wsoundclub

Written By Pratt Farmer

Some people are just born hospitable. Hospitality is defined as “the friendly and generous reception and entertainment of guests, visitors or strangers.” If you have encountered Kyle Davis, there is no doubt you would say that he embodies that definition. Kyle began his career with The St. Joe Company eight years ago as the general manager of Fish Out of Water®, WaterColor® Inn & Resort’s most notable restaurant. His attention to detail, love of employees, guest-focused philosophy and affable personality have paved the way for his career to continue to blossom since then.

Even at the early age of 12, he was working behind the concession stand at little league baseball games in his hometown of New Port Richey, Florida. “I was always thrilled to be able to serve people. Even at 12, I didn’t look at filling soda cups, popping corn or handing over a hot dog as a job,” he says. It was a mission.

Kyle attended the University of Central Florida where he earned his hospitality management degree at the Rosen College of Hospitality Management. Even before graduating, he joined the Hilton corporation and was part of the opening team for the Orlando Hilton Hotel attached to the Orlando Convention Center. “It was there that I got my first opportunity to work in food and beverage,” says Davis. “That taught me just how important it is to create a positive guest experience.”

After a few years, he landed a senior position at the Umstead Hotel and Spa, a five-star, five-diamond hotel in North Carolina. It was then that members of The St. Joe Company reached out to Davis and recruited him to join the team at WaterColor Inn & Resort as manager of Fish Out of Water. In the ensuing years, he advanced to Assistant Director of Food and Beverage, then Director of Lodging and Guest Experience before being promoted to General Manager of Watersound® Inn and Watersound® Beach Club in 2021. “This is a blending of everything I learned in hospitality school. In overseeing these properties, I get to interact with every department, which has been amazing. My leadership style is quite simple; I want to be informed about every detail. I am definitely a ‘hands-on’ manager,” says Davis. Apparently, the staff appreciates this about him as employees describe him as being empathetic, understanding and most of all, respectful. “The true test for me with our staff is to see them smiling and enjoying their contribution to the guest experience,” he says.

The transition to WaterSound Inn and Watersound Beach Club was not your typical changing of roles. Davis started his new role at the beginning of 2020, and by March, COVID had become a household word. Watersound Beach Club closed for 45 days. However, during that period, leadership decided that the Club would offer its Members complimentary takeout meals twice a week. It was an overwhelming success and became something for Members and staff to look forward to each week. When the Beach Club reopened, it was with new health and safety regulations in place, and it was with many new Watersound Club Members. It seems that as people realized that life must go on despite the pandemic, many opted to relocate so that they could spend more time living their life by the beach, and many of those already in the area began to look for new ways to enjoy quality time with family and friends. Where others might have been daunted by the task, Davis and his team at Watersound Club rose to meet the occasion. “We seized the opportunity to enhance our training program. Staff not only implemented the new safety protocols, but prepared to enhance the guest experience, making them feel incredibly good about their visit to the Club.”

Davis’ strategy is to focus on that Member and guest experience. As he leaves each day, he takes a few minutes to reflect on the events that had unfolded. “If I know that even the most trying of circumstances was resolved to a Member or guest’s liking, I feel that we have done the job,” he says. “I realize that our Members have a choice in Club experiences. My job is to make sure that Watersound Club is the right choice.”

Davis and his wife, Summer, have three children. Their eldest son, Styles, is a junior at FSU, and their daughter, Madilyn, is in sixth grade at Emerald Coast Middle School. Their youngest son, Grady, is in the fifth grade and attends Dune Lakes Elementary.

Written By Steve Bornhoft

Amy Robison is no stranger to high-end clubs. Over the 15 years in which she has worked in the fitness and wellness industry, she has led classes and helped people achieve goals in Key Largo, at the Ocean Reef Club and at the Phoenician Resort in Scottsdale, Arizona. At the Devil’s Thumb Ranch Resort & Spa in Denver, she was employed as director of resort programming and events. But, as of April 2021, Robison traded craggy peaks for soft sands. She is now the director of wellness and outdoor pursuits for Watersound Club. In that role, she will develop and oversee the Club’s fitness programming and other activities at the collection of recreational amenities in development adjacent to Camp Creek® Golf Course.

