You just don't see this every day on a golf course, as you do at Mountain Air.

    I won't easily forget the day I spent 18 months ago at Mountain Air near Burnsville, NC, just about 35 minutes northwest of Asheville.  It isn't every day that you wait for an airplane to land before you can cross a runway to get from green to next tee.  Or hit a six-iron 200 yards (assisted by thin air and about five stories of elevation).  Or watch a plane set down not 60 yards away from your table at the 19th hole.  Or drive your golf cart about a half-mile to the practice tee.  This kind of experience at almost 5,000 feet is cool, literally and figuratively (about 15 degrees (F) cooler than down in Asheville on a July day).
    The landing strip and golf course share the top of the mountain at Mountain Air.  The course, by little known architect Scott Pool, is a roller coaster affair, with unusually small greens, some of them perched on the edge of the mountain.  The golf is not for the faint of heart, but the views out along the Blue Ridge Mountains are dramatic and exhilarating.
    The developers, the local Banks family, are adding another nine holes to the original 18, to be named the Banks Creek Nine.  A new development of maintenance-free single-family homes, called Spring Rock, will look out over the new course.  Each home will feature almost 2,600 square feet of living space and three or four bedrooms.  Although prices were not available, we'd expect them to come in from the mid to high six figures.  The community's Cabins at Creekside, slightly smaller detached single-family homes, run $400,000 to $650,000, and the Hawks Ledge Cottages, slightly larger, from $650,000 to $1 million.       

    Mountain Air has done a great job of situating home sites with commanding views.  Not surprisingly, the community appeals to well-heeled professional and amateur pilots.  It also employs a full-time naturalist to take club members on discovery walks amid the wide range of flora and fauna; I was particularly impressed by the list of animals that local home owners had spotted, indicated on the blackboard outside the nature office.    

    On the busiest days of the summer season, a dozen planes might take off and land on the airstrip, triggering warning lights and alarms between the fifth green on one side and the sixth tee on the other side of the runway.  Yet in the dead of winter, the mountaintop can be a little lonely with as few as 10 percent of owners staying on property, although the clubhouse will make special arrangements for those who desire the romance of a dinner by the fireplace; the club will even call in a chef for the evening.   

    For a pilot and/or naturalist and/or golfer, Mountain Air is high and mighty.

Note:  The Mountain Air website isn't long on information, especially about the golf course, but they do offer to send a DVD if you are interested. Overnight stays in one of their mountain lodges is $199 per night which includes breakfast for two and the obligatory tour of the community's real estate offerings.

The plug at the tee box says "215 yards, Plays like 155."  And it did. 

They may not be building more railroads, but Pete Dye is keeping the railroad tie manufacturers in business.  He uses them to advantage at DeBordieu.

NOTE:  A technical glitch sent this two part review past the front page of the site in the last two days and to the reviews section.  We didn't intend that.  For those who may have missed it, we include it here today (and the second part tomorrow) and apologize to others for any duplication.

    They have torn down the locally famous boardwalk pavilion in the golf supermarket of Myrtle Beach.  No more roller coasters, cotton candy and cheesy door prizes for knocking down a few bottles.  But that's not quite enough to take the honky tonk out of the southeast's Coney Island.  There is still plenty of neon both on the beach and off, but for thousands of golfers each week, it is a small price to pay.   

    If you are looking for a permanent place within striking distance of 120 golf courses, the best choice is 30 minutes south of Myrtle Beach, in the towns of Litchfield, Murrells Inlet or Pawleys Island.  You will have easy access to the beach and the Intra-Coastal Waterway, and the collection of golf courses are consistently ranked among the best on the Grand Strand.  So too are the restaurants; some rival those in foodie-town Charleston for quality and originality.     

    The best golf course communities on the South Strand are DeBordieu Colony, Pawleys Plantation, The Reserve at Litchfield Beach and Wachesaw Plantation, although there are numerous other choices to fit virtually every budget.  DeBordieu, the farthest south, features a Pete Dye course and the most expensive homes in the area, owing to its location on the ocean.  Homes facing the Atlantic have sold for upwards of $5 million, but just a few hundred yards inland, you can still find a single-family dwelling for under $1 million.  The Dye course is not his most revered and, disappointingly, none of the holes approach the ocean (although you can hear it and smell it, and the breezes make the otherwise open routing a bit of a challenge).  But the links-style course stands in nice contrast to some of the parkland courses in the area.  DeBordieu is just five miles from the charming old southern town of Georgetown, whose Rice Paddy restaurant, in an old bank building, is one of the best in the area.     

    Pawleys Plantation, the only one of the four communities whose golf course is not private, was opened in the late 1980s and is a good example of how a residential community can double as a quiet resort community.  A nice mix of condominium units and single-family homes, Pawleys Plantation runs from Route 17 to the marsh that separates the mainland from the beach.  Single-family homes rarely exceed $1 million, except for those with spectacular marsh views.  Condos start around $300,000, but the best bargains might be the "patio" homes, set on just ¼ acre, which start in the mid $300s.  From Jack Nicklaus' dramatic marsh holes on the back nine, you could see the ocean if it weren't for the three rows of houses on Pawleys Island, America's oldest beach resort community.  But you can certainly feel the effects.  The course is tough, long and necessitating high-entry approaches to the well-trapped greens.  The short 13th hole, about 125 from the men's tees and virtually surrounded by marsh, may be a tougher challenge than #17 at Sawgrass.  The green is tiny and hard, and when the wind blows and the tide is out, the intimidation is intensified by a view of hundreds of golf balls lying in the muddy bog below.

Coming tomorrow:  The Reserve at Litchfield Beach (Greg Norman) and Wachesaw Plantation (Tom Fazio), as well as the fine array of daily fee courses on the South Strand. 

    We maintain an excellent network of real estate agents throughout the southern U.S.  The are knowledgeable about all the golf course communities in their areas.  One of our pre-qualified agents can help you cut through all the marketing hype and see any houses you want...at no cost or obligation to you.  Contact us if we can help.

The short par 3 13th at Pawleys Plantation, with its tiny green, has ruined many a round.