DAVIS LOVE III WILL SPEARHEAD
A COMPLETE OVERHAUL OF THE
UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA’S HOME TRACK
B
by JERRY RATCLIFFE
ILL GOODWIN HAS ALWAYS DREAMED BIG.
When it came to imagining a makeover of his alma
mater’s golf course, the sky was the limit.
A Richmond businessman, VSGA member, and a
passionate golfer, Goodwin has long been involved
in conversations about a redo of the University of
Virginia’s Birdwood Golf Course, which opened in
1984. He believed Birdwood, which is also affiliated with bordering
Boar’s Head Inn, deserved much more than a facelift.
“We’re building a new course, we don’t want to renovate an old
course,” Goodwin announced at an event introducing the project
to several university and Charlottesville golf lovers this summer.
Because Birdwood has enough property for no less than 27
quality golf holes, several new holes will be created, some present
ones will be eliminated, and those remaining will not be the same.
Birdwood has not kept up in terms of modern play, length and
challenge, and the university, along with the University of Virginia
Foundation, which owns Birdwood and Boar’s Head, decided it
was time for a change.
While playing 18 with University of Virginia basketball legend
Barry Parkhill, an avid golfer and fundraiser, Goodwin decided
it would be a good idea to approach famed Charlottesville sports
psychologist Dr. Bob Rotella to persuade Davis Love III to come
take a look at Birdwood. Love, the captain of the U.S. Ryder Cup
team and a soon-to-be inductee into the World Golf Hall of Fame,
has gained a strong reputation in course design in recent years.
vsga.org
S E P T E M B E R / O C T O B E R 2 0 17 | V I R G I N I A G O L F E R
27