Ken,
I wasn't suggesting you were being a fan boy -- I get the fact that you like Ballyhack and appreciate it. I was referring to the proclivity of some posters here on GCA to play up their own status by touting certain courses.
As for Ballyhack, if a course is supposed to be playable, it doesn't make any sense to me to make the opening tee shot (uphill, into the morning sun, as I recall) the longest, hardest forced carry on the whole golf course. That's one of many routing issues, esp. on the front nine, where the first eight holes looked, felt and played as if they had been squeezed in to the land.
Brad,
Just to clarify, have you been to Ballyhack? In response 44, you indicated "I have not written a Raters Notebook on Ballyhack so I can't point you to a detailed explanation of my own judgments." I interpreted that as meaning you hadn't been there yet, but your last paragraph reads as if you have (or were you giving a summary of perceptions you noted from the submitted ratings?).
Regardless, your feedback gives me some insight into what may have contributed to the lower average ranking. With the course being severe (both in terrain and in difficulty), perhaps the course is a little more polarizing than I thought. A few layouts in Western New York are golf courses in summer / ski lodges in winter, so severe terrain is something I'm used to and I enjoy the additional elements presented by elevation change (i.e. aesthetics / distance challenges / partial blindness). Perhaps Tom Doak was on to something when he pointed out the relative rankings of courses in the "severe" genre.
Regarding the "squeezed" feel of the front nine, I personally wouldn't have used that adjective based on my experience. I suppose the 6th fairway through 8th green might have felt tighter as the course winds through the lowlands during that stretch. However, I think that's only a "relative" sensation compared to the very open feel of the remainder of the course.
Once again, Brad, I appreciate you taking the time to offer your insight.