10 Unique Golf Communities to
Visit…Before You Choose One
Thanksgiving dinner guests brought us a big cocktail table book called “1,000 Places to Visit Before You Die.” Like many other such tomes, this one is loaded with beautiful photos and short descriptions. Thumbing through it, I got to thinking, “What golf communities would I suggest people visit before they choose where to live.”
It isn’t an easy list to compile, and the choices are prone to the same subjective nature of any best-of list. First of all, folks looking for a golf community target different geographies. Some have to be near a beach; others are afraid of hurricanes. Some favor the mountains for their reasonable summertime temperatures, but many are not willing to put up with a month or two of the cold winters they lived through up north. Lake lovers are balanced out by those who find lakeside living excessively “placid.”
Of course, at the end of the day, the most important lifestyle consideration for all of us is what we can afford financially.
In coming up with my own list, I tried to identify golf communities in the Southeast for a range of budgets and across-the-board appeal to as many lifestyles as possible. I left out plenty of wonderful communities; and for those interested in Florida, my apologies for not including any of its many hundreds of wonderful golf communities (far too many options). I suspect the following choices may inspire comment and discussion. If so, bring it on; I will be happy to print your comments.
The Most Good Golf in One Place
Pinehurst Country Club, Pinehurst, NC
East of the Mississippi, the unquestioned most abundant center of golf is Pinehurst, located in the Sandhills of North Carolina. Although Pinehurst offers different levels of membership, the one for the inveterate golfer is the “7/9” which adds Pinehurst Courses #7 and #9 to the basic golf membership that includes #1–6 plus #8. Initiation fees for the two plans are $25,000 and $45,000, respectively, but if you purchase a Pinehurst home that includes an existing membership, you will pay 50% of the current fee. The latest published dues are $500 per month for a single player. It all sounds perfect for the dedicated golfer who plans to play pretty close to every day, but there are a few caveats. First, Pinehurst is a resort, and a popular one at that. That means that you will share the courses with the many visiting golfers who trek to Pinehurst, and you will have to plan your golf in advance (between seven and 10 days, depending on which course). When I last checked, Pinehurst was dedicating one course to member-only play on any given day, which helps. Pinehurst and nearby Southern Pines are crowded with visitors most of the year, and if you plan on a night out at a local restaurant, reservations some days in advance will be a must.
Splendid Isolation
Uwharrie Point, Badin Lake, NC
The real estate manager at Uwharrie Point chastised me for defining his community as “remote” in a published review after my visit seven years ago. I meant it as a compliment; he saw it as a slight that might keep folks from considering his golf community as a potential home. Uwharrie’s mailing address and nearest town, New London, is 15 minutes away and — wait for it — its population is only 600. Better options for necessary services like a supermarket are available in Albemarle, almost 30 minutes from Uwharrie’s gate. For those willing to make the tradeoff of convenience in exchange for peace, quiet, lakeside living and one of the best five golf courses in the state, Uwharrie may be the place to be. The Old North State Country Club is owned by the McConnell Group; membership there opens up a dozen other golf courses within a few hours drive.
Not for Pilots Only
Mountain Air, Burnside, NC
If you want to relive the thrill of watching airplanes land and take off when you were a kid, there is no better place among golf communities than Mountain Air. It features a landing strip at an altitude of 5,000 feet that bisects the Scott Poole designed golf course. Flashing red lights and a siren between the first green and second tee warn of an incoming or outgoing flight. The clubhouse dining room virtually overhangs the airstrip, guaranteeing a show with your meal if a plane arrives. It is a good 10 minutes or so from top of community to front gate, and another 20 minutes to Asheville, a town worth the drive. Mountain Air can be a bit lonely in winter when most staff and residents head south, but if you need the services of the clubhouse chef, he is just a phone call away.
High on Life
Balsam Mountain Preserve, Sylva, NC
When I played the Arnold Palmer golf course at Balsam Preserve, I was distracted by the long-range mountain views. At least that is what I kept telling myself as I squirted drives and approach shots off the side of the mountain. (In truth, Palmer’s chief architect, Ed Seay, designed one of the most penal layouts I have played in my time reviewing golf communities.) Since the rustic-looking homes do not sit at fairway level, the golf experience is about as pristine as it gets. The Balsam Mountain Trust employs full-time Naturalists to arrange hikes and educational programs and is also entrusted to oversee the conservation easement over 3,400 acres of land, 3,300 feet at their apex, which will never be developed. Rustic and natural, Balsam Mountain Preserve lies between the two charming mountain towns of Sylva and Waynesville and is a 45-minute drive to the popular and urbane Asheville.
