State Open of Virginia @ Ballyhack

[Wade Whitehead]

The State Open of Virginia will be contested later this week (July 17-19) at Ballyhack Golf Club.  The 144-player field competes over 54 holes (with a cut to low 60 and ties after two days) and will be playing in cool (and very likely windy) conditions.

Since Ballyhack opened five years ago, many have debated what scores a stroke play event might produce.  This will be the club's first multi-round, individual stroke play championship event.

For those who are familiar, I have heard that back tees on three, twelve, and sixteen will not be used but that all others are fair game.  I hope the tournament committee capitalizes on the elasticity of the layout; every hole could play entirely differently on all three days!

See http://vsga.org/news/delta-dental-state-open-of-virginia-visits-ballyhack-golf-club-july-17-19/ and http://vsga.org/state-open/ for more information and to follow the competition.

WW

[Tom Fagerli]

Play well Wade!

[Carl Rogers]

Wade, I will be keeping up with the scores.  Good Luck!! You will have considerable home course advantage.

I also hope that the expanded field of this year's George Cup will increase Ballyhack's exposure, collective knowledge and comment on this site.  Overtime, I am curious how the course will be received by a broader composition of the golfers than just the very low handicappers.

[Andy Troeger]

Ballyhack is a really neat golf course. I had the chance to go around twice with Tom Williamsen in late May and it is really a lot of fun! I am not a good enough player to want to keep medal score there, but certainly hope the tournament goes well! The second round I think I made three birdies, but a few X's too.

[Jamey Bryan]

This should be a great tournament, though as a total hack I certainly wouldn't want to have to finish every hole with a pencil in my hand!  Ballyhack is one of my favorite courses anywhere and offers a huge variety of shots.

Wade, a couple of questions regarding course setup for the tournament:

1)  Will they be playing the whole course "through the green", or will some of the severe gullies/grunch areas be marked off as hazards?

2)  Do ya'll still have selected green "collars" mowed unusually high (1/2 to 3/4 inch is my recollection from a couple of years ago)?  As we discussed my last trip up to the Saul Shootout, I'm not a fan of this feature (my single dislike of the entire complex!) and can envision significant carping from competitors......

I'm a little surprised they've eliminated the back tee on #3.  Though I could see some pace of play issues with that tee in play, I don't think it's an overly severe hole from that tee (even for a short hitting senior!).

BTW, I'll bet my 2 on 11 from that trip still wins a skin!

Have fun, play well, and good luck!

Jamey

[Wade Whitehead]

Jamey:

The sectional PGA qualifier was held at Ballyhack a few weeks ago and they marked a number of surrounding areas with red paint.  The course didn't have a single stake of any kind for a year after it opened.  For this week, everyone crossing hazard is marked, as well as a number of offline areas that present especially challenging spots (left of #1 and all the way around #8 fairway, for example).  There still isn't a single out of bounds post, though.

Except when the fairway meets them, greens transition directly from green cut to primary rough (with no fringe or collar).  If a player isn't careful, the ball can settle on the green but against the higher cut.  This presents a really hard shot for someone who's never faced it.

I lasered the back tee on #3 to a back left pin on Saturday and got 271 yards.  With the prevailing wind often into the player, I just don't think the committee is willing to try it.  I would love to see an up pin on two and a back tee on three (essentially presenting two par fours instead of a five and a three), but the shot, which has to be played from right to left, is probably just too long.

Your two on #11 is a part of George Cup lore.  It's the only one I've ever seen there from off the green (though a couple of guys have knocked it on and made the putt).  That's another hole that I'm hoping they'll push up once during the event.

WW

[Wade Whitehead]

Thought you guys might want to check this out: http://www.ghintpp.com/vsga/TPPOnlineScoring/CourseStats.aspx?id=1376

It's fascinating to study the challenge presented by the golf course.  A the time I am posting this, information doesn't include afternoon players (who are facing a much dryer, faster course than we played this morning).

I struggled this morning (five big numbers and thirteen decent holes don't make for much of a round) and am hoping for a better Day Two.  Had a ball, of course, and look forward to giving it another shot tomorrow afternoon.

WW

[Ken Fry]

Wade,

Interesting to see #3 playing the hardest hole.  You and I have talked before about that hole's difficulty.  That's not even from the back tees!  It demonstrates how tough that green is to putt and recovery shots around the green are especially challenging.

Ken

[Neil Johnston]

Thanks for posting. I saw a 12 on a 350 yard par 4 (#11). That seems rather difficult to accomplish.

Wade - how much more difficult is the course you played today than the likely course setup for the upcoming George Cup (which I am suddenly thinking will require a bit more practice time on the range)?

[Wade Whitehead]

Ken: Not only was #3 not played from the back tee, but there was virtually no wind all day!

Neil: We'll enjoy a more reasonable set of tees during the George Cup.  We'll use all sorts of them (including, where appropriate, a longer tee or two).  As guys who have attended previously can attest, we set up the golf course for fun that weekend.

