It is hardly a hot take to say that Augusta National holds a unique spot in the golfing landscape.
Of course, The Masters is the only major that returns to the same venue every single year. Augusta National has hosted every staging of the event since its inception in 1934.
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It is a golf course which puts a premium on experience. Fuzzy Zoeller remains the last player to win The Masters on his first visit to the iconic venue, with his victory coming all the way back in 1979.
It can take years to fully grasp all of the questions Augusta National demands the answers to over the course of 72 holes. Rory McIlroy rarely looked like winning between his dramatic collapse on Sunday in 2011 and his sensational triumph 14 years later.
Sir Nick Faldo shares the secret to success around Augusta National
And it turns out that there may be a secret to playing well around Augusta National that many players simply do not know about.
Sir Nick Faldo enjoyed some of his greatest moments on a golf course on the hallowed turf in Georgia. The Englishman won The Masters on three occasions during his career.
And speaking to Golf Digest in 2011, Faldo explained what proved to be crucial to his success, particularly when it came to his second Masters win.
“When I won the 1990 Masters, I don’t recall missing a single green to the left or right. I missed only short or long – a secret to playing Augusta National not all players are aware of,” he said.
“It all goes back to my days as a teenager at Welwyn Garden City Golf Club, in England. It had a short, narrow practice area, no more than a seven iron shot in length to a small target green, and naturally I developed an iron game more oriented toward direction than distance. Controlling distance gets most of the emphasis these days, and I appreciate that, but the mark of a pure swing is whether you hit the ball dead on line. If you can learn to do that, your distance control will follow eventually.”
The exclusive club Sir Nick Faldo finds himself in along with Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods following his three Masters wins
Faldo is one of the most successful players in Masters history.
Only Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods and Arnold Palmer have won more often around Augusta National than Faldo. The likes of Sam Snead, Gary Player, and Phil Mickelson have also won three times.
But Faldo is also part of an exclusive club that even Palmer did not make it into.
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Nicklaus, Faldo and Woods are the only players in the history of the event to retain their titles the following year.
What makes Faldo’s record all the more incredible is that those three wins marked the only times he actually finished in the top 10 at The Masters.
Funnily enough, it proved to be the major which saw him register the fewest top 10s across his career.
So perhaps it is fair to say that he was not always able to take his own advice when he made the drive down Magnolia Lane.
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