The Mulligan--Ballyneal Golf and Hunt Club, CO

[Ben Sims]

I was lucky to get a visit to one of my favorite places in the world recently. There can't be many better ways to spend three days than with a close friend, some clubs, fantastic caddies, and a world class piece of golf architecture. Ballyneal needs no rehash in these parts. Any review I could give would be overly subjective and likely not all that additive to what's already been said. I consider it among the world's best. Full stop.


As my own opinions on golf architecture have evolved and grown, it's clear that I really enjoy creative and playful greens. There's a certain identity that a green surface gives a good hole, and in turn, the golf course as a whole. So any attempt by an architect to produce a collection of remarkable greens is bound to make me smile. I guess that's why I'm a softy for the concept of par three courses. It allows the artist to bring playful and raw sketches to life. If Ballyneal is Doak's "Nevermind", then surely The Mulligan is his MTV Unplugged special full of tremendously cool b-sides, one-offs, and little-known covers.


The Mulligan has twelve holes, arranged in a bit of an initially confusing loop. There are demure strategic problems, neat small targets on a perch, insanely rollicking multi-tiered affairs, and not less than a handful of odes to legendary greens. It played as beautifully with three clubs as it did with nine. The walk was easy. The terrain offered small glimpses of other holes, but generally was a journey of discovery on every green to tee walk. There's a bell.


I'm sure someone will chronicle the new short course at Ballyneal in photos at some point soon. But it won't be me. There's something cool about not having seen the course before stepping onto it. I don't want to ruin the surprise.  But if you can, go see it. Nothing of huge value here except to say chapeau to the Renaissance fellas yet again. You really had fun with this one and it shows.

[Jon Cavalier]

I played the Mulligan course this evening. Teed off at 6:55pm as a threesome and finished at 7:55pm, 5 minutes after sunset. It was one of the most enjoyable hours of golf I have ever had, and I feel strongly that the others in my group (especially the guy who aced the 8th) would say the same.


Bravo, Tom, to you and your crew. An absolutely stunning addition to an already wonderful golf club.

[Tom_Doak]

Ben:


Thanks for the note and I appreciate both you and Jon holding off on pictures for a little while.  [It's got to be killing Jon, you know he's got good pictures.]  I won't get to play it myself until an event in mid-October -- we've invited the whole crew who built the course -- and as I haven't been back since we were shaping greens, I am looking forward to discovering it in person rather than online!


The premise for the course was simple:  the club found they had enough water for seven more acres of turf, and wondered what was the best thing we could build with seven acres of grass.  At first, I thought I would "steal" some grass from the big course by building par-3 holes out on the margins of holes 1-2-3-8-9, but when I walked the ground in between them, I realized that what had been too big and hilly for the main course could be really dramatic for a bunch of par-3 holes.  I flagged out nine greens [the upper loop] and was startled to find that we still had turf left over, so we were able to build a couple more.


I had just laid out a par-3 course for Bandon [which now looks like it won't get built anytime soon, if ever], but at the time of construction I thought that The Mulligan was our chance to build all of the crazy greens that Mr. Keiser wouldn't want us to build in Bandon.  As you say, there are a few greens that we would never build on a "regulation" 18-hole course; that's what you can do when you don't have to think about top-100 lists or what anybody else might think.  And I knew the members at Ballyneal well enough not to worry that they'd find the fun in it.


Such is the value of true design freedom ... just as we had at Ballyneal the first time around.  Thanks for reminding me!  I've wasted a lot of time on that other thread about California letting people try to talk me out of my better instincts ...

[Tom_Doak]

Oh, and a p.s.:  I had a look around the new par-3 course at Sand Valley last month, with Jim Craig from Coore & Crenshaw.  Talk about odes to famous greens!  That might be the coolest thing they have ever done.  I suspect it will steal the thunder from Mammoth Dunes, and all in the space of one or two holes from the big course.

[John Kavanaugh]

No Pictures...best idea ever!!! It honestly makes me want to see the place myself.

[Ben Sims]

Tom,


Instincts are generally easier to follow when you've got the chops to know good from bad.


Sorry to hear about your short course at Bandon. The one they've got is certainly a keeper. It couldn't have hurt to have another one. Based on The Mulligan, I'm sure you could've held your own against The Preserve. Not that it's a competition. 

