At Woodmont Country Club, we have world-class racquets facilities and extensive programming that create many opportunities to learn and compete for our members. Our facilities include 22 tennis courts - 12 green clay, two red clay, two hard courts and six indoor - to serve our active membership year-round. There aren’t many clubs on the East Coast that offer such a diverse selection of surfaces on which to play, and with a master plan to add grass courts, we’re not resting on our laurels.
In that effort to continuously upgrade and enhance our racquets offerings, we recently installed four indoor pickleball courts and look forward to creating a dedicated indoor pickleball facility in the near future. When asked about my feelings about pickleball, my response is simple. I am a tennis purist and still compete, but I feel pickleball has a place in society and certainly at Woodmont Country Club because it provides an additional amenity that members can enjoy while exercising and sharing time with friends and family. However, I don’t necessarily feel that pickleball is a feeder system to tennis, like a golf entertainment venue such as Topgolf might be to a green grass golf facility. Tennis and pickleball are definitely separate sports.
As a very instruction-centric tennis club, we employ five full-time and two part-time teaching professionals who administer a robust ladies' racquets program, several inter-club matches and competitions and a brisk schedule of in-house events such as club championships, member-guest tournaments and many private and group lessons. Our members love to take lessons, and we love being out there with them, whether one-on-one or in small group sessions.
With the popularity of pickleball, we also facilitate pickleball events that help build on the interest that already exists. With stellar clubs nearby like Congressional, Columbia, Chevy Chase, Aspen Hill, Riverbend, Lakewood and Kenwood, our inter-clubs are both competitive and social, offering members the best of both worlds.
We also have platform tennis that offers a mix between tennis, squash and racquetball that is very popular in such large metropolitan areas as Washington D.C., New York, Chicago and Philadelphia.
In my role as a leader at WCC, I take great pride in providing extra-special treatment that reminds members why they’ve chosen Woodmont to spend their recreational time. Personalization in conversations is important, as is ensuring that our racquets players feel as important and valued as our golfers. After all, our golf programming, led by PGA of America Director of Golf David Dorn and renowned coach and PGA of America Director of Instruction Trillium Rose, is seen as the blueprint for some of the best golf in the business. Maintaining that standard on our side of the club is paramount for me as I enjoy my first summer at Woodmont. This is the level of service all general managers should seek for their members.
In our coaching, we help members with their mental game, as it’s just as important to maintain a steady demeanor on the tennis court as it is on the golf course. As a former ATP Tour professional, I share my past experiences and encourage members to establish realistic and attainable goals, similar to golf, of course. We want members to improve, but are careful not to set goals and objectives too high that might frustrate or discourage players who are finding it difficult to attain them. After all, whether it’s golf or tennis, we are here to promote the sports, encourage participation, motivate members to work out and be active and ideally lead a healthy and happy life.
When it comes to the fitness side of tennis, we work on footwork extensively, as this helps players at all levels. We demonstrate how an activity like jumping rope can help their agility and balance on the court.
We cross-promote our sports with biathlons that include nine holes of golf, a pickleball round robin and dinner and prizes afterward. What a way to offer competition and socialization in one stellar event!
Going forward, we look forward to more collaboration with our golf team and our fitness professionals to provide a well-rounded coaching and learning experience for all Woodmont Country Club members.
Jason Weir-Smith, a former ATP Tour Tennis Professional, is the Director of Racquet Sports at Woodmont Country Club in Rockville, Maryland.