The course sits on 200 acres of a peninsula between Woodbury Creek, the Delaware River, and the deep water marina. As one of the closest daily-fee golf courses to Philadelphia, the design had to account for a large number of rounds on a windswept site. The strategic design employs wide fairways that allow the average player an enjoyable round but tests the better player to challenge hazards to achieve a more favorable position on the subsequent shot.
Shearon routed the golf coursed to take advantage of the opportunities the riverfront site provided. The holes are laid out so that the ever-present wind comes at players from a different direction on each hole. The routing accentuates views of the Philadelphia skyline, Delaware River, the Navy Yard, and Philadelphia International Airport. To drain the course and add variety to holes that are not on the waterfront, Shearon included a mile-long burn that affects play on 6 holes.
As part of a brownfield site, Shearon assisted in a complex permitting process. After permits were acquired, the first step in the construction process was to cap the entire site with suitable material imported on barges from the Delaware River. Once capping was complete, the Shearon construction team set to work on implementing the design, shaping dunes, adding indigenous plant material, and sod-walled bunkers to add to the excitement of a course that invokes visions of seaside golf. Riverwinds reaches its crescendo at the 17th, a downhill par 3 that plays onto a peninsula in the river, and the difficult par 4 18th with expansive views of the course and Delaware River from the tee.
The finished product is one of the most popular and unique daily fee golf courses in the Delaware Valley that garnered awards from both local and national experts from opening day.
