RiverWinds Golf Course: Back From the Brink

Unforgiving heat poured down from the sky in July, as the area was stuck in the midst of a heat wave. Day after day, temperatures hit 95 degrees and above, and during one stretch, triple digits became the norm. It was the type of heat that could bring anyone or anything to a halt.

Yet it didn’t keep people from hauling out the sticks and heading to .

“We saw 950 golfers in four days,” said golf and tennis Director Gina Pileggi, after one of the hottest weeks of the summer.

Just a few years ago, 950 golfers would have been a good month’s worth.

In its decade of existence, the golf course has been a focal point of the community, both in the good times and bad. It has undergone enough ownership changes, course renovations and scrutiny to last a lifetime.

Just a few short years ago, things were so bleak, it looked as though the potential the course promised would be lost in the rough like an errant tee shot.

Golfers were not playing the course, and as a result, money was not coming in. In a period of a few years, potential had turned into frustration, and frustration threatened to boil over into hopelessness. The course featured sand traps that were missing sand, rough that seemed more suitable for a corn field and a cart path riddled with potholes deeper than some of the bunkers, to the point where seat belts would have been a understandable addition to the golf carts.

Yet over the past two years, the course has been able to blast out of its self-made bunker to the point where when people now speak of the course, it is not of its shortcomings, but its pleasures. Now if a player leaves the course unhappy, it is probably because their pitching wedge on the Par-3 17th found water instead of the green, not because a shot made a splash where a sand trap should have been.

The twist and turns over the last 10 years have been numerous at RiverWinds. From the original construction plans, to the decline of the course and finally its resurrection under Ron Jaworski, RiverWinds’ history is much fuller than its short existence would suggest.

The Beginning

A pristine golf course adjacent to a premier hotel conference center, a top-of-the line restaurant or two and a breathtaking marina: This was the vision set out in the plans to construct RiverWinds.

As word spread about the project, locals were understandably excited.

“As a South Jersey resident, I thought it was going to be a spectacular place for a golf course,” Jaworski said.

Unfortunately, like so many other areas of the lives of American citizens, the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, changed those plans.

Deeg Sezna, who previously owned Hartefeld National in Avondale, PA, tragically lost a son on that day. Davis “Deeg” Sezna Jr. was in the south tower on that fateful day.

Sezna decided against going forward with ownership of the course, and in stepped Arrett and Emery Dobson, brothers with a background in golf management, including White Oaks in Franklin Township. The Dobsons brought on course designer Ed Shearon, who got to work building the course we see today. It was Shearon’s first big shot and he came through, producing 18 holes in 18 months.

Not that time was his major issue.

Shearon had to deal with a surface that hardly seemed fit for golf. The course was being built on a piece of land once thought unsalvageable. The property was made up of little more than dredge spoils from the bottom of the Delaware river.

Despite the challenge, Shearon came through, delivering the type of course that was envisioned by the owners.

However, as the course was going forward, the conference center was not. The attacks on 9/11 had a major impact on the construction industry, and projects around the country were postponed or altogether pulled.

No conference meant no clients; no clients meant unsold rounds.

“Unfortunately, when 9/11 came, the whole project derailed and it all went south,” Jaworski said. “From a golf perspective, I thought the township had a great vision there and a spectacular development plan.”

The conference center and golf course were supposed to go hand-in-hand. The center would host hundreds of clients every day, with the golf course serving as a featured attraction. As part of the original agreement, the conference center was going to buy a significant numbers of rounds each year.

“Obviously there was big, big hopes from the original owners (the Dobson brothers) because the way it was supposed to work was that the owners of the hotel conference center were going to buy 10,000 rounds a year off the bat,” said Pileggi. “They were supposed to have a lot of rounds sold even before they started to have the public play.”

Even with the setback, the course debut in 2002 and was met with much fanfare. It was even voted one of the top 100 courses in the country by one publication.

However, the reality of challenge ahead would soon set in.

The Dark Days

With no conference center on the way, the Dobsons were concerned that a sustained run of success was unlikely and after roughly five years, they pulled out and the township handed the course to NamWest.

