Ballyneal Golf Club: Private

One Ballyneal Lane
Holyoke, CO 80734 • (970) 854-5900

LOCAL WEATHER

Holyoke, CO (80734)

30°F
Fair

[Full Forecast]

Humidity: %
Wind: WSW at 9mph

Sunset: 7:02 pm
green Sunrise: 6:42 am

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1. cotoman

Posted: 06/14/21 4:00p
Member Since: Feb 12, 2020
From: Coto de Caza

Fortunate to be invited to Ballyneal for three days of golf. Due to it's isolated location in the the Chop Hills of CO, it's best if you are lucky enough to know someone who has a private jet to fly into Holyoke Airport, just fifteen minutes away rather than the 3 1/2 hour drive from Denver with the last 30 minutes being dirt roads and a tiny wood entrance sign that you could easily drive past. This place can get very windy and it comes from all directions. There are no tee markers so you just play holes according to the wind directions, front of tees when it's in your face or towards the back when it's downwind. Most of time it's a two club wind. Also have to account for altitude, at 3700 feet, almost a full club. Bent grass greens are firm and could be quick if putting downhill, downwind. Ginormous greens and runoff areas. And tons of sand and sand dune blowout areas. Did I mention it's in a sand belt area? You'll encounter some critters if you get off the fairway and stay away from the yucca bushes as they will slice you like a ninja. Your legs will be burning after three days of walking as there are no carts here, only walking with a caddie. POP will be around 4.5 hours due to wind and hilliness of course, especially if caddy is doublebagging. Great golf course with superb lodging onsite. I think 66 beds. My room overlooked the putting green which about 2 acres in size. The driving range has to be seen to be believed. Food is fabulous and members are the best. Very low key atmosphere, none of this stuffy, turn up your nose nonsense you might find at other ultraprivate clubs. Sit out at the firepit in the evening and enjoy the evening thunderstorms in the distance. 12 hole par 3 course is also a gem although it doesn't start directly at the clubhouse. Compares to Pacific Dunes without the ocean. 75 is a great score here if you are low single digit handicap. Otherwise bring a couple sleeves of golf balls (your caddie should be able to get you thru the round). This club totally deserves to be inside the Top 50 courses in the USA.

All Reviews by cotoman

16 Likes.

Rated
10.0 Conditions

2. 24hourgolf

Posted: 09/11/20 12:06p
Member Since: Jun 6, 2011
From: San Marino

Played on 9/6. Wow. What an unbelievable course. A Tom Doak design. Rated # 46 by Golf Digest. Very fortunate to have a member invite us. If you drive directly to the course from DIA it will be a 3/4 hour drive. As we were in Loveland the trip was shorter. It is located in Holyoke and amongst rolling hills the locals call the Chop Hills. And the course is virtually hidden inside these hills (and from the road). And that allows the hills to either be helpful (bringing the ball back into play) or penalizing. Many of the hills are so high (like Ireland) you have no business climbing them and looking for your ball. Yardage is 5210 to 7147. But there are no tee markers. The caddies are skilled enough (walking course only) to recognize players games and will walk the players to the appropriate area on each tee. Also, as wind is a factor (not always) this does help/hinder in playing the course. The teeing areas as you can imagine are very large. There also hidden back tees known only to the caddies that members use but keep secret. The fairways are green and they provide great lies and tremendous roll (made me feel young again). But that also means you can roll into the many many natural bunkers that line the fairways. Not to mention the large ones around the greens. But the traps are so very playable and kept clean by the caddies because they have rakes in them. The greens are large and beautifully contoured (and yes many 3 putts) but if you make a birdie it feels oh so good. But because it is a true links course you can play many varied shots around all the greens. The customer service is spectacular. The caddies are fun, professional and true ambassadors for the course. The food in the restaurant is fabulous. They even have several lodges on property one can stay in and many members/guests do so, coming from so far away. The newly added Mulligan course of 12 holes is a beautiful Par 3 with unbelievable greens. And do not miss the unbelievable putting green (wow). There is a driving range but it is located about 1/4 mile from the clubhouse. This course goes into my top five of all time. If you are ever invited or can manage to get an invite, by all means do not turn it down. And my thanks to the previous reviewer from 2013 who took so many great pics to help me envision what awaited me.

All Reviews by 24hourgolf

8 Likes.

Rated
10.0 Conditions