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Description

CLOSED: As of 12/31/2020, this course has closed permanently to be redeveloped as commercial property. This course was formerly known as Ballantyne Resort and is now associated with the Ballantyne Hotel and Lodge located off I-485 in south Charlotte. It is kept in great shape and offers plenty of challenge for a variety of golfers. The course is also home to the acclaimed Dana Rader Golf School. In the fall of 2009, new Champion Ultra Dwarf bermuda grass greens were installed. The new greens should keep the course in prime condition throughout the year, with little downtime for maintenance. Also, in 2011, the 2nd and 8th holes were redone to improve play and allow for additional construction on the resort property.

Notes

As a resort course you get amenities here like nowhere else in town. That includes 14-day (call) and 30-day (online) advance tee times, wide selection of rental clubs ($60), the Ballantyne Golf Academy, Stay and Play packages with the hotel/spa and a GPS course app.

B-Man's Take

I loved this course and played it several times a year when it was open. In March of 2020, I scored my first career hole-in-one on the par 3 13th hole. Below are my original comments and take on this course. This course is the only true resort course in Charlotte and you get what you pay for. The service and amenities are topnotch. I try to splurge and play here once or twice a year. You should be treated well, starting with bag service, then checking in at the luxurious clubhouse, then with practice balls on the spacious driving range and putting area. The course can be fun to play too, with 4 par 5's and 5 par 3's on a par-71 layout. The par 5's are all reachable with 2 good shots. My favorite hole is probably the closing hole, a challenging dogleg left 420yd par 4. You have a risk/reward tee shot over a creek to try and cut off as much of the dogleg as you dare. Then you have a mid-iron approach with water and bunkers protecting the green. And to top it off, the green is in full view of the Lodge, which means you usually have an audience watching from their balconies as you play the hole. There are several difficult holes, including the 430yd par 4 6th hole, which requires a precise tee shot to avoid OB on the left and the 5th fairway on the right. The approach shot is difficult too with a cavernous bunker guarding the front of the green. Overall, the new Champion Ultra Dwarf greens are some of the best in Charlotte and have increased the difficulty of the course with their speed and slope.

Most Recent Reviews

• 10/15/20 - Review by JB

  "Worth playing"

  Hate to hear this course is going away, despite not being my favorite however it's right around the corner from home and does offer a lot of challenging holes. I play this course a handful of times a year (usually for tournaments, really good venue for tournaments!). Had a really fun time with my group and the course was in excellent shape, greens a tad slow which is unusually for the Ballantyne Resort Course. The rough was extremely challenging which means if you don't hit the fairway you will pay, not a bad thing just makes the challenge more fun or for some golfers, tougher. Pin placements for a Thursday were interesting, literally some holes had pin placement 5 feet from the edge of the green which made for an interesting day. All in all a great course and it will be missed, hopefully I'll grab another round or two in before they shut down.

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• 10/13/20 - Review by Jonny

  "Great course"

  This course is on everyones tops list and is considered one of the top places to play in the Charlotte Metro area. I've heard so much about it over the years and my Son plays here regularly and says it's his favorite. Today, me, Ben, Jason B & James D played 18 holes on a Tuesday early afternoon. After two days of rain on Sat & Sun from Hurricane Delta it was still quite wet in areas which affected your fairway shots and pace of play since it was cart path only. It took us about 4 1/2 hours to play 18. This is a resort style course and is upscale though still public. The property has been sold to a developer and eventually it will be gone. The ProShop is attached to the hotel so they don't allow you to take the gas carts into the parking lot. You drop your bag, then park and go downstairs to the ProShop to check in. They have a starter so you'll need your receipt. At the ProShop they assign you a cart and give you a card which you hang on your cart with your Tee Time. Everyone I came in contact with was nice and professional. Once you leave the ProShop you follow the cart path to the practice area where they have a driving range as well as a chipping and putting area. There is a large open air pavilion which has a full bar and food as well as bathrooms. From here you check in with the Starter who will direct you to the 1st Tee and get you off on time. There is a huge clock next to the first tee in sight of the practice area so everyone can keep up with the time with a quick glance. The course is very nice, it's fairly wide open with the usual out of bound areas but for the most part the fairways are wide. There are 5 Par 3's. Thats right FIVE par 3's. Two on the front and three on the back. There are four Tee's and most play from the Whites and the Seniors play the Green tees. All the Par 3's are fun and accessible. My favorite hole is #18 which offers an elevated tee with a clear view of the green sitting right in front of the hotel. There are green side bunkers on the right alongside water & water fountain and the distance from the White tee's is 350 yards. Jason & Ben both hit beautiful drives and Jason barely edging Ben out with about a 340 yard drive. It's interesting that the 9th hole doesn't bring you back to the club house. There is another small bar/restaurant at the turn where you can get a beverage some food and take a bio break, I really like this course overall and the way it plays. The water is not going to create a lot of problems and the bunkers are designed to compliment the course and not make it too risky. The tees boxes are well maintained, the fairways are great and the greens are well kept and roll true. Not too many un-repaired ball marks as on so many courses. The downside of being in such a developed area is you have Interstate 485 right on you so you hear the traffic on the back 9 with the sirens and horns. There is also a lot of construction going on all around the course so don't be surprised to hear a saw start up as you get set for your putt. As in most things you get what you pay for. This course is a little pricer than most. I got on with the GolfNow app for $58 bucks. I would recommend this course no matter your skill level. Especially if you have out of town quests in to entertain or just want to enjoy a day outside with friends and family with easy access to cold beverages and food.

