Like Nicklaus, his game was always geared around the Majors. And like Nicklaus, he was never a prolific winner of ordinary Tour events. Any reason for this?
His mindset was obviously built around Majors and considering how many which he's won in the modern era, it is a significant number. I suppose it is interesting when you think of actually how few, (PGA Tour) tournaments he's won in the United States but he always considered them warm-ups. I'm just getting ready type-thing. It's the same in Europe - in comparison with Seve, he's won half the events considering how good he is. That might have been part of the problem ultimately, in as much that I actually felt - and I said this quite a while ago - that maybe playing full time in America was not the thing to do.

Why did he decide to play full time in the United States 1996-1997?
I think he felt by going to the United States he could be near me. He could also have great conditions, great practice facilities and it would be even better preparation for the Majors. He was always moaning about the conditions over here - the practice facilities, the condition of the courses. He felt being able to practise under such great conditions would help him.

Why did you feel that was a mistake?
To some extent, that (the poor conditions in Europe) actually helped his inventiveness and shot making. A lot of times, a player of stature and ability will bend and be flexible enough to except those conditions - and you always had an excuse if things weren't going right. Over there what excuse do you have? You've got perfect weather, perfect conditions - you cannot even complain about the courtesy cars not being there! I actually said two years ago - I even mentioned it to John Simpson (Faldo's manager) - that Nick might want to play a little more over here. See if he could build up some confidence.

When do you feel things started to slip for Nick Faldo?
Although he won The Masters in 96 things were starting to decline a little then, or not long after that, really. Although he won in L.A. in 97 (The Nissan Open) things have fallen off greatly since then.

Do you feel he lost some of his mystique playing full-time in the US?
Yes I do. When he went to the States he had this aura about him. People would look at him and say, 'Wow! Nick Faldo.' (Before that) he would go over there, play a couple of tournaments before a Major and play maybe OK He was just gearing himself up. Then in every Major he was favourite to win. Whether he did or not was a different matter but he was favourite to win it because of his intensity, and his ability to play so well in those tournaments. Because of that, he felt the other players treated him with that degree of respect and they certainly did. That was something I think he lost when he started playing over there full-time. Because after a while, especially when he wasn't doing that well in regular tournaments, it was, 'We can beat Nick Faldo.. What's the big deal? What's so special about this guy?' And I think, whether subconsciously or otherwise he, to some extent, felt that too.

Was there any particular area in his game that started to suffer?
Let's face it, in America there is definitely more emphasis placed on putting. You are not talking about every tournament but the generality is if you hit it long and putt well, you are going to do fine - and make a lot of money! So when these young kids are blowing it 40-50 yards by him every time and putting the eyes out of the ball, I think it got wearing after a time. He was always experimenting with drivers, trying to hit it longer, trying to do this, trying to do that..

Did that put more pressure on his putting do you think?
I think it put more emphasis on his putting. When you are putting on great greens, which they have in America week in, week out, there is nobody to blame but yourself. Now, if you play in Europe you can say, 'Aah, those greens were terrible last week..' It was always a case of having something to blame.

How would you describe Nick's attitude during this period?
Very determined. He had the strength of his convictions, that what he wanted to achieve, he could achieve. He wasn't the most popular guy with all the players, that's for sure. He didn't go out to win friends and influence people. Very seldom does he call people by name. I don't know if you noticed that? Even like Nick (Price) played golf in his younger years with Nick, went to Japan together, were in the same management group and so on.. He's a hard guy to get close too.

Did you ever talk to him about such things?
Not really. I didn't really think it was my place.. Even if you thought it would hurt his performance? I don't think it did hurt his performance! That's the thing. You don't have to be 'Mr Popular' to win golf tournaments. I think it might have hurt his income potential. I just don't think he warmed to people in the way Sandy Lyle did and other people do from a popularity standpoint. I always thought that he was really well respected by the golfing spectators, by his fellow players - but well respected rather than loved or liked

But like most sporting superstars, Nick has always been a little intimidating to anyone who doesn't know him.
Yes. That I think was one of the big factors throughout his career. He was very intimidating. Just look at his Ryder Cup record. I think he loved it too. My feeling was he actually enjoyed being part of something like that. It was always funny looking at the Ryder Cup. He was in a team situation that particular week - buddy-buddy with everyone - then the following week it was back to normal type-thing.

