With its pretty hilly countryside panorama, plenty of elevation changes, especially on the front 9, and some nice, but sparse, plantings, this course plays very smoothly and is fun to play.
Right off the bat, you will hit a steep downhill tee shot over a small creek on the right dogleg par-4 1st hole, with trees on the left and a hill on the right of the fairway, before hitting your approach shot to the elevated green, and follow up with another right dogleg, the par-5 2nd, with a nice panoramic view of the valley on your downhill tee shot, and an uphill (and blind) shot toward the green with a big bunker in front of the green, to the right.
The par-3 3rd hole is nice too, with plenty of bushes in a hollow wasteland on the right, not far from the green (with four bunkers around), just like the right dogleg par-4 4th, with an approach shot on the other side of a small hill. But the best holes are yet to come...
After the straight down-and-up par-4 5th hole and its undulated fairway, the par-4 6th is quite short (about 360 yards), but beautiful with its blind and steep downhill shot over a small creek (with trees in the left corner), and a road above behind the green, just like the straight par-3 7th hole, with its nice panoramic view and steep downhill tee shot.
The right dogleg par-4 8th hole is another superb hole, with a downhill tee shot (and a nice little bridge on the right) and a boomerang-shaped small pond on the left, in front of the green, at the bottom of a small wooded hill, and is followed by the par-5 9th, very scenic too, with an uphill tee shot next to the road on the left, with a big slope on the right and a green slightly to the right.
The back 9 starts with the right dogleg par-5 10th hole, with a rollercoaster fairway, an elongated lake, a little bit far to the right, and a long uphill approach shot to the green, with two big bunkers on the sides in front.
I also like the par-4 12th hole, with a slightly-uphill tee shot followed by a downhill approach to the green, with a few houses below on the far right and a nice view of the valley, just like the straight and nice downhill par-3 13th, with a few trees on a mound on the right, with bushes below and 4 puzzle-shaped bunkers in front of the green.
Then, after the nice left dogleg par-4 14th hole, with a downhill tee shot, bushes at the bottom on the left of the slanted fairway, and an uphill approach shot to the green, you will face the right dogleg par-5 15th, with a blind tee shot downhill (with the small houses on the left) and a beautiful panoramic view of the valley.
Finally, after the pretty right dogleg par-4 16th hole, with a downhill tee shot over lots of trees in the right corner, and the straight par-3 17th, over a hollow wasteland with deep rough, you will need one last accurate approach shot to reach the elevated green of the par-4 18th hole, partially hidden by a big lone tree, slightly to the left.
With its variety, scenery-wise and playing-wise, and its natural look, Ballyridge is another keeper in my book, thanks to the nice work done by Micko !