Born in Cartersville, Ga., Robert Shaw and his family moved to Dalton where he grew up. He played varsity football and basketball at Dalton High School. Shaw inherited his competitive spirit from his family, a spirit which would serve him well throughout his professional life.
As a teenager, Shaw worked at his father’s business, Star Dye Company, which dyed bed sheets, robes and rugs in Dalton. After high school Shaw attended the University of the South in Sewanee, Tenn. Despite being enrolled for four years, Shaw did not earn a degree. When his father died in 1958, Shaw and his brother took over the company while merging into the carpet industry. The Shaw brothers began making carpet in 1967. By 1986, Shaw Industries was the top-ranked carpet maker. Shaw would serve as founder and CEO until he retired in 2006.
As a young professional, Shaw once stood atop Mount Sinai in Dalton. That’s where he envisioned the landscape would be perfect for a championship golf course. Years later in 1984 that land was purchased. By early 1985, Shaw hired architect Tom Fazio to design a golf course. Fazio described this piece of property as having an unusual natural beauty. The construction of the golf course officially began in June of 1986. The course was named The Farm – named after the McArthur Farm which once occupied the property. It opened in June of 1988. Phase one was the golf course. Phase two came in the spring of 1991, which included club facilities and a guest lodge.
Shaw has always shown a commitment to the support and promotion of amateur golf. The Farm has been a generous supporter as well. The club has hosted some major competitions contested in the amateur game over the years. It was host of the annual Carpet Capital Collegiate Classic, which was recognized as one of the premier tournaments in collegiate golf. Contested at The Farm from 1989 to 2019, numerous collegiate All-Americans and participants of U.S. Walker Cup teams competed. The Southern Amateur Championship was held at The Farm in 1993, as was the 2005 U.S. Senior Amateur Championship.
The Farm has also been the host site to many of the top amateur competitions in the state of Georgia, including the Georgia Amateur Championship in 1990 won by Georgia Golf Hall of Fame member Allen Doyle, and the 1996 Georgia Women’s Amateur Championship won by Kim Lisi. It also hosted the 2013 Georgia Junior Championship won by Marcus Byrd, a multi-winner on the APGA Tour, and the 1997 Georgia Senior Championship won by Bill Ploeger, a member of the Georgia Golf Hall of Fame.
In 2001 Shaw created the Clay Dykes Invitational in honor of his late friend, which transformed into one of the country’s top senior amateur tournaments.
Years before developing The Farm into a championship golf course and upscale residential community, Shaw was instrumental in taking Dalton Golf & Country Club from a 9-hole facility to an 18-hole championship golf course. He was the club's president in the early 1970s.
Shaw regularly gives back to the Northwest Georgia community, supporting the local hospital, Boys and Girls Clubs and the Boy Scouts.