Sir Nick Faldo Reveals Which Course's Greens Are Tougher Than Augusta National's

The three-time Masters winner has named the course he thinks has more challenging greens than Augusta National

Sir Nick Faldo at St Andrews before the 2022 Open
Sir Nick Faldo says Royal Melbourne's greens are more challenging than Augusta National's
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Mike Hall
By Mike Hall
published

One player who knows Augusta National intimately is Sir Nick Faldo. The 65-year-old won The Masters three times between 1989 and 1996 and needed to demonstrate plenty of control over its famously fast and sloping greens in the process. 

However, according to the Englishman, there’s another course with more challenging greens than the famous Georgia course.

Faldo was asked on Twitter: “what's more difficult to putt? Fast Augusta greens? Or fast Royal Melbourne greens?” He responded: “Don’t think i ever had my back to the hole at Augusta (close!) so probably Royal Melbourne!”

The comparison with Augusta National is certainly fair given the two courses have the same designer, Dr Alister MacKenzie. Meanwhile, the West Course at the Australian location, which is regarded as one of the most incredible in the world, is well known for the speed of its green complexes. 

Despite the Royal Melbourne greens offering Faldo plenty of problems over the years, he once said of the course: “The West Course at Royal Melbourne might just be the best golf course in the world, period.” He then elaborated, saying: “I love the way it plays firm and fast-running, the way the bunkering frames and almost intrudes into the putting surfaces and the brilliance of the bunkering style with the native scrubby look.

“I’m also a fan of the often very wide fairways that reward positioning and of the mix of long and short par-4s. Add to this the splendid contouring of the greens and the rich variety of approach shots that you play into those greens.”

Faldo may believe that Royal Melbourne's greens have the edge over Augusta National's in difficulty, but he's detailed how challenging those are too. In a 2020 interview with Bunkered, he said: "It’s hard for anybody who hasn’t played there to appreciate just how blisteringly quick some of the greens can get. You get a six or eight-footer straight downhill but, because of the character of the greens, they just keep running at that percentage."

Faldo recently returned to Augusta National, albeit in a broadcasting capacity for Sky Sports during The Masters. His best finish at Royal Melbourne came in a tie for second in the 2003 Heineken Classic. 

Mike Hall
Mike Hall
News Writer

Mike has over 25 years of experience in journalism, including writing on a range of sports throughout that time, such as golf, football and cricket. Now a freelance staff writer for Golf Monthly, he is dedicated to covering the game's most newsworthy stories. 

He has written hundreds of articles on the game, from features offering insights into how members of the public can play some of the world's most revered courses, to breaking news stories affecting everything from the PGA Tour and LIV Golf to developmental Tours and the amateur game. 

Mike grew up in East Yorkshire and began his career in journalism in 1997. He then moved to London in 2003 as his career flourished, and nowadays resides in New Brunswick, Canada, where he and his wife raise their young family less than a mile from his local course. 

Kevin Cook’s acclaimed 2007 biography, Tommy’s Honour, about golf’s founding father and son, remains one of his all-time favourite sports books.

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