[Peter Pallotta]

This is a perfect example (re Tom's 'how short can a course be' thread) of why architects who want to explore unconventional approaches don't have to worry about either the genuine connoisseurs (who embrace new/unique challenges and experiences in all its form) or the so-called average golfer (who want to have fun at the game they love, and can have fun in many different settings). For both of those 'classes' of golfers, the Mulligan sounds like a course they'd love.
No - instead, architects who want to explore unconventional approaches need to worry a lot more about people like *me* -- those many many golfers who fall right smack dab in the middle.
We "middle class" golfers have read enough and experienced just enough that (in our heart of hearts) we won't classify ourselves as average golfers; and yet, for a variety of reasons, we still clutch our card and pencils firmly in our hands, still believe that "par" is a meaningful and indeed crucial concept and part of the game, still have only courses like Mid Pines on the one hand and, say, Bay Hill on the other as possible ends of the spectrum, still haven't played a 6,000 GB&I seas-side course in 40 mph winds, and still long for what we never had as children: the 18 hole, country club experience.
I almost cringe to say it, but if were a member at Ballyneal (which for years I've suggested will one day be No 1 - Modern) and talk of a 12-hole Par 3 course came up, the concept would've been way outside my (surprisingly conventional) comfort zone.
I'd be one of the members asking "Why not 9 holes? A course should be either 9 or 18 holes" and "Why not a *full* 9 holes - with Par 3s and 4s and even a Par 5, coming in at about 3100 yards?"
I'd be the type to ask: "What's with all this new outside the box thinking?" "What's wrong with the game as it's always been played?" "Why have 'pick your own routings'?" "Why have "pick your own tees'?"
In short - for all the affection and acclaim that TD's gotten from this group of 1500, I'd say: beware! Lurking here silently are, I believe, many many golfers just like me who don't actually *want* anything all that different. Mammoth Dunes maybe; the Mulligan definitely not!  
To use Tom's word from this thread, we like "freedom" - but not too much of it! We like *making* shots, not *inventing* them.
Peter   

[Morgan Clawson]

Surely a few photos couldn't hurt   

[Tom_Doak]

Surely a few photos couldn't hurt   

I promise to take a couple of pictures in October and post them then.

[Tom_Doak]

I almost cringe to say it, but if were a member at Ballyneal (which for years I've suggested will one day be No 1 - Modern) and talk of a 12-hole Par 3 course came up, the concept would've been way outside my (surprisingly conventional) comfort zone. 

The fun part is, it's not really a 12-hole course; I doubt anyone would play it that way. 


The original layout was nine par-3's, starting from the 2nd tee of the main course - what I call the "upper loop".  But then the client asked if we couldn't make a shorter loop, for guys who were only waiting for their turn to tee off the main course ... so we found three more greens going out from the first green, from which you can hook back into the upper loop and play five holes coming home.  With this routing you can play a nine-hole loop, the eight-hole "lower loop", or 2 or 5 holes by cutting over from the first or second holes of the lower loop. 


Or you can play the 1st hole plus the upper loop one night, and the eight holes of the lower loop the next night, if you want to "stay in the box" and post an 18-hole score.

[Matthew Prince]

Tom - can you clarify which holes comprise the "upper loop" and which the "lower loop" based on the hole #s 1-12 on the club's website?


https://www.ballyneal.com/golf/the-mulligan-course/

[Tom_Doak]

Tom - can you clarify which holes comprise the "upper loop" and which the "lower loop" based on the hole #s 1-12 on the club's website?


https://www.ballyneal.com/golf/the-mulligan-course/

The upper loop is #1 through #9.


The lower loop is #10 through 12, then chip down to #5 green, then play #6 through #9.


Note:  I didn't number the holes; I'm not sure who did, but I really didn't intend it as a 12-hole option [which leaves you out in the boonies].  My associates had names for the various greens, instead of numbers, but I can't remember them all.

[Ben Sims]

I played the course as a twelve hole loop once. Then bushwhacked back to near #1 green. Won't do that again. The second time I played it, I played 1-11, then 8-9. So neither time did I play the course as intended. Add that to the fact that several holes play drastically different from different length tees or angles, the course is relatively compact save for some geographic outliers like #3, and you get a pretty flexible course. That said, there's possibility for injury if you're hitting it willy-nilly without regard to where other groups are.


I'm excited to see how the conversation evolves on the greens themselves. I think I know the genesis of a few of them. In fact, I think I played #11's more demure relative with Tom himself.

[BHoover]

Could we please see some photos? I can only speak for myself, but I'd be more likely to play a course based on seeing photos beforehand.

