You have to go pretty deep into the list of metro areas with the highest
rate of sub-prime mortgages delinquencies before you come to an area in the
southeastern U.S. The Wall Street Journal on Thursday (3/29) published
a list of the 30 areas that suffered the highest rate of delinquencies in 2006
compared with the prior year. Cities in California led the list, with
Sacramento at the top with a 10.7% year over year increase. We noted some
surprising weakness in Massachusetts (blue collar Brockton had the third highest
rate at 9.7%).
Melbourne, FL, at #27, was the only area in the southeast
to make the top-30 list, which was published in the print edition of the
Journal. On an extended list at the Journal’s online web site, other
Florida metro areas were listed in the top 50, but you have to go all the way
down to 59th place before you find a non-Florida city in the southeast,
Danville, VA, not exactly a hotbed for golf communities. The first southeast
city, outside of Florida, that we consider to be a lure to golfers and/or
retirees is 101st ranked Athens, GA, where delinquencies increased 4.33% year
over year. Athens is an up and coming university town that offers a vibrancy
and range of living options we’ve come to expect from towns with a major
university, in this case the University of Georgia.
Cities in the
Carolinas were much farther down the list. The list is available at the Journal's
online site.
After playing many golf community courses younger than our teenagers, it is refreshing to step back in time and play a classic course like the Farmington Club in Charlottesville, VA whose history, in at least one way, traces back to the 18th Century. Just four miles from Thomas Jefferson’s own home at Monticello, the third U.S. President designed in 1803 two-rooms in an octagon shape as an addition to his friend George Divers’ plantation house in the Farmington Estate. Today, the octagon serves as a grand side entrance and room for Farmington’s welcoming clubhouse.
The surrounding neighborhood is Charlottesville’s richest and includes tidy little brick homes with three bedrooms as well as estates behind large iron gates. Even the small homes sit on multi-acre plots of land. Unlike in many newer communities, the houses do not intrude on the golf course, yet during our round we encountered an annoying number of out-of-bounds stakes marking the “back 40” of the properties. It was the only even slightly false note struck during the round, which we played with HomeOnTheCourse subscriber Bob Harris, former dean of the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia.
The Fred Findlay-designed golf course was built in 1927, during the golden age of American golf course architecture, and although it underwent a late 1980s redesign by Buddy Loving, the layout oozes with 1920s cachet. The three nines at Farmington are not long, and they put a premium on shot making on virtually every play. The nines are played in three combinations; the South/North combo, at 6,600 yards from the back tees, is the original 18 and the standard. The East nine (2,862 yards) was added in 1965 and is of a different character, considerably shorter and easier than the other nines, but with tighter landing areas and smaller greens.
The North/South routing (rating of 71.6 with a slope of 128) is a course of modest elevation changes, some gentle and some sharp doglegs, and tilted fairways that force you to think about placement from virtually every tee box. We noted that some fairways tilted rather dramatically, calling for shaping of tee shots if you wanted a short approach, but penalizing you if you overcooked the draw or fade even a little. Farmington puts a premium on the short game, and its short-practice facilities are about the best we have seen. They include a large practice putting green, a green for long pitch shots (up to 70 yards) and a chipping green that includes a well-groomed sand trap with a range of angles and slopes from which to practice. 
Farmington’s driving range is fairly standard fare, and shorter than most at just 250 yards. Modified golf balls are provided; they fly normally up to about 140 yards, but beyond that their launch distance is ratcheted back (we don’t understand the physics of it, but the ball didn’t exactly fly off the clubface). The limited balls are fine for warming up but not for getting the “feel” of four-iron shots.
Farmington’s 1,200 members are a comfortable mix of working families in their 30s and 40s and retirees. The amenities appeal to all; Farmington offers more sporting amenities than most other clubs, with 18 tennis courts (three indoor) that are well used by its members, a large swimming pool, and a well-equipped fitness center the equal of those in most new communities. Locker room facilities and the dining room are what you would expect, which is to say they befit the overall traditional private club atmosphere. The club’s dining facilities enjoy a solid reputation; the food we had at lunch was excellent.
Initiation fees for a family (or couple) is $29,000, with monthly dues currently $400 per month. You will need one member to propose you and two to second the nomination. Homes in the adjacent Farmington neighborhood average around $2 million and don’t dip much below $1.5 million. A viable alternative is Ednam Forest nearby, an established community with an eclectic mix of homes in a heavily wooded area and prices about 25% less than in Farmington.
How many golf clubs can boast a clubhouse designed by a U.S. President? You will need to make a few friends to sponsor you for membership, but take some courses at UVA and one of your professors could very well be a member. But while you are waiting to be approved, the excellent, University of Virginia owned and managed Birdwood course is across the street. For Farmington membership information, contact Membership Coordinator Clare Rannigan at 434-245-0684, or
There is a lot of history around, and even on, the course at Farmington.
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