The 12th Hole at Dismal River plays from 355 to 430 yards long. Here is a picture of the tee shot, courtesy of Cliff Walston's fine photo essay:
I like the way this looks. It is very enticing and unusual. Even for a first time player, the right to left slope at the crest gives a clue that left is probably better. It's so wide I don't worry about losing it, so I swung the driver freely. From 430 yards, I bombed it up the hill, down the middle, and left myself about 170-175 yards downhill, from the top of the hill down to the green. Even though it played into the wind, this shot played short, and I used the gentle side slope to bounce a 7-iron down onto the green, and made a tap-in par.
The hole must play significantly different from shorter tee boxes. Once you can carry the slope and get a downhill first bounce, I imagine the tee shot can quickly get away. But I can also imagine powerful young guys come close to driving this green in a northern wind.
The walk up the 12th fairway is among the tougher climbs on the course.
How far is the little hidden fairway bunker is from the tee?
As my tastes evolve, I find myself drawn to these simple designs that don't require a lot of bunkering. Fun to drive the ball, not too hard, with a feeling of wide open spaces. Although Larry Lambrecht's photo of the approach is less informative for golf discussion, it shows the unusual sand formations across the Dismal River.
There's little value for me in attempting to drive the 12th green at Ballyneal, under any circumstance. I've tried a few times. There's a lot of incentive to get your ball on the left half of the fairway, where all hole locations are more easily accessible.
The green is very undulating, with a front right bowl, a back right bowl, and a left side trench. In recent offsite commentary, somebody suggested they had a problem with the penalty for missing the center of the green by a yard in the wrong direction. This is a hole where I only play for the center if I've mishit the drive and have a very long approach shot. Course knowledge is essential to full enjoyment. The combination of knowing the green and having the exact yardage creates one of the most enjoyable decisions of the day. My line of approach may differ if the distance is three yards longer or shorter, and much of this is based on knowing how the green will redirect the ball upon impact.
The back left bunker is a common miss for the aggressive attempt at a back left pin. That bunker can yield an easy shot, or an instant double bogey because the walls of the bunker prevent the player from even swinging at it.
If you do drive it over the left fairway bunkers to the sliver of fairway over there, you do get a better angle to left side pins. I almost never try, unless I'm just fooling around.
One of Ballyneal's most picturesque holes, and a personal favorite. Photos courtesy of L.C. Lambrecht.
Ballyneal wins (all wins are 10-9), and goes 2 up.