For this group from C+RB’s Top 50 list, the fitness and wellness facilities and programs are profiled for Philadelphia Country Club in Gladwyne, Pa.; River Crest Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas; Topeka Country Club in Topeka, Kan.; Delaire Country Club in Delray Beach, Fla.; and Forsyth Country Club in Winston-Salem, N.C.
Club + Resort Business’ capital expenditures study, conducted at the end of 2020 about clubs’ spending plans for 2021 and coming years, indicated that developing fitness and wellness facilities and programs would continue to be a major priority. C+RB’s inaugural Top Ranked initiative for Fitness and Wellness highlights the club and resort properties with the Top 50 Fitness and Wellness facilities and programs, as judged independently by a panel of General Managers from several of the industry’s top clubs.
The full rankings can be viewed HERE; here are profiles of the fitness and wellness facilities and programs from the clubs that were ranked 46 through 50:
#46 Philadelphia Country Club in Gladwyne, Pa.
Philadelphia Country Club (PCC) is a club for serious athletes and casual players, and for gourmands and grazers. The club’s singular focus is to encourage members to pursue and enjoy their many interests, and its culture and traditions are built around the entirety of the member experience. From the quality of the club’s grounds and equipment to the attentiveness of its staff and the warmth of the hospitality that staff members extend, PCC measures its success in “smiles per hour.”
PCC’s Fitness Center is situated in the southwestern corridor of its clubhouse, overlooking the driving range and pristine putting green. The Fitness Center, which offers a full array of strength, cardio, and flexibility training equipment attended by a fitness professional, is a shining example of big things coming in smaller packages.
With an attendant on duty at all times to ensure safety and exercise efficiency, PCC members always have industry experience and knowledge at their disposal. The Fitness Center offers personal training, small-group training programs, group exercise, and a virtual workout library. By providing a wide array of offerings, members are not only provided with an atmosphere for training in a method that makes them feel most comfortable, but also for enjoying exercise and being part of a welcoming fitness community.
PCC’s fitness program offers 80 classes a month, giving members plenty of opportunities to join in the fun, including these popular offerings:
The “Women on Weights” (WoW) small-group training program, offered several times a day in six-week sessions, is one of the most popular programs in the club’s fitness department. Designed with the recommended amount of weekly activity for a person in mind, these classes, totaling 1.5 hours of resistance training per week, give the women who participate the perfect amount of strength training, coupled with cardio “homework.”
“Body Blast” is a circuit-training class that burns fat while increasing full-body strength and explosiveness. One of the most intense classes offered, it adapts to suit the conditions around the club, with members sometimes running hill sprints from the Shooting Lodge on a warm summer’s day, or gathering in the Spring Mill Room to escape the winter chill.
RESULTS: Cardiorespiratory endurance, strength training and flexibility are the focal points of this group-exercise class. Using a wide variety of equipment, members can enjoy a class that accommodates all skill levels while being pushed to their individual limits.
Yoga: An upbeat Vinyasa flow allows members to find their center while also pushing themselves physically to new levels. While working up a sweat and elevating their heart rate, members can expect to become more flexible and mobile.
Pilates: Offering an opportunity for members to build their mat Pilates skill, the class uses props, key sequencing, and precise cues to fine-tune the smaller stabilizing muscle groups. Stabilizing, strengthening and lengthening the spine and extremities help participants achieve better balance and posture. All levels are welcome, as everyone works together to help build each participant’s classical Pilates flow.
Teen Athlete Program: These classes help those from 13 to 17 years old stay physically active and get ready for whatever sport they wish to participate in. The program provides an opportunity for the teens in PCC’s family-focused membership to utilize the club in an individual setting. Scaled training allows all levels to benefit, and whether the class is working on fundamental exercise form, developing plyometric power, or balance, you’ll find the teens working hard to improve their skills and utilize their abilities.
HIIT in the Pool: By using High-Intensity Interval Training principals, members can experience a low-impact exercise that challenges their cardiorespiratory system from the comfort and style of PCC’s newly renovated pool. Equipment used includes kickboards, pool noodles, and foam dumbbells. As with PCC’s other classes, all levels are welcomed and everyone is encouraged to push themselves to reap the benefits of aquatic exercise.
#47 River Crest Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas
The fitness facility at River Crest CC provides programming for members of all ages and engages members from different skill levels with different goals and ages.
All of River Crest’s trainers are certified and many specialize in specific sports-type training, injury rehab and working with older members.
In addition to a top-notch facility and high-end Techno Gym equipment, the River Crest trainers strive to build relationship through which the goals of each member become their goals, too. The trainers are known for never having a “bad day” and making River Crest’s fitness facility a place that always provides a special, personalized experience from the moment each member arrives, whether they are working one-on-one with a trainer or participating in a group-setting activity.
