Designed and developed by local Virginian architect Lester George, Ballyhack was a passion project that opened in 2009 but took many years to come to fruition. The story goes that George discovered the site in a rugged valley outside Roanoke and in the shadows of the Blue Ridge Mountains. He continued his career with an idea in mind to someday convert the farming ground into golf. That opportunity came in the mid-2000s, when he managed to convince a course construction company to help put together the funding team necessary to create a golf club.

George is a polarizing designer and Ballyhack showcases both his most creative as well as his most controversial design preferences. The course has amazing shot visuals and rugged, attractive features. It also frustrates for a few extreme green areas and the number of forced shots, be they laybacks or carries.

The front nine is dominated by a couple of abrupt ridges and the dramatic valleys in between, while the back nine is routed around some prominent ravines and across more expansive hills. Both have a little too much elevation change than is ideal. Among the early highlights is the multiroute par five 2nd and beautiful cross-gully approach into the steeply leaning 4th. Shorter par fours with smaller greens at the 6th and 8th are also memorable. As are the left-bending 12th and right-bending Cape-style 16th, which runs along and then across a natural brook.

Adding to the challenge at Ballyhack is the fact the off fairway areas are generally unforgiving and a number of landing zones are shaped to feed central balls into dangerous spill areas. Golfers will be more nervous about losing balls on straight shots here than almost anywhere else. They will also concern themselves with the abundant sandy scars, which are attractively gouged to give the course its distinct playing character. Originality is crucial in golf, and Ballyhack has it in spades. Although far from perfect, this is not the sort of course you forget in a hurry.