Ballyneal is Irish. The name sounds Irish. There is even a shamrock on the golf clubs logo. Its long and winding fairways are marked with dunes and fescue grass. A hidden treasure, off the beaten path and tucked away into the hills that blends into the surrounding landscape in a seamless field of green. Would it be surprising to learn that it is in Colorado?

The course is a 7147 yard course with a total par of 71. Architect Tom Doak designed this course with the purity of a links course in mind. That is why Ballyneal projects a feeling of being a laid back golf course with no yardages or tee markers. None are needed at Ballyneal. The whole course plays with naturalism in mind. Every one of holes plays differently at different times depending on the current status of the weather. All of these factors are needed in order to create a landscape of dunes where links golf can be played. The owner, Rupert O’Neil is firm on preserving this current state of being at Ballyneal. No carts are permitted on the greens and the whole course is walking only…and every step is worth it.

Ballyneal is a young course and as one could expect, it is relatively obscure among golfers, but the sentiment is all the same: It deserves to be among the top courses in America if not the world. Many acclaimed golf publications, including Golf Digest and Golf Magazine have ranked Ballyneal in their top one hundred courses and Golfweek ranked Ballyneal in its top ten modern courses list. Even though it is very many miles from the nearest ocean, Ballyneal plays like a true links course that would be right at home on the shores of Scotland.

One Ballyneal Lane

Holyoke, CO 80734