River Crest CC’s new Crest Cafe is also geared to fitness participants, by providing smoothies and coffees, even for the early-rising and late-night workout members.
#48 Topeka Country Club in Topeka, Kan.
Topeka Country Club’s new Health & Wellness Center opened in January 2019 and has led to increased usage by existing members and greater retention within the club, while also attracting new families that have joined exclusively to use the health and wellness facilities.
The new Center features free weights, state-of-the-art Life Fitness equipment, spin bikes, and a group-exercise room for classes that include indoor cycling, “Body in Balance,” Pilates and “Pound.”
Titleist Performance Institute golf-fitness assessments are also provided to help members improve their on-course performance. The assessment includes a personal training session, development of a workout plan, and a golf lesson with the club’s head professional.
Personal training by nationally accredited instructors and a comprehensive schedule of wellness programs for every fitness level are also made available through the Health & Wellness Center. Exclusive private training is available in 30-minute and one-hour sessions, through plans that include “The Starter” (six sessions) and “The Motivated” (twelve sessions), with hourly rates decreasing in relation to frequency.
Semi-private “Tandem Training” and group training (for groups of three or four) is also available, for one-hour sessions at reduced per-person rates.
A youth-room attendant for Topeka CC’s Kid’s Club is available at peak times for members’ convenience while using the Health & Wellness Center.
#49 Delaire Country Club in Delray Beach, Fla.
Delaire CC’s state-of-the-art fitness and wellness facility covers every need for all ages and all fitness levels. Equipment includes the latest TRUE® equipment, with 16-inch integrated envision screens on all treadmills, ellipticals, Biodex machines and a transverse lateral trainer. Peloton equipment is also available.
The fitness facility’s accommodating and friendly staff includes on-hand, certified fitness specialists, exercise physiologists and massage therapists. In addition to personal training, a full schedule of classes for free aerobics, yoga, Pilates, strength training, boot camp, balance and water-walking provides an ample variety of choices for every member’s needs and allows for custom-crafting of their personal exercise regimens based on age, weight, ability, lifestyle, and preference. Care and attention extends to members’ overall wellness, from dietary guidance to regular massage therapy.
In addition to its own professional staff, Delaire CC has engaged the services of Vado Therapy for its licensed physical therapists to be on-site at the fitness center. These therapists perform authorized physical therapy, aquatic therapy/water aerobics, acupuncture, and rehabilitative therapy services solely for members of the club and their guests. Their services may be covered by the member’s or guest’s insurance program, with a prescription from their physician.
Fitness-center hours of operation are 5:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. daily, and the Delaire staff also continuously prepares and posts videos with performance and fitness instruction tips for the full range of sports and activities offered at the club. These videos are kept available on a special page that is continually updated, https://www.delaire.org/video-tips.
More details about Delaire CC’s fitness and wellness offerings can be found at https://www.delaire.org/wellness
#50 Forsyth Country Club in Winston-Salem, N.C.
Forsyth CC offers top-quality fitness programming and personal training with massage. Its Pavilion Fitness Center is well-equipped with excellent equipment and has the largest number of visits of any facility within the entire club.
Combined with the club’s Kathleen Baker Swimming Pool and multiple racquet-sports courts, The Pavilion Fitness Center at Forsyth CC allows members to keep wellness top of mind. With group exercise classes, personal training, water aerobics and lap swimming, and the choice of 11 lighted tennis courts (nine clay and two hard, with one hard court capable of conversion to two pickleball courts) and two platform/paddle tennis courts, members are sure to find plenty of options for maintaining an active lifestyle. With the introduction of a new low-bounce ball, platform/paddle has become a popular winter activity at Forsyth and is now enjoyed year-round.
A beautiful covered patio overlooking the tennis courts serves as the ideal setting for various mixers.
Forsyth’s state-of-the-art Pavilion Fitness Center offers members their own private health club. The facility features cardiovascular equipment that can be used by anyone, no matter what their fitness level. Cable-weight systems, free weights, and golf-specific equipment and training help those looking to improve their game.
In The Pavilion Fitness Center’s personal training area, trainers provide customized fitness programs tailored to individual goals and objectives. Three dedicated studios host group exercise, mind and body, and cycle classes, including “bodypump,” “grit strength” and power rides.
Class schedules now include outdoor and Zoom options and some are also live-streamed on Facebook. And in the spring and summer, members can also exercise in Forsyth’s heated outdoor swimming pool, through daily water aerobics, lap swimming, and a Masters swim program that all offer great ways to mix up normal workout routines. Several poolside classes, including RPM, yoga, Pilates, cardio and sculpt, metabolic effect, and HIIT cycle, are also offered.
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