-This review is mostly out of bias. Ballantyne is excellent for anyone that loves hybrid golf. This is a matter of preference.

-Ballantyne is definitely "out there" in regard to Charlotte golf. If you've played Eastway, Kilborne, Nevin, or Hornet's Nest, then you know what the Charlotte style is and Ballantyne is nothing like it. You won't be having any unpredictable tree kicks at Ballantyne. You won't have to create weird shots from the fairway cause of a few wide trees further down in the middle of the fairway. You won't have to think like a 2600 rated chess player on how to save par when you are on the edge of the rough. Ballantyne is cut and dry. There are only a couple of wooded holes, one of which has a tougher line to hit (#9). The other (#4) being the shortest hole on the course.

-That being said, it's a nice change of pace. Distance is more of an advantage here. It's nice to have a course (even if temporary) where distance throwers will have the chance to shoot hot and where it not as hard to save par if you are a little bit off. This isn't Charlotte woods golf, this is Charlotte city neighborhood golf and the atmosphere is friendly. And to all young men who are single, nice place and time to get a tan .

-Starts off with a couple of accuracy testers with the option of throwing wide hyzers over the OB. They are separators. #1 is 273' and straight through a line of trees next to the sidewalk. This was actually the toughest hole in the event. The risk is lot more intense due to the severity of the curve from the right side to the left since the sidewalk curves right to left too. You have to keep breaking left to get back in bounds. #2 is a longer par three (350') and has the same premise. There's a straight option down the left side where you'll avoid the sidewalk on the right, but it's tougher to keep a driver straight for 350'. Many players went around the big tree on the right-hand side, which is to the right of the OB path. The branches are low, making a wide hyzer a lot tougher to get back across on the left. Trying to throw a big hyzer could result in a re-tee with a penalty stroke. Going risky on these two holes and making it back in bounds wouldn't be likely. If you were to birdie these two holes by throwing wide hyzers on the both of them, you would feel like investing in a Unicorn company upon its initial public offering, or feel like buying an entire pack of $50 scratch offs because you would be feeling lucky.

-#3 was a lot of fun. 295' and downhill past a big tree. #5 was a nice grip and rip par four. #13 is a stationing par four that gives the biggest arms a chance to throw a monster shot over the OB protected plant area. Takes well over 400' of power to clear. This hole is inspiring and gives the desire to work on distance. There's OB all around the left and right-side short of the marsh. This is a very tough hole to stay in bounds on off the tee. It's a good separator that's more accommodating to the biggest throwers. A classic David Weaver signature hole. #7 and #8 are both nice lengthy par threes as well, with #8 being 380' and having OB on both sides. Very good separator on #8 and a great opportunity to rip on #7.

-Course was well marked this year and the year before. Changes had been made in 2024 and the tee signs were updated as such. They are detailed and easy to follow on the holes with baskets you cannot see. And despite being a temporary course, all OB areas were marked.

-Temporary double chained disc catcher baskets installed both years.

-Just not entirely my taste. Lots of wide open holes without much bite to them. I like courses that are more open, Ballantyne is a little bit too open for me. There are several holes that I like, but the lack of scoring separation for a 7700' course (a considerably long one) makes a score of par seem disappointing. You could do a lot of things right but still score poorly due to missed putts. A prime example would be 15 and 16 (both are very similar by the way). Both are over 300' right to left hyzer shots. Very easy to par and not entirely easy to park. The longer the par three, the increased likelihood of having to make a long putt. Makes a 25' putt seem a lot harder just because of the lack of satisfaction of being 25' away from the pin. Feels a whole lot better to be 25' from the pin on a 300' with some sort of challenge. There are a few separators, but most of the holes are very straightforward. No teeth, just fangs on the sides. Few holes that are considerably tough, but the rest are all pretty simple birdies. Pros will feel disappointed if they don't shoot at least eight under when the course is long.

If you land inside the circle on a challenging par three with more obstacles you have this feeling of satisfaction. But on these two holes, if you are a higher rated player and land maybe 25' from the pin, you'll be thinking "eh whatever" and will be thinking about how you aren't left with a gimme putt.

-I think the OB stakes just a few feet away from #6 are challenging in a more frustrating sort of way. Whenever I would finish #5, I often found myself sarcastically saying "Oh great. Now I have to play THAT hole." Don't get me wrong, I like some holes with OB near the pin, but the stakes were less than 10' away. Bounce off the rim, and you'll potentially be OB. You could be 10' right of the pin on your tee shot and be OB and have a redundant tap in for par. Scary putt without any appeal. Just a bunch of OB stakes. It's an attackable hole by all means, and it can be birdied by anyone who can throw over 300', but it's one of those challenges that just challenging without any appeal.

-The property has a lot of elevation, which is to be expected for a golf course that's not in the coast because of the higher use of land. Elevation is used pretty lightly. Greatest elevation change is right at 25' on holes #3 and #5. It's not a flat course, but the old Ballantyne (back before COVID) on another part of the property had better use of the available elevation. Again, this is a sense of taste and preference.

-Being a seasonal course open a few weeks in the summer in the middle of a golf course, you are bound for sunburn. Speaking of burns, there are some fire ant piles you'll need to avoid. I stepped in one on #2's pad and they somehow made their way down my socks. Ouch!

-Ballantyne isn't my favorite Charlotte course because it gets pretty bland with the wide-open shots without much of a change in appearance. Both par fives are very soft (especially 12 being 750' and wide open). #18 is a little bit longer, but still a little too soft. Sign says 954' but I've been pin high after the second shot. It's maybe 850' and it's yet again wide open. This is my perspective only. Ballantyne is that open course where every hole is attackable. The first two holes are deceptively tough and seem to persuade you to stay straight instead of throwing wide hyzers over the OB. I think the front nine is a little bit better than the back nine. It's very fair, but has a little more distinctiveness to it. After 13, the course gets a little bit bland.

-#14 is an okay shot over a plant protected area, but it's still wide open and the area is all in bounds. Players with limited distance will be annoyed with this hole. You have to play inside from the plants if you land in there. Hole is 260' long, so it takes some skill and experience to make it across those plants. I think this hole is a primary example of why I think Ballantyne could use some alternate pads. Some people in beginner divisions can't throw past 250' and will probably end up hunting for discs down in the dip. I think it should have a short pad further down on the right side where newer players could throw a shorter hyzer around the bushes. It would be more accommodating. Every division in the tournament played the same layout. I think the played in the MA4, FA4, MA70 divisions, etc would've wanted a shorter layout that accommodates more to limited distance and I think the pros would've liked some tougher separator holes.

-This being said, I think this layout is a slight improvement over the previous year's. I liked the old #6 better since it was a big hyzer around the trees and up a small hill. But the new #9 tucked into the woods was a nice surprise. Was good to see a wooded hole that's a little bit tougher than #4 (the 214' footer). The starting hole was a very good one too. It's tough to throw a midrange down a tunnel low and straight for 273'. It's easier to throw a massive hyzer, but with the sidewalk breaking left in the same direction, it's tough to get back in bounds. I think a lot of players really wanted to go risky because of the better chance of having an easy tap in birdie if the disc were to fly as they'd expect. I always went the straight gap because I was worried about hitting the tree on the right side of the path OB. With a 273' hole with two routes being the hardest hole, my guess is that the angle needed to get back in bounds was strongly underestimated. This was a great starter!

-Hope this becomes permanent. Hope additional changes will come as time progresses.

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 3.5 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.