I tell hilarious golf jokes, Nick Faldo laughs with appreciation. Photo by Sarah Moodie
After meeting Nick, we headed out on the course to take on the Wilderness Club. After a successful front nine, we approached the tenth tee. We found that a foursome had jumped out in front of us. We quickly realized that it was Nick Faldo, so we didn't put up much of a fight.
On the 12th hole and playing only as a twosome, Nick and his group waived us through from the fairway. It was time to play through Nick Faldo. The 12th hole is the best looking par 5 on the course and a great risk reward opportunity. I stepped up and piped one right down the middle, just a little past Nick's ball. My playing partner, Sarah Moodie, also knocked one down the middle.
Recently I had the privilege of meeting Nick Faldo at the Wildnerness Club in Montana. Sir Nick was in town vacationing and spending some time at the fantastic course he created in Eureka, Montana. What does one do when they meet Nick Faldo? They arm wrestle Nick Faldo, of course. It was unclear who the winner was in this contest of strength. But since the tiebreaker was who had more major championships, he escaped with a win. Nick Faldo: 6 major championships. Patrick Koenig: 0 major championships.
Photo by: Sarah Moodie
Nick Faldo checks his yardages as the Patrick Koenig Sarah Moodie twosome play through.
I would replay the Wilderness Club later that day. On my second attempt, I flushed a 2 iron to 15 feet and made birdie. Like they say, everything is easier when Nick Faldo isn't watching with his arms folded.
Be sure to check out the full gallery of pictures from my round at the Wilderness Club here!
Facing 230 yards to the pin while Nick Faldo looked on, I decided to go for it and show Nick Faldo my prowess as a tenacious golfer. I probably would even earn an automatic spot on the Ryder Cup after he sees me stuff this shot, I thought to myself. Even though my lie was questionable, I pulled out my 3 iron and took dead aim.
I pulled back and hit one of the worst chunks right into the middle of the pond. I chunked it big time right in front of Sir Nick. Arguably the greatest failure of my amateur career. It was glorious.
In an interview in 2005, Curtis Strange said: "Nick Faldo stared a lot of guys down. He had a way of folding his arms and looking at you as though he knew you were going to make a mistake."
I thanked Nick for letting us play through as Sarah made a solid par. I should have blamed my poor performance on our arm wrestling match earlier. I will just have to wait until the next time that I play through a 6 time major champ to get my shot as an automatic selection on that Ryder Cup team.