Golf Club at Del Webb - Gordon G. Lewis + Troon Golf= Terrific New Naples-Area Experience

You’re already in a place whose name (Naples) and laid back lifestyle evoke memories of the magnificence of Italy. Now, in the new community of Ave Maria, comes a new golf experience that brings together the design mastery of Gordon G. Lewis with the professionalism of Troon Golf to bring you member-for-a-day treatment at their brand new layout less than 30 minutes from the beaches of Naples.

The Golf Club at Del Webb joins a Troon Golf family that includes 185 honored upscale facilities, public and private, all around the world. More than a half-dozen of those facilities made Golf Digest’s recent list of the Top 75 Golf Resorts in North America, and The Golf Club at Del Webb has already been nominated by Golf Digest as a fi nalist for its “Top 10 New Courses under $70” list for 2008. You’ve no doubt received the Troon treatment from their well-trained staff that rolls out the red carpet for their visitors from the moment they arrive until they depart.

But the most important reviews have come from the first groups of guests at The Golf Club at Del Webb, who have given the course particularly high marks as being among the most fun they’ve played, and also for its pace of play (the four-hour round is the rule, not the exception), a rare compliment for a new layout. 

The Michelangelo of The Golf Club at Del Webb, Gordon G. Lewis, has called this design one of the top three he’s ever created, and that’s saying something for one of Florida’s most popular golf course architects. Given much more room to work with than most routings in a golf course community (Lewis laid over 124 acres of turf at The Golf Club, most courses use about 100 acres), Lewis used the generous set-backs and 29 lakes (some of them enormous) to create a golf course that just happens to be in a community, not one defined by its surroundings.

Speaking of those surroundings, you’ll be amazed at the variety of features Lewis has put in a golf course built through old orange groves and tomato fields. But those design surprises aren’t really surprises in the master-planned community at Ave Maria.

The pace-of-play reviews give away the fact that this course is very playerfriendly. The large fairway corridors are very forgiving (a few of the fairways are up to 70 yards wide) and with six sets of tees, there’s room for every type of player to enjoy their round. But most of those fairways get considerably narrower as they approach the greens, and with strategic bunkering in the fairways and around the slightly over-sized TifEagle greens, there’s plenty of challenge at The Golf Club.

There’s also water on every hole. But before you back away, understand that there is only one forced-carry (at a par-3), so the water isn’t  always in-play, but it is always visible, to remind you of the natural beauty of the course. The Bobcat nine is a little wider than the Panther nine, and its not out of the realm of possibility you’ll see one or the other, along with eagles, hawks, an occasional black bear passing through and the resident alligators. As with the rest of the Ave Maria community, there’s a commitment to preserving the area’s signifi cant environmental resources as well as its rural and agricultural heritage.

It’s the playability of this course that will bring you back. There’s a great mixture of straightaway holes with doglegs left and right. While the course can play at over 7,500 yards from the tips, the variety of holes from the popular 6,224-yard middle tees is amazing. From those tees, the par-4s range from 304 yards to 415, giving the great short-game players a chance to keep up with the bashers. The par-5s are a stout test, all over 475-yards from those middle tees, but offer the risk/reward opportunities on the approach shots that’ll make a difference on your scorecard. The par-3s are gorgeous, but tough. You’ll likely hit four different clubs off the tees at the par-3s that are very aptly named “Bunker Alley”, “Dramatic Entrance” (the one over-water carry), “Sandy Shores” and “Gordy’s Folly” (which stretches to 234 yards from the back tees) and can play up to four clubs different depending on the tee and hole locations.

The three finishing holes on the Panther nine, a beautiful mid-range par-4, “Gordy’s Folly” and “The Gambler” will change the fortunes of a lot of matches, the possibly-reachable par-5 finale offering the big hitter the chance to reach the green in two, but requiring either a solid draw or an over-water carry to a peninsular green reaching out into a large lake.

The practice area also features two greens on a peninsula to prepare players for the challenges ahead. That facility is also the home of the Del Webb TeachingAcademy where individualized instruction and small group clinics under the guidance of Director of Golf Jim Simpson and Head Professional Dan Redolphy should give you every tool you need to improve your game.

The Golf Club at Del Webb is located in the new Collier County community of Ave Maria, a place that is re-inventing hometown living with a flourishing, visionary new community complementing a new Catholic University. Inspired by the eternal charm of Italy’s hill towns, this new town offers diverse homes at diverse prices in six different neighborhoods, all within a beautiful, safe community, implementing a rural stewardship program protecting both the environment and agriculture, while promoting economic prosperity. The campus is an intrinsic part of the town, and participating in town life is an enriching aspect of the university experience.

Here, residents will find all they need – shopping, dining, schools, recreation and businesses as well as incomparable amenities, such as a water park, resortstyle pools, a private activities center, fitness center, restaurant and more. In short, Ave Maria is an exciting new place to live, work, play and learn for every family, every lifestyle, and every dream.

A big part of the Ave Maria lifestyle is The Golf Club at Del Webb. You’re invited to visit for a Troon Golf Experience. Who knows, you might decide to stay for a lifetime. For more information on playing at The Golf Club at Del Webb, visit www.golfclubatdelwebb.com or call (239) 304-2835.