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The Short Course at Silver Lakes features nine par 3s that would fit well into any top course.

    After a round of golf yesterday at the Silver Lakes Golf Course on the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail in Glencoe, AL, I took a quick tour of the small neighboring community.  An attractive home, one of the largest in the neighborhood, perched on a rise with a view of the golf course and lake out the back, had a "for sale" sign on its front lawn with one of those boxes that holds information sheets.  I did what I always do; before I stopped to grab one of the sheets, I made a mental stab at the price of the home.  I figured around $500K because Glencoe is pretty much rural Alabama, halfway between Anniston and Gadsden.  I've seen similar-sized homes in golf communities elsewhere in the southeast go for $700,000 and more with the same kinds of views.
    Well, not to extend the suspense, this home is listed at just $329,000.  It is no more than a two-minute drive to the RTJ courses at Silver Lakes - three excellent nines plus a Short Course that can't help but improve your play on par 3s.  For those who appreciate small town living and nearby golf, it is quite a deal.  Let me know if you are interested in more details and I can put you in touch with the local real estate agent.

    I'll have more on my three days on the Jones Golf Trail in coming days. 

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Only a few homes in the Silver Lakes community have views of the golf course...for now.  There seems to be plenty of land available for more.  A home similar in size to these is on the market currently for $329,000. 

    Last week, we reported on the travails of one of our faithful readers who is trying to do his bit for the planet by building a green home in a golf community in South Carolina [Click here for story] .  The rub is that the developer of the community uses a preferred builder program that, actually, is a mandatory program:  You can use any construction firm as long as it is on the developer's list.  Our friend wants to bring in his own qualified and experienced green builder and not have to pay for an inexperienced one to learn as he builds.  We predicted in our article that residential builders would have to become green savvy quickly in order to give an ever increasing body of customers what they want - energy efficient homes not entirely dependent on oil and gas.  It isn't as if the builders have any vested interest in dragging their feet as do, say, the automotive companies.
    The Wall Street Journal today posted an article online titled "Home Builders Go 'Green' To Seek New Selling Point."   That's validation enough for us.
    Click here for a link to the article.  If that doesn't work, contact me (see button at top) and I will be happy to email you a copy.