress?
I honestly can't remember how things went...It was a case, really, where once the club started to get on plane, and he started to see a difference in the ball flight, I said, 'Right, now we have to get to the next stage,' which was the lower body movement. Which meant getting the legs more solid, more rotation rather than a slide. That took its time. Throughout this two-year period, Nick was still playing a full tournament schedule.

In your opinion, how was he able to play competitively while trying to incorporate these major swing changes into his game?
The amazing thing about Nick is he always had the ability to compete. He always had a great awareness of his body. He also had a great understanding of feel. He is a very visual person, able to picture things well. So he had a lot of things going well for him as far as being able to use his senses to change things if they were not going well. He was able to go into a feel type of mode.

Did you tailor your teaching to appeal to that side of his nature?
Sure. To give you an example, I would always try and give him swing keys in pairs. It was a bit like a rhythm-thing for him. 'Back and through' became a sort of mantra for him. 'Rotate and sit', or 'Cock and hold' were others. Everything was geared around this rhythmical type of approach. He was able then to take that out on the golf course as a result. Although people say he was very mechanical, he turned those mechanics very much into a feel situation. Which was great being able to do that. A lot of players would say during a tournament, 'Ok, Led, I'll forget about that for now and just go and play.' While other guys would get into so much detail about the technique they just can't play.

When you first started, how much understanding did Nick have of his own swing. For example, if you had to mark it out of ten?
About a 5 I'd say...Which is fine. Hey, my mind says if you don't have to think about it, then don't.

How often did you get together?
Obviously, there was a period of time where he was playing over here (in Europe) and I was over there (in the United States). He would come over for little trips and I would go over for certain tournaments and so on. So anyway, we got together pretty frequently. It was a case of once every six weeks on average and more so when he came to the States obviously.

At what point did the world-at-large become aware that you and Nick had been working on his swing?
I think people were always pretty aware that Nick was working on his game - especially the British press who obviously had an interest in what he was doing. Throughout the whole time people were always asking, 'What's the matter with Nick?', and, 'Jesus, who's this idiot trying to help him?' (laughs)

That must have been quite tough on you as someone who was looking to make his reputation as a top-class teaching pro?
Yes, but he and I both realised it was coming. It was just a matter of time. I felt with his talent and aptitude for the game, being able to apply it out on the golf course once it worked itself in, I didn't think was going to be a problem. I really didn't. I thought if he could play as well as he did with his old technique, how can a guy with his mental strength not play better with a better technique. That was the philosophy we worked on.

During your first year or so together, Nick's form did slump alarmingly. Was it a case of going backward before he could go forward?
Sure. Obviously the confidence wasn't there and we went through a lot of video, a lot of analysis, a lot of understanding but he was bound and determined to get it right. It was funny. Round about Bay Hill time coming up for the two years - March 1987 - technically you could see it really started to look good, but he really wasn't letting it happen at all. He would be delving right into his technique. I said, 'Nick as far as I'm concerned the way its looking now is the way you want it to look. You're really close to swinging your best.' And he understood that because he could see his divots were getting shallower, the ball flight was more piercing and he was getting more roll on his driver...So I told him, 'Nick, to me it's just tension at address that's causing these problems!' So we worked on getting his arms as soft as possible, really trying to get him to swing it in the slot that you want to swing it in. Then we went to Hattiesburg the week of The Masters and finished second. Then subsequently, from there to Spain and won. Everything suddenly clicked into place. It was a case of 'boom!'

When Nick finally achieved his greatest ambition by winning The Open at Muirfield in 1987, that must have come as a huge vindication for you both?
It did, no question about that. There was a huge sense of relief - more so for him than me.

Do you remember what Nick said to you after winning his first British Open at Muirfield in 1987?
'We've done it!' I think they were the words he used. It was very much a team effort so I was really excited. It was pretty emotional. I had quite a few players up in the top-five or six at that stage - McNulty was up there, David Frost, Nick Price, so it was pretty special all round.

After the 1987 Open, you were suddenly thrust into the limelight - everybody knew who David Leadbetter was. How did it feel?
It was interesting because I was very much an unknown up to that point although I had worked with a lot of top players building on the fact they had such great success. But it was almost as if a lot of people who didn't know the story thought, 'Gee, David Leadbetter helped this guy from nowhere and look, he's won the Open!' If only they had known how much had gone into it - all the hours and hours of hard work.

Did you ever have a problem over the amount of time you were spending with Nick from your other famous clients?
Not that I heard. I'm sure there was some rumblings here and there but lets face it, he was the guy who really brought me to the forefront and I would always try and make sure I found time for the other players. He did take a lot of my time but it was very enjoyable. I enjoyed being around him and working on his golf game.

