Welcome to Ballyneal Golf Club. A destination club in the truest form of the words, Ballyneal has been built and maintained for a specific ideal: a private, walking only, authentic North American, inland links golf experience. Ballyneal is not trying to re-create the great links courses of Scotland or Ireland, but simply to provide a select few with the opportunity to play golf the way it was originally designed to be played, while being in the middle of the United States.
Circa 1979, Ballyneal was first and foremost a vision of young, local golf enthusiast, Jim O’Neal. Jim recognized the swath of sand dunes just south of Holyoke that the locals call the “chop hills” as being reminiscent of the dunes in faraway Ireland and Scotland where golf was born. The dream of creating an authentic links course stayed on the back burner until older brother Rupert fanned the flames of creation when he brought up the idea of building a course to compliment the family-owned hunt club. Tom Doak of Renaissance Golf Design studied, discovered and refined the routing from 2002-2004, which started the ball rolling for Ballyneal.
Ballyneal has been evolving ever since Tom Doak struck the first ball in 2006. The fescue sward has taken hold as the course has matured to become one with the native. Letting Mother Nature dictate the flow instead of forcing the flow was paramount in the routing of the course. There are no tee or yardage markers on property to constrain the ability and the imagination to play. The fescue surface and the gusty conditions promote links style golf. The options that are presented by the design, the playing surface and the conditions are limitless. Ballyneal evokes the skills and imagination of golf in its earliest form. Golf at Ballyneal is a game that is an expression of the land, the game and the player. It is not meant to be rushed through or gulped down; it is best played often and with friends, as the guarantee at Ballyneal is that no two rounds will ever be the same. Thank you for visiting the Ballyneal’s website, a small glimpse into a vast experience.
