Guys this is a little frustrating and will get me down voted, but I have stated I can create a shortcut. It is to a directory not a file, and if I open the properties of the Perl created shortcut and make any change then it will work. That said, here is the code:

    $link = Win32::Shortcut->new();
    $link->{'File'} = '"' . $archive_drive_path . $disc_path . 'Projec
+ts Folder.lnk"';            
    $link->{'Path'} = '"' . $master_project_path . '"';
    $link->{'Description'} = 'RDI Projects Folder';
    $link->{'ShowCmd'} = 1;
    $link->{'IconLocation'} = 'C:\WINNT\system32\SHELL32.dll';
    $link->{'IconNumber'} = '9';
    $link->Save( $archive_drive_path . $_ . '/Projects Folder.lnk');
[download]

I have the documentation, the shortcut creates, it just doesn't work until I manually edit it. Like I said previously, all I have to do is add or delete a character from the comment line, or change the icon and apply the change then the shortcut works.

Is this a known issue? Any workarounds? (note: ikegami's solution may get the job done.)

Whoa! You're not creating a shortcut to a directory, you're creating a shortcut to a shortcut (Projects Folder.lnk)! That's probably why it doesn't work.