It'd be nice to hear why, architecturally, Ballyneal is the greatest modern design in the world. I have no doubt it is a very good golf course that is very fun to play...Everything else is irrelevant. Being a favorite place to go play golf and being the best modern design in the world aren't necessarily the same thing.
Here are a couple reasons why I consider Ballyneal an unusually good golf course:
1. Most importantly, the greens and their immediate surroundings offer more legitimate options to play short game shots, than any course I've played, by a significant margin. Since the course regularly offers a strange option to play a chip or putt, like rolling the ball up a mound or ridge directly behind a pin and letting the ball come back to the hole, you see shot trajectories (or paths) that are very unusual on a regular basis. Therefore, the variety of shot paths is great here, and the reaction is generally that of delight and intrigue. Like many of Tom Doak's courses, there are fewer gently breaking medium and long putts than the typical course, but those can regularly be found on holes #2, 4, 11, 14, and 18.
2. Ballyneal has a remarkable stretch of long holes where a solid drive in the wrong part of the fairway can result in a blind second shot. If you were hitting it solid but in the wrong spot, you could have a blind second on 7, 8, 9, 10 (the "Bowl of Mediocrity"), 12, 13, 14, 16 and 17. As an older, straight hitter, I'll average maybe one or two blind second shots per round.
3. Another essential feature is the firm turf. Ballyneal plays really hot and fast, even compared to the courses at Bandon Dunes. The excellent speed of the fairways, combined with above average wind speed that comes from two primary prevailing directions, allows the course to provide changing conditions on a round by round basis. I am heading there today. From Friday through Monday this weekend, the wind directions are forecast as NW, E, NE, SE at 8-11 mph. The wind isn't blowing hard, but the course is harder with the less common north wind.
4. Wind above 10-12 mph demands the thinking player to consider shot trajectory. The fast turf enables low trajectory strategies such as chips, bump and run and other partial swing shots to minimize score. This is essential to great golf as I understand it.
5. I do not consider Ballyneal to be the best course for testing the player from uneven lies, but a player does deal with them on most shots. Like most courses, there are far more uphill lies than downhill lies, and the player encounters few severe sidehill approach shots.
6. One might also point to an imbalance in chipping strategies, since the putter is often the best choice for many short shots off the green. You have to be a good wedge player from short grass to outperform a simple putt. Bunker play is natural, difficult and excellent.
That's enough. Thanks for your time.