Robison lists those amenities with the facility of a real estate agent running through the features of an elegant home. As she does so, the energy in her voice rises, equaling the exuberance of someone doing high knees across an exercise floor. “We’ll have a 12,000-square-foot, two-story wellness center!” she begins. “A 19-meter adult lap pool, an outdoor fitness lawn, a resort-style family pool with a lazy river and water slide, a basketball court, eight tennis courts, eight pickleball courts, a game room and a playground!” Robison became aware of Watersound Club after a woman with whom she had worked in Key Largo went to work for the company. “I followed her progress and when I saw the wellness position open here, I got the conversation started,” Robison said.

Robison grew up in Raleigh, North Carolina, and attended Flagler College in St. Augustine, Florida, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in sports management. She is a certified personal trainer, a certified group exercise instructor and a 300-hour registered yoga teacher. She is currently pursuing a certification in “life breath,” which involves deep-breathing techniques designed to relieve stress and tension. “I was extremely excited for the opportunity to join the Club,” Robison enthused. “I am coming into an area that doesn’t have a lot of large wellness facilities. The facilities and programs that we are working to bring to Watersound Club are going to be phenomenal.” Robison says it is her mission is to create “something for everyone.” “The facilities are not just for fitness buffs who are naturally going to want to come,” she said. “I want to develop programs that encompass the mind/body experience and relate to everybody.” Plans call for the first floor of the wellness center to be devoted to two group exercise studios. One geared toward spinning and the other used as a mindful movement studio where yoga, mat, pilates, barre and dance classes can be held.

“Upstairs, we’ll have a functional fitness training room that will be used by personal trainers and for group exercise classes — boot camp, HIIT (high intensity interval training) classes, TRX classes,” Robison explained. “We’ll have cardio and strength machines and free weights. The full-service locker rooms each will have steam rooms, saunas and Vichy showers.” Robison anticipates that initially the wellness center will host about 25 classes per week. Plus, she plans to bring in specialists who will address topics including nutrition and meditation.

Written by Hannah Burke

In his fifth year as the WaterSound® Club’s director of tennis, Barry Webb said he knows where he is supposed to be and is doing what he is meant to do. Webb, who previously oversaw tennis programs at country clubs in Alabama and Georgia, has more than 25 years of experience in the tennis industry and a lifelong passion for the sport. “I first picked up a racquet when I was around 5 years old,” Webb says. “That was the late ’70s, the era of John McEnroe, Jimmy Connors, Chris Evert and Tracy Austin, and tennis was really booming. My parents began playing mixed doubles with other couples and would basically give me a racquet and stick me at one of the end courts that had a backboard.”

Watersound Beach Club hosts weekly tennis clinics for “all ages, from eight to 80.” Webb is equipped to help players of all experience and skill levels up their game. The club also has a pickleball court for enthusiasts of the sport played with a solid paddle and a plastic ball resembling a Wiffle Ball.

“Pickleball is popular with the more mature players because your half of the court is maybe four or five steps one way and four or five steps the other,” Webb says. “And, from what I’ve seen, it’s much more social. You go out to play a tennis match and you’re locked in, focused, and hydrating with water. When I see people playing pickleball, they’re more likely to have a cooler of beer and a much more laid-back approach. It’s a crowd you may not see if we just offered tennis.” Webb anticipates that pickleball leagues may develop with the arrival this year of eight new pickleball courts, along with eight new tennis courts planned for the Club’s Camp Creek amenity expansion. “I’m excited for the expansion because we’ve definitely seen a burst in membership for our tennis programs,” says Webb. “It’s almost like when COVID took off and things shut down, people were looking for things to do and specifically things to do outside. That’s when I noticed the uptick in pickleball, too, so I’m ready for the extra space our new facilities will allow.”