In other news, the course played 7075 yards yesterday.  Three par threes were in excess of 205 yards.  Average score was 80.261, with the two nines playing nearly identically.

WW

[Kevin Lynch]

Given the 12 on #11, I'm assuming they didn't paint any red lines or stake the left side.  Also saw a 10 on #14.  Wonder if the latter was from driving thru the fairway and being unable to find the ball.

I absolutely understand #8 as the #2 difficulty hole as that's just a hard tee ball to envision if you're not familiar (I still can't commit myself to swinging full left for fear of running out of real estate).  Same would go for #4, until you're familiar with the lines. 

There must have been some nice hole outs, with eagles on #5 / #16 (only Andy Hughes can drive #5).  2 Eagles on #6 - were the tees up or are these guys just that long to reach from the tips?

Best of luck this afternoon!  Rubbed the George Cup while chanting a mantra to send its positive energy your way.  Try to shoot the "Second-Best 69 Ever" (the "Best 69 Ever" has been taken).

[Kevin Lynch]

May see an amazing scoring anomaly with a pro who doesn't shoot a round in the 70s or 80s. 

Mike Barillo opened with a 90 in round 1, but was -2 under on the front in Round 2.  Perhaps a 90/69 combination?

[Jonathan Mallard]

May see an amazing scoring anomaly with a pro who doesn't shoot a round in the 70s or 80s. 

Mike Barillo opened with a 90 in round 1, but was -2 under on the front in Round 2.  Perhaps a 90/69 combination?

He was on his way with 3 to play. Then he made a 7 on 16.

[Wade Whitehead]

Terrible round again today, marked with multiple doubles and a triple.  Course was shorter, but still long, and faster than yesterday.  Generally, scores were lower (average down about two strokes).

Kevin, six played all the way back both days.  The twos were hole-outs.

There was a hole-in-one on thirteen today (played from about 160 yards).

There was a 90-73 combination.  Amazing turnaround.

I'll chalk it up as a learning experience and look forward to seeing what the third round presents.  Jay Woodson is too solid (missed his first green of the tournament on the 18th this afternoon) and leads all picks to finish on top.

WW

[Chris DeNigris]

I'll chalk it up as a learning experience and look forward to seeing what the third round presents.  Jay Woodson is too solid (missed his first green of the tournament on the 18th this afternoon) and leads all picks to finish on top.

WW

Now that's a bit ironic- given the size of that green..

Sound like everyone had a blast 

[Kevin Lynch]

I'll chalk it up as a learning experience and look forward to seeing what the third round presents.  Jay Woodson is too solid (missed his first green of the tournament on the 18th this afternoon) and leads all picks to finish on top.

WW

Now that's a bit ironic- given the size of that green..

Sound like everyone had a blast 

I suspect it was the size of the right tree which overrode the giant green. 

I think a few of these pros now understand why the "net double bogey maximum" rule is implemented for the George Cup visitors.  Would have saved the one guy 6 strokes on 11.

[Andy Hughes]

Given the 12 on #11, I'm assuming they didn't paint any red lines or stake the left side.  Also saw a 10 on #14.  Wonder if the latter was from driving thru the fairway and being unable to find the ball.

I absolutely understand #8 as the #2 difficulty hole as that's just a hard tee ball to envision if you're not familiar (I still can't commit myself to swinging full left for fear of running out of real estate).  Same would go for #4, until you're familiar with the lines. 

There must have been some nice hole outs, with eagles on #5 / #16 (only Andy Hughes can drive #5).  2 Eagles on #6 - were the tees up or are these guys just that long to reach from the tips?

Best of luck this afternoon!  Rubbed the George Cup while chanting a mantra to send its positive energy your way.  Try to shoot the "Second-Best 69 Ever" (the "Best 69 Ever" has been taken).

Wait--everyone doesn't take a go at #5?   Likely the most Irish hole I have ever played.

Kevin, I bet you are correct about 18--that tree is always in the way, no matter where you drive it.
Great scoring by Woodson--hard to believe he could play 54 holes without a few bad blow-ups.

PS I believe Woodson was quoted as saying he would gladly trade 3 VA Open wins for 1 George Cup.

[Kevin Lynch]

PS I believe Woodson was quoted as saying he would gladly trade 3 VA Open wins for 1 George Cup.

No deal in reverse from me.   I cherish my George Cup because it puts me in the same breath as Andy Hughes & Jason Williams.



One of these years, we'll have to host a non-Yom Kippur Champions Dinner.

[Kevin Lynch]

Actually, I was quite surprised how high the scoring was on #5 on Day 3 (2nd hardest).  It was the #12 hole on Day 1.  Was the pin just in a devilish position, or were the winds howling in their face?

Hole #4 dropped to 10th in difficulty in Round 3 (vs 4th/1st in first 2 rounds) - that had to have been a front left pin.

The other oddity was #11 fluctuating from 3rd to 14th in difficulty between rounds 2/3. Did they ever use the up tees and give everyone a go at driving the green?

All the above fluctuations just illustrate how fun & unpredictable Ballyhack can be.