Up very early this morning. I couldn't sleep; maybe I wanted to finish this.
The 18th hole at the Dismal River (Red) course is 447 yards long from the back tee. I played this hole from 420 yards, as the tee was close to the 17th green.
This tee shot sets up nicely for me, at least from the 420 yard tee. The fairway is deep, and banked to catch long pulls a bit left of my intended line. Over multiple plays I would drive the ball well here. From the back tee, playing more straight on, would be a tougher line. There is deep trouble, the Dismal River, all down the right side.
From 420 yards, playing downhill to a green without a significant back to front cant, a high or spinning approach shot is needed to hold the green. Based on this picture, and one comment I heard, I assume the best shot is to aim a bit right and let the contour push the ball towards the back left of the green.
Once again, thanks a lot to Cliff Walston for providing additional photographs:
1. Have members and repeat players found that the best angle of approach differs based on pin position? It seems under calm conditions, it might be better to be way out left to get at short (right from this picture) hole locations, whereas downwind I'd like to be on the right side, so I could try to use the whole length of the green.
2. The swale short of the green is very attractive, but it would play havoc with my game, especially into the wind. Into the wind, how does anybody get the ball onto the green? I can only hit low shots right to left, as I play them back in the stance and "trap" them. A low straight shot won't really do, either.
3. Would this hole be considered a variant of the Cape design?
The 18th hole at Ballyneal plays up to 464 yards, though it is usually played at 430 yards, curving left and slightly uphill. It usually plays downwind (S-SE wind) in the warm season. It is the least undulating hole on the golf course, a relatively gentle finisher on the edge of the chop hills. There is trouble all down the left side, a couple of deep bunkers for tee shots missed low and left.
I don't have a good picture of the tee shot easily available. I'm sure I could find one if I looked. Here's a picture of the green from the left side of the fairway, about 75-100 yards out. Those front bunkers are deep and difficult hazards, though they have been softened a bit in recent years. They dictate play from the tee. If the pin is on the right side, or in the center behind the bunkers, you are better off approaching from the right side of the fairway. If the pin is left, the left side of the fairway is desirable. This L-L and R-R relationship is uncommon; generally golf holes, if they have a preferred angle of attack, have a L-R or R-L relationship.
It is very easy to come up short when playing for a left pin placement here, and then it is very easy to leave your next shot short, only to watch the ball roll back to your feet.
The front right of the green is very steep, so front right pins demand good distance control.
One more picture from Larry Lambrecht's fine collection. I can't thank him enough for letting me do this. I've got a couple ideas on how I can reciprocate.
The 18th hole at Dismal River is lovely, but I just don't see how it matches up with Ballyneal's 18th hole, which is one of my favorites on the course. They are both very attractive to me, but Ballyneal's final hole encourages a long running shot to the right half of the green, especially when playing into the wind. Dismal River's 18th hole close to the Dismal River, and there will be missed shots into the hazard, and more final hole tragedy and disappointment here.
I'm guessing I'm in the minority here. Ballyneal wins. (10-9)
To review, this is how I scored it.
1 - Ballyneal
2 - Tie
3 - Dismal River
4 - Ballyneal
5 - Dismal River
6 - Dismal River
7 - Ballyneal
8 - Ballyneal
9 - Dismal River
10 - Ballyneal
11 - Tie
12 - Ballyneal
13 - Tie
14 - Dismal River
15 - Tie
16 - Ballyneal
17 - Ballyneal
18 - Ballyneal
In terms of match play, I would have Ballyneal winning 3-1, and then winning #18 as well. Please understand that I think Ballyneal is the greatest golf course I've ever played. Ballyneal is unique in the number of green complexes that offer alternate routes of attack to flagsticks. Often they are "backstops", but there are also trenches and bowls where short game plays are best played by hitting away from the hole and letting the slope bring it back.
I think the holes where I may have picked the wrong winner include 1, 4, 5, 6, and 15. The match could have been closer, even tied. I do think Ballyneal has other characteristics, like having returning nines to the clubhouse, which do matter in an overall assessment. But hole by hole it's close, which bodes well for Dismal River in rankings.
Ballyneal is blessed with a wonderful progression of holes. The first few are easier, with alternating short and long approaches. Holes 7-9 are birdie opportunities, and then the back nine is longer and requires better shot execution to make pars. Dismal River is quite similar in this regard. From holes 5-14, only hole 10 was a different par (4 vs. 5) designation.
An argument can be made that Dismal River has the advantage of traversing two separate ecosystems, the dunes and the river wetlands.
If there's one question in the comprehensive test of golf that Ballyneal does not require, it is the significantly uphill or downhill approach shot. Approaches play between one club uphill or downhill. At Dismal River, holes 2, 7, 8, and 13 all play more than one club different for elevation. The tradeoff is walkability. As a result, Dismal River is a more demanding walk, but the walk is concise and beautifully minimized.
Dismal River also requires a high drive more often than Ballyneal. I don't think it's correct to suggest that Tom Doak hasn't ever required a high drive. Pacific Dunes' 9th hole requires a long, high tee shot.
As much as I love Ballyneal, it might lose a hole-by-hole battle to either Pacific Dunes or Sand Hills. In particular, Pacific Dunes fares well in that sort of analysis.
An argument can be made that Ballyneal's wild greens, with their bowls and trenches, do not yield a reasonable distribution of putts. Are there too few medium to long putts that only break a little? I don't think so, but Ballyneal does has a small percentage of really unusual putts, up and over a big hump, trickling down to the hole. By comparison, I find the putting and chipping at the great Sand Hills Golf Club less compelling, a more traditional set of back-to-front sloping disks. At Sand Hills, you get gently curving balls on the green.
Courses like this, on sand with dry grass, which allow the "running game", are superior to virtually any soft turf golf course. I might think that Riviera was superior to Ballyneal in terms of layout, but the kikuyu grass limits one's playing options dramatically. Despite the conventional wisdom that the Golden Age courses are generally superior designs, I feel the best of these new courses, using modern agronomic practices, make for the best golf.
One thing I would very much like to see at both courses. I want yardages to the center of the greens on the sprinkler heads. I don't want to buy a range finder. I don't want to buy an "app" that calculates GPS distances to the center of the green. I don't want to use a toy, but I want fairly accurate distance the almost old-fashioned way, by walking it off from a nearby landmark. I wish both clubs would do this. I just don't care for gadgets much, but I can't score well if I don't know distances.