After winning at Muirfield where did you and Nick go from there? Was it a case of sit back and enjoy the view for a while?
The golf swing is always an ongoing project - it's not something you just stop. You are always tinkering and tweaking it, which was something Nick loved. Hitting balls.. try this.. do that.. really trying to refine it, refine it, refine it.. He was obviously developing a lot more shot making skills where he could hit different types of shot - draws and fades with the irons, controlling the distances that sort of thing. I always felt his best attribute was never his length - although at Augusta, (where he won in 1989-90-96) he could work the ball so well, he could always hit these shots that caught the right slopes, so his driving statistics would be pretty good. Yet he was never considered long...

Why is that? After all, he stands 6ft-3ins, just over 15 stone and is incredibly fit and strong. In your opinion, why doesn't Nick punch his weight so to speak?
He's a big guy but not what I would call a quick, dynamic moving guy. He wouldn't be a sprinter as much as a long distance man. I also think that part of the equation was when he was learning the game with Ian Connelly (his first teacher) he used to practice at Welwyn Garden City on a very narrow practice area. He was always saying how he wished he had learned to hit it hard to start with, but he was so intent on keeping it in play so he wouldn't lose his practice balls! That's the sort of thing that sticks with you, unfortunately.

What do you mean exactly?
You develop certain neurological patterns which are very hard to break. My goal was to get him to strike it solidly, have control over it, be able to do what he wanted with the ball - which in this day and age is a dying art to some extent.

For the record, what sort of work went into making Nick the player he was? How many balls would Nick Faldo hit in a day for example?
He worked his rear off. I'd say conservatively when we were together, he hit 500-800 balls a day, everyday, and that was in the heat and summer of Florida. Which was not pleasant that's for sure. I don't know how many balls we hit in total but it was thousands and thousands. He also kept up his short game too - he worked hard on that aspect of his game.

How was your personal relationship during that time?
It was always good. We never had a harsh word. If I was late, which I normally always am, he might say, 'where have you been?' but it was always done in jest. Certainly I spent more time with him than all the other players combined.

Did you socialise much?
We socialised a bit. Not a whole lot. I stayed at his house periodically and would go to dinner periodically but Nick was always a very private person. He was very difficult to get close to. He has his circle of friends and we were always very cordial and we got on well together but he wasn't what I would call a great mate where you tell jokes and stuff. But it was still a good business relationship.

Not like your relationship with Nick Price then, for example?
Sure, That was just the way it was. I think it's difficult for a lot of people to get close to Nick Faldo because he is so intense a lot of the time. I think he finds it difficult to get away (from golf) even with his family. He was always thinking about golf...golf. I mean golf was his life, really.

Did you see this as a problem for him in the future?
Maybe. Who knows what wear and tear can do over the years, when somebody is sleeping, eating and drinking it?

You said it took two years for Nick to master what you were working on. Because of his attitude, his intensity to get it right, would it have taken another player much longer?
Most people would not have been prepared to do it. It was just him. He was just so intent on making it perfect. That was part of his make-up.

Did you admire his determination to get things right. Especially considering the huge risk he was taking rebuilding his golf swing?
Absolutely. But as I said, it was all geared around things coming right. He knew it and I knew it was going to come right and it was always a case of 'when - not if.' Call it fate if you will but there was something, and he and I were aware of it, that was going to turn this guy into something special, which he really was..

Having worked with many great players in your career, would you consider Nick to be your best pupil in terms of sheer hard work and determination to succeed?
Absolutely, yes. There is no question about that. But he wasn't great at working things out for himself, though.

What do you mean?
In other words, if things were a little off - and maybe this was my fault subconsciously - he lost direction. When I came we could put things back on track very quickly but he would struggle with his feel and one thing and another. Maybe he relied on me a little too much.

Was that the case throughout your relationship or just early on?
No, I would say generally. It would be, 'Hey, Led fix me..' A lot of players, once I'd given them what they wanted, I want them to go out and do it for themselves. But with Nick it was like he wanted this constant re-enforcement.. constant re-enforcement.. Which is good but sometimes you think maybe, the player should be doing a little more themselves - taking more of the responsibility. But it was fine. Hey, it was successful so how do you say, look this isn't working.

Was it your idea to hire Fanny Sunneson as Nick's caddie? There was some speculation that you advised him to hire someone with a better understanding of the mechanics of the golf swing.
Not really, no. I mean Fanny's good. She has a pretty good eye and keeps watch on certain things but even she would definitely struggle trying to see little intricate things that were going on. But it was always a sort of team approach. Throughout your time together, Nick was always very quick to give you credit for his success.

Surely, that must have been very rewarding from a coach's point of view?
Marvellous, marvellous - he was very good in that respect. In some ways it was great press because if his game was a little off, we'd get together and boom - it was on again. As a result, he liked me around. I'd always be trying to find a little something for him. Subsequently, he said, 'David was working on too many gimmicks for me.' Well, it was these 'gimmicks' that really stirred his imagination and got things going. He would almost get bored with one thing so we'd tweak it a little bit, put it a slightly different way and it was, OK, that sounds good..' That is what you have to do as a coach. But when things aren't going well, it's these so-called 'gimmicks' that get the blame.

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