I waited 1 day to sign up, and ended up at 15th alternate, so I attended Wade Whitehead's outing last month instead at Ballyhack. My number eventually ended up being called, but I had to pass based on my other trip.
1) BALLYHACK
In my opinion, I believe Ballyhack is worthy of a Top 100 Ranking, but I have a very good understanding of why it may not get ranked as such. Ballyhack can be quite a polarizing course simply due to the overall rugged nature of the course, as well as a few quirky features that Lester built in (e.g. the "Short Porch" strategy on #15). It is not a course that people will fully appreciate after just one visit, which makes it pretty tough to get the "quick hit rater love." I had several discussions / debates about the course with Brad Klein earlier this year, and it helped me understand why some may not appreciate it as much as I do. In fact, some of the things he mentioned as holding the course back were some of the very same things I enjoyed about it, so you have to take any quantitative ranking with a grain of salt.
With respect to my personal likes:
- The property itself is simply one of the most awe-inspiring I have experienced. I separate courses into those that I "see" vs. those that I "feel." Ballyhack definitely falls into the latter category. With a minimal amount of trees and significant elevation changes, you get many opportunities to take in the overall vista of the course throughout the round.
- There are several spectacular holes with multiples options and ways of attacking (plenty of width in most cases). There are very few (if any) holes that you'll forget after just one visit or that will "blend in" with similar holes you've played elsewhere. The 1st features a "heart-stopping" tee shot, but you'll reflect after the hole and realize, "that wasn't really all that hard" (unless you forget about the immense false front on the green). The 2nd is one of the best Par 5s I've seen, especially when you may have 150 yards of width to choose from off the tee. I could go on about numerous holes, but my favorite features are the 3rd green (making it one of the toughest par 3s around), the entire 5th hole (called the "most Irish Hole in America"), the landing zone on the 12th, the green on the 17th (very cool use of segments and slope to make a short-iron Par 3 challenging), and the 18th green (where a pin sheet indicator or +/- 40 yards is not a typo).
- Working in concert with the options is the truly firm & fast maintenance of the course. If your favorite shot is the low, running punch, you have every opportunity to use that shot, with only a handful of exceptions. When we played the course in September, we were astonished to hear that there had been something like 18 inches of rain in the previous two weeks. The course was not lightning quick on account of this, but was still firm enough that we had no indication of such a deluge.
- Personally, I liked the fact that Lester refuses to become obsessed with green speed as some type of "measuring contest." Some of the group actually thought they were too slow, but when you consider some of the severe internal contours, I think Lester's approach at Ballyhack is the right one.
As you can tell, I'm a big fan of the course. In some areas, I'd prefer the native grass to be further away from the corridors or "tamed' in others, but you simply need to embrace that it will be an inspiring, thought-provoking, and sometimes vicious test of your game.
2) Can't opine on this one.
3) If you play both Kinloch and Ballyhack, you probably can't believe that the same architect was involved in the design. Kinloch is the antithesis of Ballyhack in terms of conditioning, feel, green speed, atmosphere, etc. The one consistent theme that you do see from Lester is the variety of attack angles and strategies that can be employed, especially on the short Par 4s and Par 5s. My head exploded on the 9th trying to imagine all the different ways the hole could be played. But other than that, the differences couldn't be more stark.
You can definitely see the influence that Augusta had on Vinny Giles and certain features he wanted to have incorporated at Kinloch. The playing corridors are very wide, as you will sometimes have 30-40 yards of rough on either side of the fairway before you reach any significant trouble. However, although you won't lose your ball in the rough, it is enough of a nuisance to make things difficult for you, especially when you consider the significant speed of the greens. You will always have a chance to make the miracle recovery, but anything less than an ideal recovery has no chance of staying in the proper section of the green. The risk/reward reachable Par 5 is also prevalent at Kinloch (ala ANGC's 13th & 15th).
Overall, Kinloch is a wonderful parkland golf course and worthy of its Top 100 ranking. It will never have the same polarizing effect on a rater that Ballyhack can have, which is why I think Ballyhack will probably never get the same average "quantitative" ratings. However, if you simply looked at "qualitative" reviews of the two courses, I think you may see more "passion" in the discussion of Ballyhack, which is probably why I personally give it the edge among Lester's two creations.