RJ,
Thank you for your comments on my paintings. I am humbled to have guys like Ran and Jim O. appreciating what I love to do. I will visit Ballyneal in a couple of weeks and know I will get plenty of inspiration to do many more paintings from that trip.
It is a very long story how I came to have a friendship with Jim O'neal, I will email you the long version. In short, I was assisting in the Meadow Club restoration that Mike DeVries so caringly carried out, Sean Tully the assistant superintendent there and rapidly budding historian realized that Jim and I had a common friend/aquaintance in Tom Doak and arranged for me to meet Jim O. during lunch and show him my paintings and talk about the "sandy Colorado project" that I had heard Jim Urbina and Tom D. talk about the year prior.
Back to the point, I thought the feature interview was great especially hearing about all the things that make Ballyneal different from other great courses. And it is quite clear that Jim and Rupert have carried out this dream with unremitting determination. Unrelenting faith in what their vision was and that it could succeed, even though huge financial risk on their part was likely involved. To have walking mandatory is another piece of proof that it seems nothing about their initial vision will be compromised. Now that is truly an amazing feat.
I may be wrong, but I think with most courses usually the money is there and then the golf course idea arises, in this particular case, there is no doubt the golf course vision came first (seventh or eighth grade) , then it had to be figured out by what means it could become a reality. That, in my eyes, makes it all the more special. And oh yeah, Jim is one of the nicest people you would ever want to meet.