“I think I fell in love with Mizuno because of Nick Faldo”

Luke Donald joined Mizuno in 2004 and has never looked back. He tells us what he loves so much about the Japanese brand

- Joel Tadman

How did the relationship with Mizuno start and what was it that made you sign?

Growing up as a young kid, one of my idols was Nick Faldo. He played Mizuno for a long time and was synonymous with the brand. I just loved the style of his game and his work ethic. I felt like he would be someone who went to great lengths to try to make sure he had the best equipment and I think I fell in love with the brand because of Nick Faldo playing it. There’s a picture of me playing in Spain aged nine with a Mizuno golf bag so clearly I liked the brand from a young age.

I think for a long time Mizuno has been known as a great iron maker. Any time you put a club down on the ground, it looks amazing. But the clubs also have a great feel and give you great feedback – certainly the better I got, the more I enjoyed that. I first signed with Mizuno in 2004, my third year on tour, and it just seemed like a natural fit.

I played two years with Ben Hogan before, but then after that contract ran out I decided to go with a brand that was very recognizable to me and I’ve been with Mizuno ever since.