Life’s a Beach
DeBordieu Colony, Georgetown, SC
“Debbydoo,” as locals refer to it, may be one of the most under-appreciated coastal communities I have encountered in the last 15 years. One of those rare gated ocean communities with a beach (and beach club), DeBordieu can also claim one of the widest ranges of home prices anywhere, about $500,000 to $3 million (for an oceanfront mansion, naturally). The Pete Dye course is uncharacteristically (for Dye) genteel until the final two holes, monsters that play through sand and beside water and, typically, into a robust wind. Sadly, the ocean never comes in view, but you can hear it and smell it and get to it via a quick cart ride. The historic town of Georgetown is less than 10 minutes away, a good place to visit art galleries, have a nice meal beside the inlet or pick up a couple of pounds of shrimp right off the boat to make shrimp and grits at home.
Ferry Good
Haig Point, Daufuskie Island, SC
No roads, no cars, no pollution, no traffic, no honking horns or road rage. The only way onto or off this historic island is by an oft-running ferry from Hilton Head (or helicopter, if you own one). Isn’t that the way retirement (or vacation) should be? The 27 holes of Rees Jones golf is constantly rated among the best in the state and favored for practice rounds by pros who play in the annual PGA event across the Calibogue Sound at Sea Pines Plantation on Hilton Head. The Haig Point beach club looks across to the famed Lighthouse at Sea Pines; it is a good spot from which to pat yourself on your suntanned back for choosing an island far removed from the hubbub of civilization.
Close to Everything
The Landings, Savannah, GA
It would be impossible to build a Landings today. Imagine attempting to find 4,800 acres within 20 minutes of the downtown in a city of 150,000. But the Landings on Skidaway Island is nearing its 45th anniversary, one of those giant pioneers — literally and figuratively — of early golf community development. With six golf courses, three clubhouses, more than 100 social clubs, a modern marina and its own real estate company that contributes more than $1 million to community coffers in some years, The Landings can boast of being a city unto itself. But with all the services of a modern (yet classically Southern) city a short drive away, The Landings may be the best choice for couples who need to be close to hospitals, shopping, great restaurants, a good regional airport and all the other blandishments of city living in a community with 365 days of full activity for hyperactive baby boomers.
Lifestyle on Steroids
The Cliffs Communities
Cliffs Founder Jim Anthony’s ego was a two-headed monster. Yes, it brought him down when he started borrowing way too much, including to pay Tiger Woods a reported $20 million to build a golf course that has never seen the light of day, shortly before the 2008 recession began. Chaos ensued, and it looked for a while as if The Cliffs would fall off a financial cliff. But the yang to Anthony’s yin was that his vision was so completely deluxe that his residents were not going to let The Cliffs fail (or lose their considerable investments, including a club membership initiation fee that had reached $125,000). After more than a decade of changing ownership and establishment of a more rational membership plan, The Cliffs has been steadied. Remaining is a roster of the most impressive amenities in golf community land, anchored by seven golf courses that are lavishly maintained and sporting many of the best names in modern golf architecture, including Nicklaus and Fazio, as well the neophyte Ben Wright of golf broadcasting fame. Today, member initiation fees are just $50,000, and if that sound like a lot, consider the number of courses, the world class fitness spas and some of the most breathtaking views in the upstate Carolinas.
Cheap Thrills
Savannah Lakes Village
You are probably tired of the number of times I mention Savannah Lakes, but for those on a budget who would love a community with multiple excellent golf courses beside a big lake, I can’t think of a better recommendation. Perfectly livable homes in Savannah Lakes are available for less than $200,000 and, for around $300,000, the community is offering 3-bedroom, 3-bath brand new homes. The two golf courses are excellent and distinctive one from the other — a classic lakeland layout and a true mountain layout with frequent changes in elevation. Best of all, an annual homeowners fee of $100 confers golf membership and access to other amenities. (Savannah Lakes has a bowling alley, a golf community rarity in my experience.) Members can opt to either pay the modest green fee or join on an annual basis that reduces per play costs to something on the order of $20 (based on three rounds a week).
Friends for Life
Carolina Colours, New Bern, NC
A few times a year, my clients ask me, “How do we know people will like us” in a community we choose. My response is always “Well, are you likable?” The truth is that residents of golf communities recall how they felt when they first moved to a new community, and they are sympathetic and helpful to newcomers. For those nervous nellies wondering about friendliness, I encourage them to stay for a day or two and meet their future friends. I have had the opportunity a few times to meet with multiple residents in a clubhouse, typically for a drink and some conversation, but the only meal I have shared was at Carolina Colours. My table mates and I talked about what it was like to live in a community with a golf course open to the public and how everyone came to choose this particular community; but they also enthusiastically described how meaningful it was to get involved with local charities, especially now that they had plenty of time post-career. They were open and friendly and engaged. Carolina Colours is the perfect community for those who worry about making friends. You won’t have to wait long.
Larry Gavrich
Founder & Editor
Home On The Course, LLC