Webb said plans for the new courts include a “stadium court,” ideal for tournaments and exhibitions by current and former professional tour players. The addition of the pro shop will offer members new resources, gear and “solidify us as a hub for tennis and pickleball,” he says.

“We’re going to gauge participation,” says Webb. “We’re not planning on doing anything new at this time, but we may expand programs if we find, say, that the three clinics we do a week needs to be five, or if we need to add a new pro to accommodate more junior afterschool programs.”  

Webb predicts that a centralized location will be convenient for everyone, and further his mission to build relationships both with and between club members.

“I can’t wait for what’s to come at Watersound Club because people are inevitably going to connect more with likeminded people who like to play tennis or pickleball,” he says. “Those relationships continue growing off the court; you start going to dinner with these people and, before you know it, you’re taking trips together.

“Seeing those relationships form, helping people improve and achieve success –  I enjoy it so much, it doesn’t feel like work to me.”

With the upswing in the popularity of golf with our Members, Watersound Club is excited to announce it is planning another world-class golf course for its Membership! The Club, in partnership with Love Golf Design, will be working closely with founders Davis Love III, Mark Love, and Scot Sherman to bring the new course to life as an additional amenity for Watersound Club Members. The new golf course will provide many more rounds of capacity for our Members and their guests.

The new course is being designed to comfortably span acreage just north of Watersound Club’s Shark’s Tooth Golf Course and east of the Watersound Origins community – the acreage allows the design team the ability to develop a championship golf course. The plan is to connect the new golf course to the Watersound Origins community, the Wild Heron community, and other future communities that are being planned.

“We’re blessed to have available to us an amount of land and resources that just can’t be found many other places in the U.S.,” says St. Joe Company Vice President of Club Operations Mike Jansen. “We’re committed to using that to our advantage and we will continue to add world-class amenities for our Watersound Club Members as we grow.”

After working through 5 separate design phases, or routings, the Watersound Club and Love Golf Design teams selected a unique 18-hole, Par 72 design with 6 sets of tees, allowing golfers to adjust the course distance to play from 4,900 yards to over 7,600 yards on a firm, fast-playing course. The flexibility of play will offer a challenge to experienced golfers, and accessibility for those new to the game. Once complete, the golf course will share the existing clubhouse with Shark’s Tooth Golf Course. The existing clubhouse, parking area, and driving range will undergo renovations to accommodate the new course.

Leading the Love Golf Design team is Davis Love III. He is perhaps best known as a World Golf Hall of Fame Inductee who was twice picked to lead America’s Ryder Cup Team. Just as impressive, though, are the 27 completed projects in Love Golf Design’s portfolio, including both new designs and renovations. Working to naturally incorporate the mix of upland vegetation and undisturbed wetland areas into the course layout offers an opportunity to top even those previous designs.

“After exploring the property on our first few visits, we found so many options it was hard to narrow the new course down to just 18 holes,” said Davis Love. “Lead architect Scot Sherman, Mark and I believe the variety of the site lends itself to building a course with a timeless character. We’re pleased to be working with a routing that flows across white sandy dunes, with diverse native plant materials, along with beautiful pockets of old growth cypress and pine trees to frame the golf holes. We are really thrilled with how the routing of the golf course is coming along at this point.”

With the routing work well underway, the Love team expects the new design to be finalized by spring of 2022, while the team continues to work through the permitting.

“This course will be unique to our existing golf courses, and add variety to our Club’s offerings,” said Patrick Richardson, Watersound Club’s Director of Golf. “We want to provide a natural ‘wow’ factor, so that anyone from a casual golfer to a tour pro will be able to have a truly enjoyable experience in a naturally beautiful setting, with just the right amount of challenge for your level of play.”