If day one was anything to go by, it's shaping up to be an outstanding US Masters.
The fact that Chad Campbell was homing in on a course record until a couple of late slips, indeed a low round major record, is indication of how pleasant the conditions were.
Almost every single player commented after their rounds how much they enjoyed themselves out on the course, and how much scope there was for low-scoring. It's something to welcome. But it's doubtful that the green jackets and Augusta doyens inside the hallowed clubhouse were willing Campbell to excel on those final holes as he threatened their magic number of 63.
They have spent the years since Tiger Woods' explosive dismantling of their course in 1997 making sure such a destruction of their sacred home would never happen again. They lengthened all the par fours to excruciating distances, they planted trees where there previously were pleasing vistas of the greens, and the healthy rims of grass along their already narrow fairways, they let grow.
So had Campbell actually shot 63 or God forbid, 62, any illusion of their Tiger-proofed course being the ultimate test of golf would have been shattered. Regardless, the scoring was low enough on the opening day to do a fair bit of that anyway.
This new Augusta experience of red numbers everywhere is definitely something to welcome. Of course, the last thing spectators will want is an easy course where birdies are sitting there on a plate at every corner, but Augusta could never be like that anyway.
They will almost certainly stick the pins in much less favourable positions today, exploiting the tantalising risks that the undulations and slopes of the course bring and they'll also probably hold back on the watering to stiffen up the greens. That should result in a tasty scramble as the cut mark looms.
But what the players have regularly griped about in recent years is that the course is set up in a cruel way where risk is not sufficiently rewarded and where brutal punishment lies in wait for the most innocent of shots. And hopefully, all the complaints, not least Geoff Ogilvy's assertion that what had happened to Augusta was "tragic", has finally sunk in and the course will stay solid and fair for the full weekend.
What Thursday showed is how exciting things could be come Sunday if the course stays the same. One look at the leaderboard reveals the potential. Anyone within ten shots of the lead can still win. Birdies are available if the players are brave enough to go for them and playing well enough to execute them.
Campbell has been in contention for majors before, and he has always been recognised as a formidable talent more than capable of joining the top table. But he has a tendency to crumble and even his two late bogies yesterday was some kind of evidence of how he flounders when all eyes fall on him.
Just behind him on -6, Hunter Mahan and Jim Furyk look like good bets, Furyk especially. His game is perfectly suited to Augusta, straight-hitting and a solid putter, and he has always scored well in Georgia. He has proven he has major class before, winning the US Open in 2003 and regularly finishing in the top ten of the big events. He now stands at 12-1 for the title, probably the best value bet for the weekend.
Padraig Harrington had an excellent opening day. He looked well in control of his ball and at -3, he is perfectly placed. He left plenty of opportunities behind him on the course, and if he holes out more, he will be right up there at the end.
The thing about the Masters is that it never throws up shock winners, surprises maybe, but it's a general rule that the Masters winner is someone we know and know well. Harrington is certainly someone we know well and the amazing penchant he seems to have developed for the gritty business end of majors suggests he could continue his magical run.
His young compatriot Rory McIlroy had a fine opening round of level par, an excellent result for his first effort at Augusta. It's probably beyond him to really challenge for the weekend but who really can doubt him? It would break almost every rule in golf if he was able to win here, but there were times yesterday when his composure under pressure, especially his successful 20ft par putt on the last, oozed major credentials.
Which brings us onto Woods. Even though he didn't break 70 yesterday, continuing his amazing 'streak' of never having gotten into the 60s on his opening round at the Masters, he played unbelievably well. Some of his approach shots on the back nine defied logic, especially his ridiculous effort at the 11th when he blasted the ball off pine needles in the trees to within a few feet of the hole at the front of the green.
He seemed to go for everything, only overcooking one approach shot, his effort into the 18th. Had he been a bit hotter with his putter, he could easily have shot in the mid 60s. It's going to take something special to beat him. It seems like the most obvious thing to say, but Woods is probably the surest thing sport has ever produced.