This past Saturday, I had the great honour of being the first golfer ever to play the newly designed 17th hole at Royal Adelaide Golf Club. As the guest of the Club President and Captain, and as part of my Top 100 course review, they asked the Superintendent to cut a hole in the green. The history lesson they gave me while standing on the tee box included insight into how the previous version of the hole was famously disliked by the membership and didn't fit with the rest of this fabled layout. With the entire rough cut away from either side of the fairway littered with new grass seed, and still behind the ropes, your attention is brought to the eye-catching bunker complex up the middle of the untouched fairway. The two front bunkers split the fairway and are very well positioned in the landing zone. This hole measures 440 yards from the tips and you immediately have to make a decision to go left or right off the tee. The left-side of the fairway is slightly higher than the right-side, and with a strengthen wind in my face, I struck the ball up the right fairway. As we walked down the short grass together, the turf around the bunkers was newly sodded and marked as GUR. I noticed a carefully shaped speed-slot down the left side of the fairway, which I hope that golfers will take advantage of - only if you can hit it far enough! The right side is tighter, but potentially more rewarding. If you hit the ball into a fairway bunker, you'll have to hit a career shot to make it on the green, otherwise, you'll be chipping out and then faced with a 165 yard approach shot. Architecturally, the hole now offers bunkers that fit with the rest of the sand-traps around the property, especially the 3 bunkers located 5 paces behind the back of the green which reduce the "noise" around the putting surface. They frame the hole so well, and I doubt will get much use, but still very effective. As nobody had played the hole before, they were all eager to understand the yardages I had, which helped their understanding of how the hole would be played by a scratch golfer, especially the decision making process that went through my mind. It was clear that the Superintendent really cared about the property as he quizzed me on the decisions I was making, and would make, depending on the route I'd take off the tee. Dr. MacKenzie was the expert at designing bunkers to frame a hole and give challenging perspective for your next shot. The bunkers behind the 17th serve that exact purpose. Most noticeably, the subtle green is surrounded by a huge chipping apron all around it. This feature is noticeable from down the fairway as the architect has given players of all abilities the option to run the ball onto the green. Despite the vicious looking new bunkers positioned front-right of the green, there is still an element of fair play as the left side of the green is accessible. You can't see the entire green surface from the fairway, and even though they placed the flag in the centre of the green, to the naive golfer, it looks like there is no room right of the flag and the putting surface appears to be the size of your kitchen table. Once again, you have a decision to make which I really enjoyed. Many of the approach shots at RAGC are played along the ground, and this spirit is incorporated into the new 17th hole. After we finished the hole, the Captain asked the Superintendent to remove the flag and fill in the hole - to the entertainment of the members on the surrounding fairways. After our round, the new 17th hole was the talk of the clubhouse and has been fabulously received by the membership. This hole isn't open for play just yet, but once the grass matures and binds together, this hole plays into a prevailing wind and will as legendary as the architects who have put their stamp on the land. It was a real honour to be the first golfer to play this new hole and I am excited for its future. Nice job Mr. Doak.