Any golfer under the age of 50 may think that the most iconic gesture in the history of golf is, perhaps, Tiger Woods chasing after his 25-foot birdie putt during a playoff win against barely known Bob May at the 16th at Valhalla, and pointing the ball into the hole.  It was dramatic, to be sure, but lacking in a certain poignancy that makes a particular moment rise above the simply memorable.  
    Those of us of a certain age look to the end of the 1969 Ryder Cup at
A missed putt could have defined Jacklin's entire career.

Royal Birkdale for the golfing gesture for the ages.  With the Cup on the line in the final match, Tony Jacklin of Great Britain faced a mere two-foot putt to halve the match against Jack Nicklaus.  Under the pressure, it was entirely conceivable that Jacklin could have missed the snaky putt, handing the Americans the victory and defining the English player's fine career with a single missed putt.
    Jacklin never had a chance.  Nicklaus conceded the putt, extended his hand and awarded his competitor and the British team a tie.  The two have remained good friends ever since.
    A golf club in Florida memorialized that moment 40 years ago with a golf course co-designed by the former competitors.  The Concession Golf Club was anointed by Golf Digest in 2006 as the #1 new private layout in the nation and made the Top 10 on Golfweek's list of "Best Residential Golf Courses" last year.  The ultra-luxe Concession Golf Club and Residences encompass 1,200 acres and 255 estate home sites near Sarasota.  Forty homes have been built there to date, and 70 lots are still available for sale.  Home prices start around $2 million and range as high as $18 million, making the community one of the most expensive anywhere.  
    However, the Core Development Company, which has a couple of Ritz Carltons in its portfolio of construction projects, will open a "lodging club," The Captains Cottages, later this year.   The Cottages will offer residents 28 days of lodging per year -- 14 days in season, 14 days out of season -- for a price of $8,000 annually.  Cottage owners can opt for a special $60,000 fully refundable, non-equity membership in the golf club, which provides golf and full access to the 33,000 square foot clubhouse.  Regular full-golf memberships are priced at $150,000.
    The Captain's Cottages include four bedrooms and 2,700 square feet.  Doing the math, the annual cost breaks down to $285 per night, or just $71 for each of four couples.  If you are interested in more information or a visit, let me know (just click on the Contact Us bottom at the top of the page).

    I started this web site because I was disappointed and, occasionally, disgusted with the way some communities and real estate companies advertised homes for sale.  There is a fine line between the truth and the whole truth, and it is hard for those of us thousands of miles away from a home for sale to distinguish the difference.
    Here is one example I happened upon today at the Trulia.com web site:  The House & Garden TV

The dream home is in a nightmare community.

show's "dream home" of 2006. "For the first time ever," the online ad from Sotheby's International screams, "you can actually own the 2006 HGTV Dream Home, magnificently furnished as it was during the 2006 tours!!!"  Note the triple exclamation points for emphasis.  What the ad should carry is triple explanation points (the responsibility of Sotheby's, not Trulia, it seems to me).

    The truth is that the HGTV is bold and beautiful, decked to the nines and with commanding mountain views.  The whole truth, not indicated in the Sotheby's come-on, is that the house is in a nightmare community, Grey Rock.  To date, it is the only house to be fully built in the 900 home-site community.  The developer of the Lake Lure community, Land Resource, went belly up late last year, leaving more than 400 owners in Grey Rock and thousands more in its other dozen communities with nothing but devalued dirt, at least until other developers step in to clean up the mess.
    The dream home itself is a 5,500 square foot, 5 BR, 5 BA stunner, with five fireplaces; a separate in-law guest wing complete with a kitchen; billiard room; wine room; exercise room; craft room; sleeping porch; office; and sauna.  In most other locations, it might indeed be a dream home, even at its list price of $1.699 million, but in a white elephant location like Grey Rock, the house will appeal only to those wealthy recluses who, like Greta Garbo, truly "vant to be alone," or to those with the patient capital to wait some years before the rest of the community, without any amenities yet built, grows up around it.