Three Del Webb active adult communities battled for bragging rights — and Sun City Peachtree brought the trophy home
Del Webb, the nation’s leading builder of active‑adult communities, brought together teams of residents from three of its Georgia communities -- Sun City Peachtree, Del Webb Lake Oconee and Del Webb Chateau Elan -- for the first-ever Georgia Del Webb Pickleball Tournament. When the final point was played, Sun City Peachtree claimed the inaugural championship trophy.
The intense competition, hosted at Sun City Peachtree's world-class facility in Griffin, Ga., was a round-robin tournament that brought together 72 players, 24 from each community, competing in men's doubles, women's doubles, and mixed doubles divisions. The event blended competition with community, drawing residents from across the state together.
This has all the makings of a new annual tradition, said Delaine Newberry, Lifestyle Director at Sun City Peachtree, who helped organize the event. What I've learned from this is that the club spirit is strong across all three communities. After this is over, I see all of us getting together and talking about how to make it even bigger next year. And we want to connect with other Del Webb communities across the country to help them host their own tournaments.
For many of the players, the tournament was about more than competition. It was a reflection of the social, connection-driven lifestyle that Del Webb communities are known for nationwide. That sense of belonging resonated strongly with Cheryl Brown, a Sun City Peachtree resident of two and a half years who moved to Georgia without knowing a single person in the state. Pickleball changed that.
The friends I've made here in the past few years feel like the same friends I've had for 40 years, Brown said. Coming here takes away the stigma that as you get older, you'll be lonely, inactive and bored. Absolutely not.
The idea for the tournament began with Jason Garrett, Georgia Division VP of Land Planning and Development for PulteGroup, the parent company of Del Webb.
This was a chance to bring communities together in a way that felt organic, energetic, and fun to showcase the pride and lifestyle our Del Webb residents experience on a daily basis, Garrett said. Pickleball checked all the boxes.
After Garrett shared the concept with Newberry and the Sun City Peachtree pickleball club, interest was immediate. Members took over registration, handled scoring logistics and spread the word across communities.
The tournament’s success is already inspiring what may come next. Word of the inter-community pickleball event reached Sun City Peachtree's tennis club, which has since reached out to the Lake Oconee tennis club to organize their own cross-community matchup.
That community-driven spirit is by design. Del Webb communities across the country are built around the idea that connection doesn't slow down at 55, it accelerates. With over 60 clubs and interest groups at Sun City Peachtree alone, residents routinely describe the same happy problem: too many things to do, not enough hours in the day.
The problem we hear most often is that residents' calendars fill up so quickly that they actually have to start saying no, Newberry said. People come here and truly find their people. That sense of belonging is what keeps them engaged, active and thriving.