COURTESY OF THE COURSE, LEONARD SHAPIRO
There’s no formal practice range, but
Rogers said Mr. Byron often took a shag
bag of golf balls over to the farm’s wellmanicured
polo field nearby and worked
on his game there.
The current “clubhouse” is a small
shed that includes a refrigerator with
cold drinks and few kitchen cupboards.
There’s no cart barn. The two electric
carts fit snugly together in another
12-by-20-foot shed that also houses several
extra sets of clubs.
Rogers does not know the original cost
to build the course but estimated that a
similar course today would probably be
in the $8 to $10 million range, “which is
conservative.” The upkeep now ranges
between $500,000 and $600,000 a year,
and Day has a staff of four workers.
“The hope is that whoever buys it will
keep the farm and the golf course as is,”
Rogers said. “Keep the staff and run it
like it’s been run the past 35 years. The
sale includes all the equipment and the
full staff is available to the owners, me
included, on a consulting basis.”
FANTASY LAND
The course’s scenery is stunningly
spectacular. The Blue Ridge mountains
can be seen off in the distance.
Mr. Byron had 2,000 now mostly
mature trees from a nearby nursery
planted all around, and a full-time
farm arborist helps maintain them.
So that Mrs. Byron would never have a
problem locating her tee box, a Japanese
maple was placed only a few yards from
the ladies’ teeing ground on every hole.
For any golfer, it’s a living breathing
fantasy land. The mid-May day a visitor
was invited to play the course, he spotted
several foursomes of deer dashing down
the fairway. Foxes, the occasional bear,
and all manner of bird species have been
seen on the property. A gorgeous gurgling
mini-waterfall cascades about 60 yards
from the 17th green, and with all those
ponds, the fishing is good, too.
As a single in a cart, it took only two
hours to play 18 holes, including more
than a few mulligans. There were a couple
of pars, a near chip-in birdie at the sixth
ABOVE: Hole 18
INSET: Heronwood’s logo proudly on display on of
the course’s flagsticks.
hole and a twisting 25-footer for bogey at
No. 17.
All in all, it was a golfer’s dream come
true, and Heronwood will continue to
remain on the golf writer’s personal bucket
list, perhaps for a second visit. After
all, there’s now a bit of course knowledge
in the back pocket. Who needs Augusta
National anyway, with Heronwood’s first
tee only five miles from home.
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J ULY/A UGUST 2020 | V IRGINIA G OLFER
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