Behold Ballyneo

Yours truly has dipped his toe back into the shark-infested waters of (fake) golf-course architecture with an entry in the 2nd Annual Armchair Architect Contest on GolfClubAtlas. Similar to last year (see Ballysnoop here), I had a strong showing but fell a bit short. Unfortunately, one of the three judges inexplicably had me 9th on his ballot, which sunk my overall average. I was thrilled to get a first place vote from designer Mike Nuzzo, one of the most respected designers on the site.

The contestants had a square-mile topographical map to work with, and had free reign to do whatever they wanted within that space, whether it be 45 holes of tree-lined terror or 18 holes of sprawling prairie golf. I envisioned a wide-open treeless sight with varied wind conditions and tried to build a fun, wide links course with lots of strategic interest. Any idea where I got my inspiration?

Check out the design and some 3-D pictures from Google SketchUp below. Always interested in hearing feedback on my amateur design effort.

12th Hole Approach:

Overlooking 9th & 18th

3rd Green

11th Hole

14th Hole

7th Hole

9th Hole

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