NamWest came in with plans to elevate the course’s popularity, as well as build a slew of homes and resurrect the plans for a conference center and hotel, but not soon after the purchase, the company went bankrupt. As a result, the course suffered.

Money was no longer being put into the links, and in a matter of two years, a course once thought as one of the best in the country was no longer even the best in a 20-mile radius.

“The course was great, it was in fantastic shape there the first four or five years,” Pileggi said. “Then when NamWest came in, that’s when it kind of went downhill.”

The bunkers were no longer being kept up, the cart paths were unattended and the rough was getting so high it was taking over the course.

As an avid golfer and passionate fan of the sport, Jaworski was sickened by what was happening to it.

“They went bankrupt and the golf course became an absolute mess,” Jaworski said. “If you hit the ball off the fairway, you could forget it, because you could find it. It was an absolute mess. I remember being in the pro shop and some guy wanted his money back and was about to start a fight. The golf course should have been closed.”

With NamWest bankrupt, the golf course fell into the hands of the township. Much discussion followed as decisions had to be made, and quickly, if the course was going to be saved.

“At one point there was talk of shutting the course down, but the township stepped in and wouldn’t let that happen,” said John Cobb, current West Deptford High School golf coach and a former committeeman. “As a golf lover and as someone on the committee, I told them that couldn’t happen. A golf course is not like an office building, you can’t just shut it down for six months. If you do, you have lost an asset. The good news for West Deptford and the people is that we are past that.”

The Next Step

With West Deptford now in possession of the course, it started the process of looking for bidders to take over the management aspect.

When the bids started coming in, Jaworski’s name immediately stood out. Already the owner of two local courses (Running Deer and Valleybrook), his resume went well beyond his time with the Philadelphia Eagles or work with ESPN. The work Jaworski and his management team did at Running Deer was concrete evidence that a once-written-off course could not only be brought back to life, but reach heights never before seen.

When the time came for a bid to be accepted, employees at RiverWinds crossed their fingers.

“There were a couple of people bidding on it, and everybody wanted it to work out the way it did,” Pileggi said. “When he came in, everyone was excited.”

In the spring of 2009, Ron Jaworski Golf Management LLC won the bid, which ensured a two-year contract to manage the facility, while the township still controlled ownership.

Revitalizing the course

The decline of the golf course was a slow, but gradual process that couldn’t been seen over the span of a day, a week or even a month. Its return to top condition, however, was quicker than anyone could have foreseen.

“They chose me and literally within a few months I put on an absolute full-court press,” Jaworski said. “I rallied guys and got the equipment and cleaned it up in 60 days. I cant say enough about Dave and how he brought that back.”

Dave–new course superintendent Dave Santana–is a man who played as integral a part in the course’s revitalization as anyone. Santana was essential in turning around Running Deer, and faced another monumental task to do the same in West Deptford.

Immediately, Santana knew he would have his hands full dealing with the drainage system.

“Through the years of financial instability–there was a lot of starting and stopping–there were a lot of agronomical issues that were neglected in those 2 ½ years,” Santana said. “The prior owner kind of shut down in that last year, knowing they were selling it, so there was a period where things weren’t being done.”

Santana was able to improve the drainage system and repaired the bunkers, many of which were either barren mud pits or filled with calf-deep water. He also got to work smoothing out the cart path.

Soon after his management team had brought back the course, Jaworski became interested in purchasing the course from the township.

“The view is as good in any of South Jersey, so people started coming back and within five or six months I said I was interested in buying the property. They needed to start getting taxes from it so we moved quickly and within a year accomplished getting it sold.

Jaworski officially was put in charge last August and that’s where things really took off.

“When I closed on the deal last August I put a lot more money in golf course,” he said. “We redid the sand, cleaned up what was left of the drainage, put in a new sprinkler system. Everything was rebuilt in the three to four month period when we took over.”

The hard work showed.

“Probably last August and last September you could see that it had turned the corner, both playability and agronomically,” Santana said.

