Head cases: Best towns in south offer mind courses and golf courses

         In a few days, we will publish our "back to school" edition of Home On The Course, our free newsletter.  This issue will include our picks of the top five towns in the south that combine major universities with "lifelong learning" programs, and excellent nearby golf communities.  Please sign up for the newsletter today by using the handy box at the top left of this page.

         Some of our top towns, and others that just missed being on our list, offer incredible bargains in continuing education curricula that are impressive and surprising.  In some cases, you can take as many

courses as you would like for less than the green fees at the local municipal golf course.  The University of Tennessee at Knoxville's partnership with a local senior citizens group, for example, yields an interesting array of personal development courses at just a $55 annual membership fee per couple ($40 for a single).  The "Magic of Opera" and "The Evolutionary History of Bats" are just two of the eclectic array of courses being offered in the Knoxville area this fall.

         Nearly 1,800 of the 4,000 members of the Center for Creative Retirement at UNC-Asheville are younger than 64, so don't expect too many canes leaning against classroom desks.  Do expect, however, one of the most evolved adult education programs in the nation.  Every May, the Center offers a Creative Retirement Exploration weekend that provides seminars, stimulating discussions, guided tours, social events with local retirees and lots of food for thought about making the transition to retirement and a new hometown, whether it is Asheville or some other area.  Those who wind up in Asheville can sign up for the popular College for Seniors which offers four terms each year, with courses of wide diversity, like Chaucer, computers, foreign affairs, and yoga.  Classes are taught by some faculty and some seniors with expertise in particular fields.  All classes are free after payment of an annual $50 fee.

        At Furman University, the Osher Institute of Lifelong Learning offers 15 classes of your choice annually for just $325.  Individual classes are priced as low as $40.  The dozens of courses this fall run the gamut from the "Great Trials in History" to "Sock Knitting" to "Beginners Golf," which is taught by the assistant pro at Furman's own golf course.

         The William and Ida Friday Center for Continuing Education at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill provides a "citizen's classroom," a variety of short courses that meet weekly for two hours and cost just $50 each.  For October, classes titled "Write Your Life" and "Authentic Happiness" are full, but "The Coming of the U.S. Civil War" and "Inside ACC Basketball: The 2009-2010 Season" are still available.  Understand that if you live in Chapel Hill, prepare to be surrounded by UNC fans, some of them transplants from up north.  Don't be surprised if one of them is teaching the course.