[Michael Underwood]

Does 14 play as good as it looks? 


...I guess I could ask that question about all the holes, but 14 especially looks insane.

Yes, the 14th plays as good as it looks!  The 14th is a short 362 yard par four with a lot of risk / reward off of the tee.  Use a driver off of the tee and negotiate the center line bunker at about 250 yards and you have no more than a short wedge to the green.  The hole is well bunkered down the left side and the center line bunker is well placed.  The more conventional way to play the 14th is hit a 230 yard tee shot at the center line bunker leaving a short iron into the green.  As you can tell from the photos the right side of the green is false and a collection area runs the length of the green from the right side.  Approach shots must be played well onto the green and be precise in order to have the best chance at birdie.  Like all of Ballyneal the 14th green has both challenging and fun contours that offer many options to the player.

[Matt Glore]

The 14 is a great short par 4.  
I think hitting short of the bunker is the play, staying away from letting the tee shot stray too far right.  The right side of the fairway drops down also.
I have yet to miss the green right but it looks like no fun (for scoring purposes)
Matt

[Kyle Henderson]

15th

[Kyle Henderson]

Kyle - great pics - thanks for the hard field work for those who have not been there.

Do you have a picture of the routing plan? I see the snips on their web site but I'd love to see a better pick.

Thanks

John Mayhugh posted this many moons ago. It's not entirely true to what was actually built.

[Charlie Gallagher]

I just loved this 15th hole. Adam Clayman explained to us that Tom Doak moved an enomous amount of sand to build up the green site. I think the green is tremendous given its, size, and  movement, especially in its front and back sections. It's a very striking looking hole from the teeing area because you can see that the green is partially hidden by the ridge on the left hand side and the hillocks surrounding it are prominent and frame the hole. It can play long too, I think we took it on from about 215 or so.

[Michael Underwood]

Kyle - great pics - thanks for the hard field work for those who have not been there.

Do you have a picture of the routing plan? I see the snips on their web site but I'd love to see a better pick.

Thanks

John Mayhugh posted this many moons ago. It's not entirely true to what was actually built.

Most of this early drawing is pretty close to what Ballyneal is today.  This early drawing is missing some bunkers and shows some bunkers where they actually are not, but it is really pretty close for the most part.  The only substantial differences that I can see are on holes 4, 6, 7 & 14.

No. 4 green is not to the right as shown on this early drawing.

No. 6 is a straighter hole than what is shown.

No. 7 is actually a left sweeping fairway not a right dogleg.

No. 14 is a straighter hole from tee to fairway and then turns hard left from about 120 yards to the green.

It is neat seeing these old drawings!

[Jim Colton]

Michael,

Not to mention that the 5th hole goes in the opposite direction.

The interesting thing about this picture is the name Ballyneal is added on top of the existing drawing, replacing some preliminary name for the course. Anybody know what the working name was early on in construction?

 

[John Foley]

Guys - thanks but thos was the routing map I was looking for a better image of

[Sven Nilsen]

Josh:

Wait until we get to 16.

Kyle:

You're a master.  Great pics as always.

Sven

[Kyle Henderson]

Kyle:

You're a master.  Great pics as always.

Sven

[blush]

[Kyle Henderson]

16th
Sneak preview from the 15th tees.


Tee shot.


Where to lay up if the green is still out of reach?

[Ben Carey]

Just wanted to add +1 to all of the other comments about the great photos.

I played last week and took my camera with me. While I came away with some great pics, it's certainly not the easiest course to capture with photos.

These pictures do a wonderful job of showcasing the movement of the property - of course it's always more dramatic in person - but these photos are all wonderful.

Thank you for sharing the series.

[Alex Miller]

I played the course 6 times this July, and the 16th (and 8th) are probably the two holes that grew the most on me while I was there. I never did make it to the bowl of achievement though... I think I was within 5 yards 3/6 of the rounds. Stil a great opportunity to go for the green from up top and an awesome green site!

The front bunker is a menace, but bouncing a ball in from the left is a very real option, as is using the backboard to back pin placements. The tee shot is generous, and while the layup can be demanding for shorter hitter, I think the trouble that one can get into around this green makes it a wonderful matchplay hole. Ballyneal has some awesome par 5's (especially if you include 10 from the back box  ).

[Kyle Henderson]

17th hole

Rare view from on high.


Tee view.


The large amount of fill used to create the upper/left portion of the fairway was artfully tied in with the natural surrounding contours. Can you discern what was shaped and what was indigenous?

[Eric Smith]

Kyle,

Thanks again for the wonderful pictures. They are postcard quality, each and every one of them.

