Ballyhack Golf Club Wins NGCOA Mid-Atlantic Sustainability Award
Ballyhack Golf Club, a Dormie Network private destination club, was honored with the 2021 National Golf Course Owners Association Mid-Atlantic Sustainability Award at the trade association’s annual meeting at Trump National Washington D.C. on October 21.
Ballyhack holes #1, #2, and #5
Ballyhack hole #11 fairway
The Sustainability Award, the latest of NGCOA’s Innovation Awards, recognizes a club for innovation and leadership to incorporate sustainability and environmental stewardship into operating practices.
“Our goal is to naturally grow the healthiest turf we can,” said Steven Ball, Ballyhack Director of Agronomy, who helped write the state’s 2021 Best Management Practices Manual for Virginia Golf Courses.
Ball’s lean water management philosophy ensures a firm and fast course, while conserving water and electricity. Irrigation is sparse, with the course instead relying on hand watering, spot watering, and three wells across the property. The course’s location presents unique agronomical challenges: its setting in the Blue Ridge Mountains just above the Smith Mountain Lake requires careful monitoring of plant protectant runoff, made easier by low-input fescues and limited water use.
The Lester George design features elevations of 50-70 feet and fairways of up to 150 yards wide, though it is the often-forgotten native areas that garner mention regarding this award. Approximately 80 acres of native grasses, a blend of fine fescues and Little Bluestem, framing the course get special attention that accounts for very little attention at all. Half the area is mowed twice a year, while the other is mowed only once annually. The club’s herd of 10 African Boer goats helps in this regard, often isolated in specific areas to eat down unwanted growth.
“This trend of sustainable cultural practices within Dormie Network and golf in general makes for a better experience for the golfer,” said Ball. “At Ballyhack, we really do make it a point to be good stewards of our land and the land around us, and by doing so, we provide a healthy gateway for leisure.”
About Ballyhack and Dormie Network
Ballyhack Golf Club, the #5 Private Golf Course in Virginia as named by Golf Digest, is a 190-acre Lester George design nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Ballyhack is part of Dormie Network, a national network of private destination golf clubs. Dormie Network membership includes access to and full member privileges at every club: ArborLinks in Nebraska City, Nebraska; Dormie Club near Pinehurst, North Carolina; Ballyhack Golf Club in Roanoke, Virginia; Victoria National Golf Club in Newburgh, Indiana; Hidden Creek Golf Club in Egg Harbor Township, New Jersey; and Briggs Ranch Golf Club in San Antonio, Texas. Each offers a premier golf experience in a relaxing and accommodating environment ideal for business or leisure.
