The Beauty of Ballyhack - A Photo Tour

[Jon Cavalier]

I was hesitant to post this tour, as I didn't want to distract from the excellent and ongoing hole-by-hole Ballyhack discussion thread by Tommy Williamsen and company, but several of you have asked for these photos and/or suggested that I post them.  If you like these photos and are interested in learning more about Ballyhack, you should definitely check out that thread at http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,59848.0.html

Ballyhack Maintenance Staff


I had the first tee time of the day as a solo at Ballyhack on a perfect fall morning, and I had the entire golf course to myself.  The day was gorgeous -- temperature around 60, bright sun, some sporadic cloud cover over the mountains, and the leaves were at peak color.  The golf course was in perfect shape.  This was one of the more enjoyable rounds I've played this year.

Will Carry for Food


Because the other thread includes an excellent in-depth discussion of the golf course, and because Ballyhack's own website has an outstanding "course tour" feature, I am going to present these photos without comment.  I hope you enjoy the tour.

Ballyhack


More of a warning than a suggestion.


Driving Range:



Hole 1 - Welcome - 349yds - Par 4
Tee Shot:


Approach:


Reverse:



Hole 2 - Sky Line - 514yds - Par 5
Tee Shot:


Approach:


Green:



Hole 3 - Dell - 211yds - Par 3
Tee Shot:


Green View:


Reverse View:



Hole 4 - Terrace - 447yds - Par 4
Tee Shot:


Dual Fairway:


Approach:


Reverse View:



Hole 5 - Fortress - 378yds - Par 4
Tee Shot:


Approach:


Reverse View:



Hole 6 - Gamble - 334yds - Par 4
Tee Shot:


Approach 1:


Approach 2:



Hole 7 - Ledge - 188yds - Par 3
Tee Shot:


Green View 1:


Green View 2:


View from Ninth:



Hole 8 - Sycamore - 350yds - Par 4
Tee Shot:


High View:


Reverse View:



Hole 9 - Pitzer - 530yds - Par 5
Tee Shot:


Fairway:


Approach:


Green:


Reverse View:


Wide View:



Hole 10 - Rim - 569yds - Par 5
Tee Shot:


Approach:


Green 1:


Green 2:


Reverse View:



Hole 11 - Sentinel - 322yds - Par 4
Tee Shot:


Green View:


Reverse View:



Hole 12 - Saddle - 427yds - Par 4
Tee Shot:


Reverse View:



Hole 13 - Crossover - 214yds - Par 3
Tee Shot:


Double Green View:



Hole 14 - Plateau - 361yds - Par 4
Tee Shot:


Approach:


Reverse View:


Hole 15 - Chasm - 544yds - Par 5
Tee Shot:


Goats at Work:


Fairway 1:


Fairway 2:


Approach:


Green 1:


Green 2:


Reverse View:



Hole 16 - Cape - 461yds - Par 4
Tee Shot:


Approach:


Reverse View:



Hole 17 - Short - 126yds - Par 3
Tee Shot 1:


Tee Shot 2:


Green:



Hole 18 - Valley - 428yds - Par 4
Tee Shot:


Fairway:


Reverse View:



Miscellaneous Goats




I hope you enjoyed the tour.

[Ronald Montesano]

How'd you make that flagstick move so quickly on hole #9's green?

[Lester George]

Fantastic photos John!  Thank you. 

Lester

[Stephen Davis]

Beautiful pictures! Thank you for posting them. I can see why this is a cult favorite.

[Jon Cavalier]

How'd you make that flagstick move so quickly on hole #9's green?

Sometimes I bring a cup tool with me when I play so I can dig a new hole, move the pin and play to different areas of the green. I like to get the whole experience.



(I took the last photo on my way to the first tee - they must have moved the pin while I was playing the front nine).

[Chris DeToro]

Another great photo tour.  The goats alone make me want to come visit this place!

[Ed Tilley]

Reverse View:



Hole 12 - Saddle - 427yds - Par 4
Tee Shot:

Thanks for the pictures. Is it just me, however, and my overly sensitive English eyes but there are some holes on this course on which the cart path stands out way too much. It actually seriously detracts from the beauty of the course. Maybe it is because the setting is so good that it stands out more than on a more mundane layout?

I'm as far from an expert on this as it is possible to be but is it not easily possible to make the cart path a different colour - i.e. make it slightly green or brown so it blends in with the amazing environment. Or am I the only one who cares!

[Jeff Taylor]

Those are some lucky goats.

[Carl Rogers]

stunning from all directions

[Wade Whitehead]

Terrific photos, Jon.

Are you playing in George Cup V?

WW

[Thomas Dai]

Wonderful photos. Well done.
atb

[Adam Lawrence]

I so want to visit Ballyhack.

[Wade Whitehead]

Thanks for the pictures. Is it just me, however, and my overly sensitive English eyes but there are some holes on this course on which the cart path stands out way too much. It actually seriously detracts from the beauty of the course. Maybe it is because the setting is so good that it stands out more than on a more mundane layout?

I'm as far from an expert on this as it is possible to be but is it not easily possible to make the cart path a different colour - i.e. make it slightly green or brown so it blends in with the amazing environment. Or am I the only one who cares!

Ed: The native grasses are much shorter than they used to be.  When they were longer, they hid the cart path from view in most places (since it's generally not present on the fairway playing surfaces).  The native grasses have been kept at a shorter length for much of the year, which exposes more of the path.

Live and in person, very few people notice, however.  The panorama is just too invigorating.

WW

[Carl Rogers]

This last October was the first year I noticed the goats.  How long have they been around?

[Wade Whitehead]

Carl: There were four or five goats in 2013 but they added about a dozen more this year.

WW

[Jon Cavalier]

I think that, like the sheep at Whistling Straits, the goat ratio is highest early in the day. I was there at 7:30 and they were all over and more or less had the run of the place - near the parking lot, the 18th, the cabins, 15, etc. I think their base of operations is up the hill to the left of 15, as it looked like there was a pen up there.

They were very friendly and approachable - I actually thought they were dogs until I got close enough to see the horns.

Maybe I'm easily amused, but I loved seeing them - I thought they really added a fun element and a degree of memorability to the place.

[Kevin Lynch]

Phenomenal photos - I can't believe how vivid the colors are. 

I liked the reverse view of the 9th green.  You can really see the side slope on the left center of the green.  This was the "alternate route" I was referring to during the hole-by-hole thread that you can use to putt from the upper to lower tier. 

I have always enjoyed the goats at Ballyhack.  During several George Cups, I would stop in my vehicle between rounds to find some goats taking a break and resting in the shade of my car.

[jeffwarne]

wow
amazing pictures

[Tommy Williamsen]

Wonderful pictures.  Makes mine look pretty lame. Where were you when I began the thread?

[Kevin Lynch]

If people view this as a stand-alone tour separate from the hole-by-hole discussion (http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,59848.0.html), I thought I would add the routing for future reference.  The front 9 is north of Pitzer Road, while the back 9 is south.

Also, I'm adding  a link to the Ballyhack website.  If you click on "Tour," this will give you 360 degree visuals from the tees, landing areas, and greens (along with some pro tips).  

http://www.ballyhackgolfclub.com/


Front Nine:




Back Nine: