BRAD FAXON ALWAYS SEEMED to be two different players, each on parallel but dramati-
cramped and disconnected compared to the best ball-strikers. In his more than two decades on the PGA Tour, Fax- on finished inside the top 100 in driving accuracy only once and never in greens in regulation. The dichotomy is one that Faxon has long pondered, his reflections in- forming the wisdom he now imparts as Rory McIlroy’s putting coach and his commentary as an analyst for NBC and Golf Channel. “I like looking back, even the un- solved mysteries,” the 64-year-old says while sharing a couch with his dogs Vita and Flo in the living room of his home in Palm Beach Gardens. “The ups and downs and trying to figure it out, it’s a big part of what I love about golf.” He’s come to realise that his comfort and genius on and around the greens
cally divergent paths that never seemed to intersect. One was easy, capable of wondrous eye-hand artistry. The other had a dogged, fitful struggle whose tri- umphs put him in the conversation for best bad ball striker in golf history. With short shots, and especially with the putter, the lanky New Englander cut a graceful figure whose movements were relaxed and confident. His rhyth- mic stroke made him a perennial PGA Tour statistical leader on the greens and one of the best putters the game has ever seen. With long shots, however, especially the driver, Faxon’s movements took on an artificiality that undermined his athleticism. His swing was somewhat
‘THE BEST I EVER DID’ When Brad Faxon hit it better than he putted BY JAIME DIAZ
20 GOLF DIGEST SOUTH AFRICA
JULY/AUGUST 2025
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