Live the Dream in Lee County - River Hall Country Club

River Hall is Davis Love III's first signature course in Florida, and what a beauty it is.

Davis Love, Jr. passed along some advice to his son many years ago that Davis III has used to guide him through his own illustrious career as a fathe, golfer and course designer. "Follow your dream," his father said, "and enjoy the trip."

Davis Love III has brought that dream, and the enthusiasm to see it through, to his first Signature design in Florida, the centerpiece of the new River Hall Country Club community taking shape east of downtown Ft. Myers off State Road 80. The 1,500-acre master-planned community is being developed by the LandMar Group of Jacksonville, creator of recreationallyfocused communities, built from scratch, with stunning golf courses and homes designed by today's leading architects. 

River Hall is a brand new hometown, with its own luxurious lifestyle, and a package of amenities in a "bundled" club membership that you likely won't find anywhere else. Country Club residents will automatically become members of the golf club. Social and invitational memberships will also be available to residents of River Hall's other village, Hampton Lakes. And a River Hall membership will also offer access to other exclusive Hampton Golf and Crescent Communities courses, many of which are private, including designs from Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Gary Player, Pete Dye, Mark McCumber, and Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw.

River Hall's design encourages relationships within the private, gated community. Neighbors become friends here, surrounded by the beauty and splendor of well-appointed homes and spectacular golf views--through the trees to the tees, fairways, lakes and greens of a championship golf course built in a natural setting.

Love's design style is "completely different from other courses in the area," according to M.G. Orender, past president of the PGA of America and President of Hampton Golf, the company that will design and manage the golf operation. In his role with the PGA, he's seen as many courses as anyone, anywhere, and says of Davis' layout at River Hall, "he's a minimalist, moving as little dirt as possible and working with the native surroundings so that the course looks natural, almost like it was airbrushed in."

Love, the 1997 PGA Champion and Ryder Cup veteran from Sea Island, Georgia, has a vision for this course that is "very traditional in style, providing challenge through strategy versus just being long and difficult." Though River Hall stretches out to over 7,100 yards from the Gold tees, four other tees measuring from 6,585 to 5,125 yards should, in Love's words, "create a course that is playable and fun for golfers of varied skill levels, one that people will look forward to playing every day."

River Hall features wide fairways and strategic bunkering. One of Love's stated goals is for the course to remain as natural as possible, which is why he didn't re-contour the land to any great degree. "Each hole should be aesthetically appealing and in tune with the environment surrounding it."

With only one parallel fairway and half of the property set aside as nature preserve, River Hall should meet that goal of visual appeal. It should also meet the goal of dayto-day playability with par-3 yardages that should encourage a different club for each one. The diversity in the four par-5s is also notable, from the reachable-in-two 15th to the burly ninth that plays to 620-yards from the tips. There's even a potentially drivable par-4, the 17th, smack in the middle of a wonderful chase to the clubhouse with the short par-5 15th, par-3 16th and spectacular, but not too long, dogleg left 18th hole with a bunker in the center of the fairway.

The course opens with a comfortable 7,000 square-foot clubhouse that will be expanded in the future, but already has a full-service pro shop, locker rooms, a bar and grille and complete instructional facility including a double-ended driving range and practice greens. As with all Hampton Golfmanaged facilities, service is paramount for the members at River Hall. With a fully professional staff and limited public play, members will be taken care of in a fashion they'd expect only from the top private clubs, because River Hall is one.

The Country Club's oak hammocks and nature trails offer a peaceful paradise for the custom homesites of six different, award-winning builders. Unlike many other developments with limited construction choices, residents at River Hall can draw on the expertise of Pulte Homes, Ryland Homes, Arthur Rutenberg/Lyons Housing and Taylor Morrison for their Lowcountrystyle designs. A wide variety of lifestyle options are available with homes priced form the high $100s to $750,000 and up. All of the builders have models on-site to spark your imagination.

Targeted more toward younger families, but still within the gated community of River Hall is the Hampton Lakes village. With a series of trails and sidewalks, playing fields and a tot-lot, yet close to its own elementary school, with shopping and other services nearby, Hampton Lakes has a distinct sense of its own place, yet is connected to the entire community. Pulte Homes and Ryland Homes are building single family homes at Hampton Lakes.

The Country Club and Hampton Lakes are served by a 14,000 square-foot, twostory Town Hall and Amenity Center featuring recreational opportunities under the direction of a full-time activities director, a full-service fitness center, multi-purpose meeting and game rooms and an indooroutdoor snack bar.

Take Exit 141 (SR80/Palm Beach Blvd.) off I-75 and go east six miles to see Lee County's new hometown springing up before your eyes. A rare one with a Davis Love III Championship golf course, and a lifestyle to love as well.

For more information about River Hall Country Club, call (239) 274-0497, toll free (866) 379-3999 or visit www.riverhall.cc.