The Adelaide Golf Club moved to its present seaside Seaton site in 1904, yet its boldest move came in 1926 when the Club invited Dr Alister Mackenzie to advise on modifications to its layout. After visiting the course twice in October and November 1926, he quickly recognised the cumbersome aspect of playing across the Adelaide-to- Grange railway line that bisected the course. That silliness was removed! A further consequence of Mackenzie’s revised routing was acknowledgment of the under-utilisation of the natural sand dunes and sand craters in the site. That, too, became a thing of the past.

The land occupied by Royal Adelaide’s current third hole is very sandy and was not used by Swift and Rymill in their 1906 ‘permanent’ layout. Mackenzie’s eye for ‘golf country’ enabled the identification of a short par-four in this vacant area of the property—one destined to be a classic. As is often the case, one change has a ripple effect; it allowed the tee-shot at the new fourth hole to carry a huge sand crater—one that had also been ignored until that time. The Doctor was smitten with this part of the property and arranged for a photographer to take some pictures for him. The crater at the fourth, and the site for the new third green featured in his articles in UK Golf Illustrated (1927) on his Australian tour. Interestingly, Mackenzie’s plan for the remodelling of the Royal Adelaide course showed two greenside bunkers: one at front right; and one at middle-left of a diamond-shaped green. These were never built, while the green is much longer and narrower than the one Mackenzie envisaged.

Unfortunately, his written report to the Club has since been lost; much of what we know about his visit comes from press reports of the period. In August 1928, some eighteen months after the Club’s adoption of Mackenzie’s plan, the Adelaide Register published an article by committeeman, J. L. Lewis. Describing the alterations to the third hole, he wrote:

Hole 3 will be played from a tee between the present 18th green and the railway line, to a beautifully placed leg of mutton green in the crater going to the present eleventh. This hole, although only 300 yards, will call for two very accurate shots. It is distinctly ‘a hole of class.’

The article draws no reference to any bunkers, despite the prominence of these on Mackenzie’s drawing; the idea of including them appears to have been abandoned after Mackenzie left Australia. Whoever was responsible for this decision made a choice of sheer architectural genius, most probably without realising it.

Enough of the pre-amble: why have I selected this as my favourite hole in golf? It showcases the perfect marriage where the simple concept of the great, short par-four, combines with a marvellous natural piece of land unreliant upon artificial hazards for its challenge. On such a stage, eagles and double bogeys are both likely, yet so is any score in between. And isn’t that half the fun! Royal Adelaide’s third hole introduces golfers to the sand dune country, following the relative flatness of the opening two holes. The natural dunes land provides all the necessary golfing elements needed for a wonderfully compact two-shotter, without the use of a single bunker. All that was required was the building of a tee and a green—the rest was left to nature.

From a tee perched on the side of the railway line, golfers must be unequivocal about their tee-shot strategy. Prudent play may see golfers opting for a three-iron to the top of the ridge that traverses the fairway. Assuming success, there is still much to do: leaving a tricky wedge shot into a long and narrow green that is slightly angled across the line of play, from back-left, to front-right. The green is set down on the floor of a broad, dune valley and is guarded on its left-hand side by a steep and narrow embankment. This is covered by heavy rough and set diagonally to the line of play. Examination of the photograph of this greensite taken for Mackenzie shows that this bank was an existing natural linear dune feature, and it was covered in reeds. A sharp, grassy knob intrudes to the edge of the green from the towering dune that extends down the right side of the hole. These dunes are covered by reeds, marram grasses, as well as pine trees, and are matched by smaller dunes down the left of the fairway. Combined, these features form a fearsome rough.

For golfers who insist upon gambling with a driver, the third green is reachable, but they will be flying ‘blind’ from the tee. As the fairway beyond the ridge slopes from right to left down from the dunes, the drive must be threaded precisely down the right edge of the fairway in order to receive a favourable kick toward the green’s opening. As Norman Von Nida would testify, the hole has real teeth: he took a nine here once to lose the Australian Open. For shorter hitters unable to reach the crest of the ridge, the approach shot is also blind, but a short walk to the top will enable them to survey what lies ahead. The tee-shot that clears the ridge without enough impetus to reach the flat, will remain on the downslope. What follows is the most awkward sixty-metre pitch shot on the entire course. And this especially applies if the pin is tucked away to the left beyond the embankment. If the pitch shot is feeble, it will get tangled up in the thick rough on the bank; if too bold, a tricky, downhill putt will await. However, the thrill of playing a high pitch to a pin on the left of this green is not to be missed—watching it clear the embankment and hoping that it doesn’t either get caught up, or appear too quickly into view is one of those special golfing moments.

The first half of the putting surface is narrow and continues out of the approach at the same level. Golfers will find the back half to be much wider, and it slopes a little more from back to front. The right rear of the green falls off into a shallow, grassy hollow beyond the knob. There’s no doubt: walking off Royal Adelaide’s third hole with a birdie puts a spring in one’s step to face the testing fourth. A bogey or worse, however, can make the uphill walk to the next tee seem like climbing Mt. Everest.

Many a knowledgeable spectator has gathered atop the dunes alongside the third green during tournaments, awaiting the arrival of bold competitors who may try to drive the green. The golfer will not see if their tee-shot is successful. The response of the crowd on the hill will dutifully inform. Applause will mean success, while silence will indicate that problems have only just begun.

Golf Strategies
Adelaide, South Australia, Australia