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• 9/4/20 - Review by B-Man

  "Great course"

  Got in 15 holes before dusk at Ballantyne resort. The course is in good shape overall, but not pristine. Fairways have lots of divots - and they have not put sand bottles back in the carts. The bunkers are hit or miss - with no rakes and players lifting and placing, they seem kinda neglected as far as daily maintenance. And, wow, the rough. The bermuda rough is so thick that my group nearly lost balls just off the fairway on about 6 holes. If you don't see exactly where your ball entered the rough, good luck. I found one ball literally by stepping on it. For a public course, the rough is ridiculously thick and penalizing -- and maddening. Searching for balls just off the fairway is extremely frustrating and slows play tremendously. The greens were typically slick. Combined with the slopes on most greens, the speed really increases the difficulty of the course. Adding to that, the greens did not putt very smoothly today. Overall, my opinion on the conditions for this being a resort course was very mixed. Due to COVID policies, their hole cups are still upside down (causing some good putts to bounce out and you have to decide to count it) and there are no attendants to bring your bag up or down the stairs. Yet, they are still charging their normal resort course rates. I keep hearing different predictions on when the course will close for the re-development. So I guess I will still play it while I can. Just hope to have more of a "resort" experience for my next round.

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• 4/8/20 - Review by IM4DHERD

  "Great course"

  Ballantyne is in a good a shape as I have ever seen. Fairways are near perfect. A couple tee boxes have some bald spots. Green are in very good shape. They do raise the cups now, but I heard from someone who lives just off the course they might be changing that to allow the ball to drop into the cup.

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• 3/30/20 - Review by dischydo

  "Worth playing"

  Starting to green up. Fairways and tee boxes in decent condition for this time of year. Greens were super furry. slowest iv ever seen out of the 20+ times playing here.

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Updates From the Forum

• 12/31/20 - B-Man posted "Ballantyne closes today :-("

  For those that may have missed the news last month, The Golf Club at Ballantyne closes for good today. I really hate to see it go and have no idea how they will manage to find comparable golf for their guests to enjoy while staying the hotel. I will always have a plaque on my wall for Ballantyne though as they sent me one for my first and only career hole-in-one that I made on the 13th hole just 9 months ago back in March.
  
  Cheers to Ballantyne!
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• 06/10/19 - IM4DHERD posted "Ballantyne Golf Course gone"

  To be phased out. Holes 1,2 and driving range to become a "Town Center" area. Holes 3, 4 a park, hole 5 a buffer green area between further development and a neighborhood. Rest to be office space, retail etc.
  
  Ballantyne golf course to transform into new urban center
  
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• 03/01/14 - dongtrgolfer replied to "Ballantyne Resort"

  Did not see a listing for Ballantyne Resort. Practice area very nice. Played on Saturday and greens are nice. Fairways brown but pretty good shape. Bunkers good. It was a little cool and cloudy and really few golfers out. I was with a friend, there was another single and the starter said we we were waiting for another single.
  
  I had been at the course hitting balls and putting for about 30 minutes. I saw one twosome go out during the 30 minutes. I ask the starter if we can go out as a twosome since no one else was around. He said no. I ask why a twosome with a later tee time was able to go out and he stated they paid full price. I guess we all paid the $45 discount rate so he was making us wait and sending us all out together (stupid). The fourth guy showed up and he sent us out a few m! inutes early (thanks). We played the first hole and then split up into two twosomes to play faster. Played a little under 3:00 hours. Good challenging course, but the starter is a a$@hole.
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• 07/17/12 - estanwick replied to "Ballantyne Resort"

  FYI, Ballantyne Resort is running a special till the end of July. $40 for Sunday thru Thursday play. (after 3pm I believe).
  
  I played this past Sunday and they had a record amount of people on the course according to a few staff members. Needless to say, it was a 5+ hour round.
  
  Course in good shape. Greens were in good shape as well.
  Staff was excellent. Only downfall...speed of play. Brutal.
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• 08/26/11 - TheClaw posted "Ballantyne green fees"

  I played yesterday at Ballantyne for the first time. Really enjoyed the course and would love to play there again. Which leads me to my question.
  
  Does anybody know when the best time to play there is on the weekend to get a good rate? Do they have a twilight rate after 2pm or 4pm or something like that?
  
  I can never find any online discounts for this course on clickitgolf.com and the like.
  
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