Like an albino grizzly bear that has been mistaken as a polar bear and shipped off to the north pole, the Ballantyne Temp Course has returned - and is still just as rare a sight. (An open course in Charlotte.) This year the course will be installed for three weeks and a few tweaks have been made to the layout. Hole numbers in my review will be based on the 2024 version of the layout. Being a temp course, there are natural tees, but decent tee signs, and DISCatcher baskets that have been carefully leveled using sticks & logs.

The course still utilizes the rolling hills around the property really well, and utilizes common sense OB to add challenge to an otherwise almost completely open course. Hole 13 is a par 4 that has a narrowing fairway until it reaches an OB creek that plays to the other side of the creek. So players have to choose how aggressive they get off the tee, the more they bite off, the more they bring OB into play.

Hole 14 is a shorter hole that plays across the creek to a basket perched on the edge of the creek bed/natural growth area.

There are a few holes that make use of the wooded areas around the course to create gaps to mix things up, but still a good number of holes where players can open up with a driver and really test their distance.

This year the shortest hole is 214 feet and the longest hole is 954 feet, so there is plenty of variance in hole distance as well as four par 4s and two par 5s to play.

The atmosphere of the course was really interesting. It was wild playing in the middle of the Ballantyne area, in a wide open space, but still feeling isolated from the busy city.

This is still a temporary course, which is the most unfortunate of all cons, but at least this year it is open for three weeks. As of me writing this review, there are about two weeks left - so bag it while it's there to be bagged.

Almost all other cons can be attributed to the course being temporary in nature. The tees are natural ground and starting to groove out already. The navigational signage is decent, but it is easy to overlook and skip from Hole 4 straight to Hole 13 if someone isn't paying attention to said signage.

Compared to the rest of the course, the last four holes felt a little stale. This is likely due to some of the more interesting land already having been used, but a few tweaks could have spiced up the final two holes. As they stand that stretch is mostly just wide open throws, where the par 4 and 5 are only so because of the extra distance.

Hole 17 is a par 4 with the basket on an old golf green, if OB could have been placed to make the old golf green an island, or of the golf green was OB and the basket was moved it could have introduced more risk/reward to the hole.

I would have loved it if Hole 18's basket could have been moved 40 or so feet into the alcove of trees just behind the basket, to create a more dynamic green.

While I am typically not a huge fan of conversion courses, because I much prefer to throw my plastic circles through the woods, I really enjoyed the Ballantyne Temp. Course. Being a Temp Course, the cons are all fairly understandable - if permanent access to this land was granted to the CDGC, I can only imagine how popular this course would be. Even with the cons that come with being temporary, I think a 4.0 rating is warranted. I am super thankful for all the energy that David Weaver and crew have put into this project not only this year, but last year as well.

Favorite Holes: 3, 9, 11, 13, & 14

What could be Charlotte's most diverse course is barely going to make a blip on the radar. That's what happens when a course is set up for one week for a tournament before disappearing.
- Being a temporary course, this will be an abbreviated layout. Only fitting to keep it short as the review won't apply to anyone (unless this course comes back again in the future, I suppose).
- An open, hilly layout on the grounds of a former golf course. I noticed more hills on this course than every other layout in Charlotte proper with the exception of portions of Renny. Very few truly flat layouts.
- As part of the layout, most holes play downhill. That includes a stretch on the back nine where you throw downhill on 5 straight holes only to walk back up the slope to throw back down on the next hole.
- Course has a generally good flow. Basket for #8 / tee for #9 are the furthest points from the parking lot. In case you're wondering about proper balance, this works out evenly as #16 plays past the starting point, and 16 & 17 play right back to the start. Trust me, it makes sense.
- Course uses the random obstacles throughout the layout to give holes their variety. I loved #3 & 13 having baskets right on the edge of water/danger. I loved throwing over the water on #12. I loved the longer, blind tee shots on #9 & 11. And, I especially loved teeing off from a gazebo on #17. All cool aspects taken from the current grounds.
- Lots of holes where players will find themselves wanting to throw multiple tee shots. You get that with potential ace runs and/or downhill layouts.
- It's cool feeling so isolated while playing so close to busy roads, including I-485. It's almost like you're on a golf course or something.

All of the cons have to do with this being a temporary layout. Realistically, getting this course in the grounds is a tremendous credit to David Weaver and company.
- Next tee, transitions signs could be improved. If you're not paying attention, or you're trying to stare at your phone in the middle of a sunny, Summer day and can't read the screen, it's pretty easy to hop around and skip holes.
- The bathrooms on the backside of the course aren't open. So, no permanent bathrooms on site. Nor are there water fountains, benches, tee pads or anything else you won't get with a one-week course.
- Course could use a tad more variety. I'd especially have liked to have a couple more uphill holes, especially one to break up the monotony on the back 9.
- The biggest con is that this course will be gone immediately. Don't get too attached. Oh, but the possibilities.

If the CDGC had access to this land full time, this could become one of Charlotte's best courses. Seeing how there is construction going on alongside holes 6 - 9, I suspect this is the last time this land is available.
- Not surprising, this course reminded me most of Hardaway Point, an hour east of Charlotte. That course is also built on an old golf course, so the parallels are obvious.
- The course had a little bit of everything. #3 might have been my favorite hole, with #6 & 12 being my next choices.
- The course could have ended on a better note than the current #18. I'd either make current #1 or 16 and readjust everything else accordingly. Both are tougher, longer holes, creating more separation on the final hole.
- A great course for a temporary layout. It's not often I'm doing a drive-by review for a course/layout that I drive by all the time.