Your pictures of the 17th in particular are mesmerizing and remind me of my most recent visit, played in nearly the same late afternoon light.

After hitting a solid drive at 17, I played what I would consider a perfect two wood shot for my second, off of a slightly hanging lie, that landed 20 yards or so short and left of the green and chased on all the way back to a rear right pin, settling to 5 or 6 feet. I ended up missing the putt, but it didn't matter. The shot is what I'll remember. And that light. And those contours.

[Tom_Doak]

The large amount of fill used to create the upper/left portion of the fairway was artfully tied in with the natural surrounding contours. Can you discern what was shaped and what was indigenous?

Kyle:

I think you've been misinformed about the earthwork that was done on hole #17.

The hollow to the right in the landing area and the bank leading down to it are natural.  However, the center of the fairway was actually HIGHER than what's there today ... it was a ridge of a couple of big dunes, similar to the one just in front of the tee.  The left side of the fairway was a deep hollow, so that anything over there would have been way blind.  We cut the tops off the ridge of dunes and filled to the left to make the fairway more playable, but keeping the high point at the corner of the dogleg so you had to stay just right of center to get the big kick down to the right.

I love that tee shot, and that (along with the subtle adjustments on #12) is some of the best shaping work we've ever done.

[Kyle Henderson]

The large amount of fill used to create the upper/left portion of the fairway was artfully tied in with the natural surrounding contours. Can you discern what was shaped and what was indigenous?

Kyle:

I think you've been misinformed about the earthwork that was done on hole #17.

The hollow to the right in the landing area and the bank leading down to it are natural.  However, the center of the fairway was actually HIGHER than what's there today ... it was a ridge of a couple of big dunes, similar to the one just in front of the tee.  The left side of the fairway was a deep hollow, so that anything over there would have been way blind.  We cut the tops off the ridge of dunes and filled to the left to make the fairway more playable, but keeping the high point at the corner of the dogleg so you had to stay just right of center to get the big kick down to the right.

I love that tee shot, and that (along with the subtle adjustments on #12) is some of the best shaping work we've ever done.

I was actually basing my commentary on your statements from my other Ballyneal thread, but my description was not entirely precise. Thank you for the clarification and for building my favorite golf course.

[Kyle Henderson]

Kyle,

Thanks again for the wonderful pictures. They are postcard quality, each and every one of them.

Thanks, Eric.

I guess I should probably bring the cam out to Dismal some day...
I aim to please. 

[Greg Chambers]

Really terrific photos, Kyle.  My favorite golf course...just one great golf shot after another!

[Kyle Henderson]

Really terrific photos, Kyle.  My favorite golf course...just one great golf shot after another!

You don't think I need to Photoshop an ocean into the background for Jaka?

[Kyle Henderson]

18th hole:

[Steve Kline]

I'm not sure there is course I'd rather play every day for the rest of my life than Ballyneal. I really need to getback there next summer.

[Jim Nugent]

You guys who have played Ballyneal for several years: does the course play differently than it did before?  Have you seen it changing, maturing, etc. in any ways? 

[Thomas Dai]

Terrific tour Kyle. It must have taken you a considerable amount of time to put together. Well done.

The subtleness around the green complexes seems such that it's difficult to tell where the fairways merge into the fringes and the fringes merge into the putting surfaces. This is not a criticism, it's meant as a compliment! I wonder what the cutting height is for the fairways, fringes and greens? Lovely (cunning/sly?) use as well of slopes, hollows, humps and adverse cambers and gentle ridges breaking off in opposing directions.

As I''m not familiar with the course or even with this part of the world I'm interested to hear from anyone in-the-know the answer to two questions -

1) to what extent can you play low trajectory bump and chase shots into the greens (ie like you can on, for example, GB&I links) or does the type of fairway grass soften the balls impact on landing so limiting forward movement?

2) given how exposed the overall landscape appears, are there any issues with wind damaging the bunker faces or blowing sand out of the bunkers etc?

All the best.

[Michael Underwood]

You guys who have played Ballyneal for several years: does the course play differently than it did before?  Have you seen it changing, maturing, etc. in any ways? 

I have been playing at Ballyneal since 2006 and as a member since 2007.  Fescue is not like rye and bluegrass in that it takes time to mature.  To answer your question, yes Ballyneal has matured a bunch and plays very firm and fast.  In my opinion if you have not played Ballyneal since the 2011 golf season you have not ever played Ballyneal.  The turf conditions of the fescue fairways and approaches are excellent!  The course plays firm and fast and it is really hard to have a bad lie on the almost perfect fairways.  Fescue takes a long time to mature, but it has been worth the wait!

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