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Photo Heavy Course Photo of the Day: Ballyhack Edition

PPFour12 said:
And I birdied/net eagled this hole during the second competition round! I thought this was such a fun hole.
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Like a number of holes at Ballyhack with the elevated green complex you have to know your yardages because coming up short here is a hang your head moment as the ball rolls back down the tier(s). It's definitely a beautiful and fun hole.
 
Junkyard said:
I'm going to have to say the 9th, with the 2nd close behind. Honorable mention to the 11th and 13th.

@PPFour12 what's yours?
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So difficult, haha. 11 is a super underrated hole. Loved it.

My top contenders are the 2nd, 8th, 15th, and 16th.

I’ve gotta go with the 2nd. It’s super fun, challenging, absolutely amazing views.
 
And You all pay for this masochistic round? 😀
 
Hole 6 Par 4 Appalachian Tees 334 Yards

The sixth hole presents you with only one option: find the fairway. The forecaddie will tell you the line is the cart path on the far side of the fairway, which I think is a good balance because it takes most of the junk out of play and leaves you with a short iron in. Anything left of the cart path must carry more hazard and presents a much narrower fairway to hit.
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The approach here favours the player as the contours are reduced compared to some of the green complexes found at Ballyhack. There is a ridge that runs down the middle of the green from front to back, so depending on pin placement you can leave yourself a straightforward putt or a doozy.
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Hopefully in this shot you can see the ridge that starts at the right front corner and runs somewhat diagonally to the back left corner of the green.
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Looking back towards the tee
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Hole 7 Par 3 Appalachian Tees 188 Yards

A mid-long par 3 that plays pretty much straight away. The good news about this hole is that the three bunkers surrounding the green are well outside the normal line of play, and even misses should avoid them. There is a touch of visual deception however, in that the bunkering on the left is approximately 20 yards in front of the green.

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Hole 8 Par 4 Appalachian Tees 319 Yards

Ah yes, the risk-reward eight hole. You have a choice here: play the conventional route using the fairway on the left leaving a short pitch across the ditch to the green, or take it right of the tree blind and have a short pitch into the depth of the green. I chose option one both days, so I don't have a photo showing the look from the right side of the tree.
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Looking back from the green so you can see the right-hand fairway.DSC_0576.JPG
 
Pro Tip on 8 is don’t push your drive so far right it goes over 9’s tee box 😅
 
Golfers Anonymous said:
Pro Tip on 8 is don’t push your drive so far right it goes over 9’s tee box 😅
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R U saying we need to know how to "guide" the Driver? Sorry, mine hasn't listened to me since I got back into the game. Sort of like a 3 year old, it's going where it's going, deal with it. 😞
 
Junkyard said:
Hole 8 Par 4 Appalachian Tees 319 Yards

Ah yes, the risk-reward eight hole. You have a choice here: play the conventional route using the fairway on the left leaving a short pitch across the ditch to the green, or take it right of the tree blind and have a short pitch into the depth of the green. I chose option one both days, so I don't have a photo showing the look from the right side of the tree.
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My fav hole on the course. Par day 1 & birdie day 2. Both times from driving left of tree to end of fairway. So -1 on hole 8 and +billion on rest 🤣🤣
 
bigbov said:
My fav hole on the course. Par day 1 & birdie day 2. Both times from driving left of tree to end of fairway. So -1 on hole 8 and +billion on rest 🤣🤣
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I had no choice but to play it along the left fairway because I wasn't comfortable the driver would go where I pointed. It's actually a nice straightforward golf hole going that way; unless you can drive the green I don't see the advantage to going right.
 
Junkyard said:
I had no choice but to play it along the left fairway because I wasn't comfortable the driver would go where I pointed. It's actually a nice straightforward golf hole going that way; unless you can drive the green I don't see the advantage to going right.
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My thoughts exactly.. I don’t have enough to go right. Some of the guys did and had a nice pitch shot in. End of left fairway left me a comfortable wedge shot in and it worked.
 
bigbov said:
My thoughts exactly.. I don’t have enough to go right. Some of the guys did and had a nice pitch shot in. End of left fairway left me a comfortable wedge shot in and it worked.
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I thought the hole was prettier from over there too (y) We'll get to it eventually, but the fifteenth was a similar feeling to me. The first day the caddie told us to "lay-up" to the short side fairway on the right as it was the most direct line. I stood on the tee and shook my head - why would they put in a fairway if the objective of the hole wasn't to use it? Well, I get down to the bottom and guess what? I didn't have the shot that day that would clear the junk, so I wound up playing sideways out to the main fairway. I get the logic, but when you don't have a particular shot on a given day you just have to play the course the way the designer intended.
 
Junkyard said:
I thought the hole was prettier from over there too (y) We'll get to it eventually, but the fifteenth was a similar feeling to me. The first day the caddie told us to "lay-up" to the short side fairway on the right as it was the most direct line. I stood on the tee and shook my head - why would they put in a fairway if the objective of the hole wasn't to use it? Well, I get down to the bottom and guess what? I didn't have the shot that day that would clear the junk, so I wound up playing sideways out to the main fairway. I get the logic, but when you don't have a particular shot on a given day you just have to play the course the way the designer intended.
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I def took the short route on 15 both days. I made an absolute mess on day 2 though. Ended up hitting off the top of a hill and some other fine places. Pretty sure a snowman was put on the card.
 
The 8th is just a beautiful hole. The option off the tee is fun. The green complex is serene.
 
Hole 9 Par 5 Appalachian Tees 530 Yards

The ninth hole at Ballyhack is one of, if not my favourite hole on the course. It reminds me of courses that I have played formed out of old quarries where you feel like you're playing along the edge of a cliff. And the cliff here was traversed by multiple THPers and forecaddies during the event, including myself :rolleyes:

From the tee aim at (or just right of) the silos in front of the clubhouse and hit it as far as you possibly can. Do not go right. Right is no good. Even if you manage to find it.
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One of the cool features of the ninth is the rolling undulations of the fairway. From the tee landing area your second shot will be to a lower and slightly flatter section of fairway, but you have to choose a yardage that keeps you back from the more significant swale that starts about 75 yards in front of the green. If you are able to attempt the green in two you will have to negotiate the false front that repels any shots coming up short
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Looking back toward the tee the contours of the fairway certainly seem flatter than they did from the opposing direction, but they certainly exist.
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If I remember the @Canadan commentary on #8...aim right of the tree to make for a shorter chip and snap hook it left to play the hole "as designed"


#9 sure looks like a signature hole

Does Ballyhack have a signature hole?
 
Loving these pics and walk through!
 
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