Recall some years ago the TV ad in which the owner of the Remington Shaving Company addressed the camera (and audience) and said something like: “I liked the shaver so much, I bought the company.” The golf community equivalent of that story is the Links at Stoney Point, a modern golf club in a nicely landscaped community along one edge of Lake Greenwood in South Carolina. Denise and Jim Medford liked their community and its golf club so much, they bought the club after the recession sent the prior owners packing.
The couple’s own geographic diversity –- he was born an hour away in Greer, SC, she in southern California -– is reflected in the Stoney Point neighborhood where, Denise says, “most people are from elsewhere,” meaning not Greenwood and not substantially from South Carolina. That lends the quiet community something of a cosmopolitan air, but without any pretentiousness.
The lake comes into play only on a couple of holes at Stoney Point, but the views from the golf course -- and some of the homes -- are impressive.
You could say the same for Greenwood at large, one of those towns that would benefit from a lot more marketing propulsion from its Chamber of Commerce. I’ve now played or toured five golf community courses within a half hour of Greenwood’s active downtown –- Savannah Lakes (two golf courses), Patriot Links at Grand Harbor, Greenwood Country Club and Stoney Point –- and they provide plenty of options for a retiring couple looking for the most reasonable real estate prices in an area not beset with traffic, pollution or other suburban and big-city woes. Plenty of fine golf community homes, some on the golf course and a few even with lake views, can be found in the $200s. According to bestplaces.net, homes in Greenwood are 23% less expensive than those in Greenville. Overall cost of living in Greenwood reflects the cost of its housing; for example, living in Greenwood will save you 16% over a comparable lifestyle in Asheville, NC, and a 17% savings compared with living in Richmond, VA.
