The Ballantyne Golf Course in North Carolina
The Golf Club at Ballantyne located in Charlotte, N.C. is listed among the finest PGA public golf courses in the region, being honored with 4.5 Stars by Golf Digest and named as a Top 50 Golf Resort by Golf World.
The par-71, tree-lined championship golf course is situated on a dynamic terrain, carefully crafted into the natural hills of the Piedmont. Golfers of all ages and skill levels can enjoy the challenging but fair course that has multiple water features coming into play throughout. The Golf Club at Ballantyne was the first in the Charlotte region to update its greens to Champion Ultra Dwarf in September of 2009.
“We have the best pace of play in town, and I would estimate that 75 percent of our play is local,” says Director of Golf Woody Allen. “We try to walk that fine line so that everyone enjoys their round of golf because they can play it in four hours. We actually try not to sell out all of our tee times.”
In addition to the golf course, golf facilities include a spacious practice area, golf pavilion for events and lunch, golf pro shop, and golf event planners for tournaments and outings.
The golf course is located adjacent to The Ballantyne Hotel & Lodge which is a member of Starwood’s Luxury Collection, a Forbes Four-Star, and AAA Four-Diamond award-winning hotel offering special stay-and-play packages.
The Resort has 200 guest room, 14 suites and one four-bedroom cottage. The Gallery Restaurant serves a comprehensive menu for all meals, al fresco dinning is available on the Terrace, The Veranda affords the visitor coffee and continental breakfast, and a lobby bar serves cocktails starting at mid-day.
Adding to the allure is Dana Rader Golf School, a state-of-the-art instructional facility selected to Golf Magazine’s prestigious list of Top 25 Golf Schools in America and unrivaled in North Carolina.
The school’s founder and owner, Dana Rader, is a Golf Digest Top 50 Teacher in America and Golf Magazine Top 100 Teacher. With the assistance of her award-winning instructional staff and most-up-to-date technology, players can learn the basics or advance their skills. From video swing analysis to multi-day golf schools, this is sure to fulfill any golfer’s dream vacation. It operates year round.
“Our philosophy is to coach new and experienced golfers on an individual basis with consideration for each person’s goals, playing abilities, and swing tendencies,” says Rader. “We enhance overall player performance where it counts, on the golf course. Our instructional staff uses the most-up-to-date teaching techniques, technology, on-course instruction, club fitting, and fitness to develop our player’s overall game.”
For tee times, call the pro shop at 704-248-4383, or visit www.golfballantyne.com. For lessons and golf school packages, call the golf school at 704-542-7635, or visit www.danarader.com.
THE COURSE
Ballantyne’s challenging yet quite approachable 18-gole golf course is the recreational centerpiece of the Resort, which also offers tennis, outdoor and indoor pools and a fitness center. The track plays 6,746 yards from the tips, although three other sets of tees allow golfers of all abilities to enjoy this gem. There are ample bunkers, some tree-lined fairways, and enough water to make the player think out every shot, both off the tee and on the approaches to the medium-sized greens.
The start of your round will be a tad demanding, with three straight par-fours measuring 400 yards or better, including the 440-yard first and 445-yard second, with both playing like beasts if the wind is up and at you.
The fourth hole is a sweet par-three that measures 185 yards from the back markers. The tee shot is over water, so you had better pull the proper club from the bag.
Number five is the first of several shortish par-fives that you will encounter on your journey at Ballantyne where you can think about making birdie. It plays 520 yards from the tips and is all in front of you, although trees hug the left side of the rather narrow fairway.
The seventh is another great par-three that plays 205 yards, and the ninth is a demanding 410-yard par-four that plays 410 yards with water to the right off the fairway landing area.
The 10th is a short par-three, measuring 160 yards, but it’s all carry across water, which, of course, places a severe demand on accuracy and proper club selection.
The 11th is a short, 365-yard par-four that can be attacked with driver in order to shorten the hole and leave just a short pitch the green. But the hole doglegs to the left and there is water to the rear of the putting surface to capture too bold an approach.
The 12th is another birdie opportunity, as the 480-yard par-five can be reached by big hitters, and the 16th is just a long, difficult par-three that plays a whopping 225 yards from the championships markers. Pull a long iron or fairway wood from the bag, let it fly and take your chances.
The 17th presents another birdie chance as it is a 520-yard par-five that is fairly uncomplicated. The round finishes in grand fashion, with a very good par-four that plays 420 yards. There is water to the right side of the fairway leading to the green and a sand bunker that flows into the water that you need to steer clear of if you want to end your 18 holes in acceptable fashion.
www.TheBallantyneHotel.com