What sort of people does he like spending time with?
I tried to sort of keep out of his private life. I know he had a select few friends who he obviously got on well with - Elton John and Phil Collins and Huey Lewis - some high profile people. Not that I think he spent that much time with them. Then he enjoyed spending time with his kids - no question about that. I mean he's a very, very good father. he always tried to find time for them.

Do you feel his off-course relationships have impacted on his career. Perhaps not seeing his children as much as he would like too?
He has a good relationship with his children. His children really adore him. It must have put a lot of strain on him, the fact that they're not with him when he wants them - especially in America. I think that was even more pressure on him. When they did come over, he felt he had to spend more time with them, so there was the guilt factor. There was a lot of things going on in his life that probably took a lot of energy away from golf. One of the accusations occasionally levelled at Nick is that he is not consistent in his attitude to people - Shake your hand one day, ignore you the next for example.

Did you find this during your time together?
No. I think that sort of depended on the mood of his game. He doesn't do it intentionally. I just think he was so wrapped and so focused. I remember Ian Baker-Finch played with him in 90 at St.Andrews (in the Open Championship) and Ian was really upset that Nick never said, 'Good shot.. Boo.. or anything.' Didn't say a word to him. I just said, 'Well, you have to expect that from Nick - to him you didn't exist. You go play your game, he'll play his and you meet at the end..' (laughs)

It has often been said that Nick hit his peak winning his second Open title at Muirfield in 1992. What do you consider were your best years with him?
When it was at its best? I would say the early years were really good. But it never altered all the way through. It really didn't.

There must have been a breakdown in communication toward the end surely? Perhaps not on a teaching level but certainly on a personal level. Considering what eventually happened in late 1998, he was obviously feeling things that he was not communicating to you?
I think it was just a combination of the fact that he wasn't playing very well and, in 1998, I didn't have as much time to spend with him because I was spending a lot of time with my Dad who was very ill. My mind was somewhere else and it was just one of those things that I probably wasn't giving him the attention that I normally did. But that was my thing. I just felt like I had to do certain things. Hey, maybe these things happen for a reason, but I actually had the feeling - from the middle of 1997 to when we basically finished in Ô98 - I just felt his intensity level had somehow dropped off. He wasn't quite the same. What do you mean? I remember in particular last year, prior to Augusta, (The Masters in 1998) we had a week off and he was at Lake Nona and I think I saw him for maybe two one-hour sessions during the whole week! One of the other players I coach - Brandel Chamblee -even mentioned it! He was always under the assumption that Nick was a six-hour a day man. Nick would come down for a couple of sessions. He had his little boy, Matthew, with him and he would wonder over and watch him hit a couple of balls then go back. They had Brenna (Cepalek) on the cart. She'd be hitting balls, then he would be there for an hour or so, then he'd wonder off. He did that two, maybe three times that week. Which is strange because here was this man, Nick Faldo, who was the hardest worker, the most focused. Then, it would just be him and me. Now, it was just a carnival atmosphere.

How did that make you feel as his teacher?
I just felt, hey, something's not quite in gear here! Of course things do change, your priorities change and maybe the intensity wasn't quite there. It's hard to keep as intense as he has been over the years, so hey - who knows? Whether it was a subconscious thing maybe I felt and he felt, I don't know.

It wasn't long after that you split up was it?
The pity of it all was I wished it had been done differently. That is the thing with Nick, he never seems to confront things head-on. If there was a problem with anything, he'd rather just get away from the situation rather that say, 'Hey, this is the way it is.' If he had just come to me and said, 'Listen David, we need a break. We've had a great innings. I need to sort some things out on my own here.' that would have been fine. I can take that. Nobody likes confrontation and it's not the easiest thing in the world to say, 'Hey, this isn't working and that's not working.' But I think it shows strength of character if you can deal with it.

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