[Ben Sims]

Brian,


Multiple people that have seen a lot of good golf are saying it's worth your time. I don't know if I'd travel across the country for a par three course. But even still, I'd prefer to not ruin the surprises for those that don't need additional catalysts to see it.

[Tom_Doak]

I think I played #11's more demure relative with Tom himself.

Yes, you did.


I'd done my layout for the upper loop months in advance, and sent the boys out to start building those greens, and when I got there, they were trying to find a way to get from #10 [on the card] up to #1, as you were.  It's pretty severely uphill and there really isn't a good way.  So, I went down below to see if I could find a decent green site hooking into the lower loop later on, and I stumbled right into the green site for #11.  It looked just like the flip version of its famous antecedent.  But when we actually started building it, it turned out to be a bit more severe than I thought, so we had to fill up the front bowl and shape the back bowl more than I'd thought.

[JC Jones]

Oh, and a p.s.:  I had a look around the new par-3 course at Sand Valley last month, with Jim Craig from Coore & Crenshaw.  Talk about odes to famous greens!  That might be the coolest thing they have ever done.  I suspect it will steal the thunder from Mammoth Dunes, and all in the space of one or two holes from the big course.

Probably totes better than Sand Hills.

[BHoover]

Brian,


Multiple people that have seen a lot of good golf are saying it's worth your time. I don't know if I'd travel across the country for a par three course. But even still, I'd prefer to not ruin the surprises for those that don't need additional catalysts to see it.

Thnks Bn

[Jon Cavalier]

Surely a few photos couldn't hurt   

For those interested, here's a link to a Flickr album containing an assortment of photos of the Mulligan Course at Ballyneal:


https://www.flickr.com/gp/54181962@N03/g4157E


For those not interested, don't click the link.

[Alex Miller]

Surely a few photos couldn't hurt   

For those interested, here's a link to a Flickr album containing an assortment of photos of the Mulligan Course at Ballyneal:


https://www.flickr.com/gp/54181962@N03/g4157E


For those not interested, don't click the link.

Thank you!

[Nigel Islam]

Ben:


Thanks for the note and I appreciate both you and Jon holding off on pictures for a little while.  [It's got to be killing Jon, you know he's got good pictures.]  I won't get to play it myself until an event in mid-October -- we've invited the whole crew who built the course -- and as I haven't been back since we were shaping greens, I am looking forward to discovering it in person rather than online!


The premise for the course was simple:  the club found they had enough water for seven more acres of turf, and wondered what was the best thing we could build with seven acres of grass.  At first, I thought I would "steal" some grass from the big course by building par-3 holes out on the margins of holes 1-2-3-8-9, but when I walked the ground in between them, I realized that what had been too big and hilly for the main course could be really dramatic for a bunch of par-3 holes.  I flagged out nine greens [the upper loop] and was startled to find that we still had turf left over, so we were able to build a couple more.


I had just laid out a par-3 course for Bandon [which now looks like it won't get built anytime soon, if ever], but at the time of construction I thought that The Mulligan was our chance to build all of the crazy greens that Mr. Keiser wouldn't want us to build in Bandon.  As you say, there are a few greens that we would never build on a "regulation" 18-hole course; that's what you can do when you don't have to think about top-100 lists or what anybody else might think.  And I knew the members at Ballyneal well enough not to worry that they'd find the fun in it.


Such is the value of true design freedom ... just as we had at Ballyneal the first time around.  Thanks for reminding me!  I've wasted a lot of time on that other thread about California letting people try to talk me out of my better instincts ...

Is the 6th considered a "Dell" hole?


And the green at the 5th might be one of my favorites of all time!

[Morgan Clawson]

Surely a few photos couldn't hurt   

For those interested, here's a link to a Flickr album containing an assortment of photos of the Mulligan Course at Ballyneal:


https://www.flickr.com/gp/54181962@N03/g4157E


For those not interested, don't click the link.

Thank you!

Thanks Jon!  Looks terrific.

[John Kavanaugh]

Ben:


Thanks for the note and I appreciate both you and Jon holding off on pictures for a little while.  [It's got to be killing Jon, you know he's got good pictures.]

Killed him for a day. Love it.

[Tom_Doak]

Killed him for a day. Love it.

I am still appreciative that he hasn't posted the photos here, directly.  I'm not clicking on the link!

[Jon Cavalier]

Killed him for a day. Love it.

I am still appreciative that he hasn't posted the photos here, directly.  I'm not clicking on the link!

Some people want to see photos, some don't. I figured this was the best way to keep everyone happy (except Kavanaugh, since he's miserable regardless).