THE FOURTEENTH AT BALLYNEAL
The back nine at Ballyneal is every bit as good as the front, if not better. While it may not have any holes as good as the seventh, I believe that top to bottom it is one of the best nines in golf. To me the tenth is a great par four that rewards the bold drive over the bunker on the right. A safer drive to the left will most likely leave a blind approach. This is a feature often seen at Ballyneal, where the fairways are extremely wide. This strategy puts a higher premium on driving than first appears. (Video after the jump)
Ballyneal is a course that reveals itself over multiple plays. One can not help be blown away by the scale and beauty of the place on the first time around, but playing it in a variety of wind conditions and pin positions shows off the subtlety and detail of the design. The closer is a clever dog leg left that unlike many holes on the course only has a dune on one side of the hole rather than both. The safe play is out to the right which is the correct play if the pin is on the right. If the pin is left the player is faced with an approach over a pair of cavernous bunkers. He can try to fly them and hold the green or he can use the contour to swing a running approach around them. Some of have criticized the hole as being a let down as a closer. To me this criticism falls flat. The people who say this have not been playing close enough attention to the course itself, but instead have been paying too much to the surroundings.
What’s your favorite hole on the back?
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That guy in the camo shorts needs to work on his swing. Yuck. Fortunately I hear he is unemployed and doing just that!
It hurts the eyes just to watch, which is why I stay behind the camera.
I can’t seem to get it right on 14 no matter what I do or try. Most recently, taking the flat lie right of the fairway bunker, I’m left a bitch-pitch that has to land either left to bank in or else off the right side backstop (it’s playing truly hard a fast right now). Having tried the left side and found my bump’n'run game lacking there’s only one option left, go long off the tee and flop it up to the green. But I don’t have a flopshot… Hence, being utterly flustered I declare 14 my favorite on the back nine. Closely followed by 13, with it’s array of choice and awesome green. 17 is way too tough into the wind to ever be my fave, even if it is a fantastic golf hole.
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