Today I've got a deal for everyone out there. This is one of those you-didn't-hear-it-from-me deals, so let's just keep it between us.
What if I said you and your friends could play a pickup game on the floor of the JPJ any day of the week for $14? How about a little flag football practice in Scott Stadium for the same price? Maybe some shots on goal at Klöckner? No time limit -- you can spend all afternoon out there. Would you take it?
It sounds like a pretty good deal to me -- getting to play on the same gorgeous fields as the Cavaliers for less than the cost of a textbook. Who wouldn't want to do a little touchdown dance on some sweet turf?
Alright, so maybe I can't actually follow through on this offer -- something about high security and big fences -- but hear me out. Even if they don't allow first years to drive the same lane as Sean Singletary, there is one place in Charlottesville where any student can stomp all over the same award-winning $1.6 million varsity sports facility as the Cavaliers -- and not have to keep an eye out for the cops.
Birdwood Golf Course is the home of the men's and women's golf teams at Virginia -- and it's about a 10-minute drive from Grounds. The course itself is owned by the U.Va. Foundation and has been operated by Boar's Head Inn on a day-to-day basis since the early 80s. As a college facility, Birdwood was designed to be played by any and all Wahoos -- regardless of skill level. If you're a scratch golfer, however, it helps to know that Golf Digest has ranked it as one of the top 10 university courses in the United States, and Washington Golf Monthly rated it as one of the top 100 "must play" courses in the Mid-Atlantic. Not too shabby for a place about two miles from Rugby Road.
Last weekend, after hearing all the glowing reviews, it seemed like Birdwood was worth checking out. I'm in no way a good golfer, so I figured hacking away from the same bunkers as the varsity team might give me a little "everyman" perspective of one of the top college courses around. After throwing a bag of well-worn clubs in the back of the car, my roommates and I headed out to Ivy Road to get nine holes in before dark.
Even to the untrained eye, Birdwood is pretty amazing. The clubhouse is built on the highest point of the course, so teeing off from the first hole lets you look right out over the Blue Ridge Mountains. The fairways are narrow and smooth (at least this is what I hear -- I spent most of my time in the rough) and the greens are visible from almost any point on the hole. No blind spots.
Even though Birdwood looks like it's straight off the PGA Tour, your wallet won't know it. Student rates are especially good after 4 p.m. on weekdays. Plus, there is no dress code, although "appropriate golf attire" is appreciated. You can even roll out with an un-tucked shirt and New Balances if you want to (note: done and done).
Still, the best things about the course are the details: blue and orange tee box markers on every hole and gold "V and sabers" hood ornaments on the golf carts. If it weren't for these little hints, I could've sworn I was 100 miles from McCormick Road, Cabell Hall and Panda Garden.
So how in the world did U.Va. stumble on this much prime real estate in land-starved Charlottesville? Like everything in this part of Virginia, Birdwood has a history. It turns out that before it was covered with golfers, Virginia's prize golf course was covered with lots and lots of manure.
The land that the course sits on now was once part of a 2,300 acre tract called Upland Wilderness and owned by a man named William Garth, dating back to 1819. For about 150 years, the property was used as a ranch for sheep and prizewinning Angus and Hereford cattle. The University bought the land in the late 70s and allowed an inexperienced architect named Lindsay Ervin design the course as the first solo project for his new firm. Looks like things turned out pretty well (for everyone but those cows).
I think it's safe to say that most students in Charlottesville know how to take advantage of what the University has to offer (libraries, professors, gyms, sports games). Still, there will always be a few opportunities that slip through the cracks between studying and hitting the weights at the AFC. Don't let Birdwood be one of them.
Few colleges have their own golf facilities, and even fewer have a nationally recognized course sitting two miles off Grounds. So go ahead and pretend you're teeing off in the annual Cavalier Classic -- even if you sink a couple sextuple bogies along the way.
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