Business Picking Up

There was no voice coming from the sky or an old cornfield suggesting, “If you build it, they will come,” but it would have been fitting if there had been.

With the course back to the type of conditions the original ownership group had offered, golfers from South Jersey and beyond began returning to RiverWinds.

“(Previously) it was disappointing, because people who used to enjoy playing RiverWinds left because the playing conditions had gotten so bad,“ said Jaworski. “I had Valleybrook 15 miles away and you would see people leaving (RiverWinds) and coming to Valleybrook.

“Now the people who gave up are coming back. Now we are running 200 rounds a day and continue to be very busy.”

From a business standpoint, Pileggi couldn’t be happier with the progress.

“This year already, the course has drawn significantly higher numbers compared to last year, and last year we drew significantly higher numbers than the year before,“ Pileggi said.

Along with the financial boost the course is seeing, it also saw the full-time return of the high school golf team.

West Deptford began playing there in 2002, but Cobb went back to Westwood when he took over in 2007 due to the uncertainty that surrounded RiverWinds at the time. With Jaworski entrenched at the head, the team went back exclusively to RiverWinds in 2010. The course will continue to be a permanent home, as the school signed a 99-year lease that ensured it would never have to pay for its use.

RiverWinds has gained a reputation as being one of the most challenging courses in South Jersey for high school players, and this past spring hosted the Carl Arena Tournament.

Cobb said that having his players practice on course that features every challenge a golfer could ask for, as well as unforgiving winds, prepares his players to take on any obstacle when on the road.

“I think they have become better players by playing a harder golf course,” said Cobb. “I talk with a lot of sports people and tell them you can’t compare a 37 at Pitman with a 40 at RiverWinds. It’s like night and day. It’s a very challenging golf course.”

The Future

With the worst now long behind them, Jaworski and his management team have every right to be excited about the present state of the golf course, but you will have to forgive Jaworski if most of his energy and excitement is aimed towards the future.

“I love how far we have come in a short period of time, and am even more excited with where we will be in a couple of years,” Jaworski said. “Our payroll is over $1 million right now. We are employing people–it’s not just about buying chemicals and materials, it’s about putting people to work. I have an incredible group of people over on that property, and I know how great it can be. It will not only be an asset to West Deptford, but all of South Jersey. It is a beautiful golf course.”

What is chief on Jaworski’s mind if the clubhouse which is to be constructed sometime over the next two years.

There was no clubhouse in the original plans, because a pro shop was slated to be put in the conference center. Once that project was canned, it was decided that the tennis center would serve as a pro shop.

That will change soon as Jaworski aims to build the clubhouse behind the 18th green and next to the tee box on the 1st. He expects it to include a pro shop and a sports bar, and its location will place golfers right in the action.

As for the course, work will continue to be done on the bunkers, drainage and overall surface. Now that RiverWinds is once again held in high regard, Santana, as well as Tim DiNoia, pro director of golf, plan to ensure it stays that way.

“It’s just maintaining playability and good turf for the players,” Santana said. “I haven’t been focusing as much on green speed, rather turf health at the moment. This is definitely a championship-caliber golf course.”

The Back Nine

After a decade full of ups and downs, RiverWinds is finally thriving. Golfers says the course is in the best shape it has ever been in and the future promises to be even better under Jaworski’s control.

While there is no telling what the future will hold, the fact that the property has overcome so many obstacles just to get to this point gives indication that it is here to stay.

“We always say if people are leaving with a smile, that’s a good sign,” Pileggi said. “Obviously, we want it to be a positive experience from the check in, to when they pick up their cart, to when they are out on the course, and I think we seem to be doing that.”

The golf community seems to agree.

“I have yet to talk to a person who played it three or four years ago, and then came back to play it recently, who hasn’t told me they can’t believe how much better it is,” Cobb said. “It’s an old cliché, but it’s night and day. The best analogy I can give is the way people treat their property. Some people cut the lawn just so that it’s done, and other people manicure their lawn. That’s how big of a difference there has been here.”

And Jaworski promises it will only get better.

“The best is yet to come,” he said. “I’m really excited about what the future holds for this course.”