The most decorated European golfer of all time, Sir Nick Faldo has enjoyed an incredible career, and we’re so excited to introduce him as our newest Inspirato Golf Ambassador. He’s passionate about the good things in life—travel, wine, food, and golf—just like our members and passholders We sat down with him to learn more about his famous wins, what he does in his down time, his wine label, and his Weimaraners.
Inspirato: Let’s talk travel. You’ve obviously traveled the world, personally and as a successful athlete. What’s your favorite destination and why?
Sir Nick Faldo: Well the funny thing is, my favorite destination is coming home. We have a golden rule, when you finish a tournament you just run to get home for a day. So that’s very important. But now I have an opportunity to have real time off. And one of the destinations I love running to is Montana, and back to Europe as well, which is a very different lifestyle.
Inspirato: And you’re a resident of both Florida and the UK, right? Are there any places in Florida that you like to sneak off to when you need to get away?
SNF: Yeah—we typically sneak off to Ponte Vedra Beach, home of the Players Championship, the Sawgrass area. Lindsay (my lady) and I really like that. … When I’m busy, I’m very busy, so it’s nice to get away with her, the dogs, and a few friends to play some golf—we’re very happy with that.
Inspirato: What kind of dogs do you have?
SNF: They’re Weimaraners! We have three now: the two eldest are 19 months, brother and sister, and then a little one who’s about 8 months now. They’re all unbelievably different characters—friendly, loving, nutty.
Inspirato: So cute. Let’s switch gears a little bit. We know you’re a wine connoisseur. When did that become a passion of yours?
SNF: I wouldn’t say I’m a “connoisseur”—I’ve always enjoyed a bottle of wine with my meal, as simple as that. It’s something I’ve done for a while, and we resurrected it now; it’s called Faldo Selection, specialty wines that I like and can recommend. Helping people discover great wines is really the fun part. It’s really just a fun project for me—and we’ll have some of the Faldo Selection wines at our Inspirato event dinners, too.
Inspirato: What would you say is your favorite golf course of all time?
SNF: Well, I’ve got three of them: Augusta, St. Andrews, and Muirfield. The site of all my major championships.
Inspirato: Since we’re already on the topic of golf, do you have any tips for amateurs? What’s the most common mistake you see in amateurs’ swings?
SNF: A common mistake which is really easy to fix is alignment. Amateurs generally don’t align their bodies correctly, either too far left or too far right. That can be fixed with some work on the range, actually putting the club down and learning to swing with one target in mind, rather than the golf ball being the target—like a flag or a green. That will make a big difference: Aim in the right place and swing at a target.
Editor’s note: This interview has been edited for length and clarity and is a shortened version of an article that appeared in Inspirato Magazine. To read the full story in our digital magazine, click here.
