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.
Thomas, I will try to answer your questions:
1) Ballyneal is all fescue on a sand base, therefore, it is built for the ground game. Ballyneal is very firm and fast and meant to be played with the low trajectory shot, especially around the greens. In many cases the proper play from 30 yards out is the putter. I have played very few courses in Ireland, Northern Ireland, and England as firm and fast as Ballyneal.
2) It is very windy in Holyoke during the months of February, March, and April when the club is closed. Yes, sand can blow out of the bunkers and over time some bunkers have taken on a slightly new shape. However, the very fine grounds staff prepares the exposed bunkers for the winter winds to keep blowing sand to a minimum.
I hope that this has helped answer your questions.