By Design – Issue 55, Fall 2021

26 SKETCHBOOK Boar’s Head Resort I n July 2020, Boar’s Head Resort in Virginia opened its new Birdwood course, following a complete redesign by Love Golf Design. “While studying multiple routing options for the new Birdwood, our team was intrigued by several natural creeks and bodies of water throughout the property and were keen on using these as hazards wherever possible,” said Scot Sherman, ASGCA, who led the project for Love Golf Design. “One such body of water was a farm pond that had been part of the old course since 1984. By Design inspects a page from the sketchbook of Scot Sherman, ASGCA. “We decided to bring the seventeenth green to this pond with hopes of setting up its left side with a rock wall along the water. As fate would have it, a new water line was to be installed near this green site where a massive rock was encountered, which had to be removed using dynamite.” With the rock supply problem solved, the contractor was able to construct an elegant wall. “Our concept for the green was to build an upper shelf on the right, and lower shelf along the left,” said Sherman. “This gives players the option to feed long approach shots in from the right to hole locations near the hazard – not unlike the familiar par-three sixteenth at Augusta National.” •