Like the rest of the course, the par 3 12th at Caledonia in Pawleys Island, SC, shows plenty of spunk but no adjacent homes.  Residential communities are off property, just north and south of the golf course.

    Golfweek magazine's annual ranking of golf courses "you can play" was published a week ago and, as usual, the publication does not look favorably on courses with homes adjacent to fairways.  A few, however, did make the cut.
    Chief among those in the southeast is Cuscowilla, which perennially finishes first or second nationally when Golfweek publishes its list of best residential golf courses (coming in the next few months).  Cuscowilla, about 90 minutes from Atlanta, is a Coore/Crenshaw layout that shows great respect for the land that abuts Lake Oconee.  It doesn't appear much earth was pushed around and the native grasses are in abundance.  The

Although Grand National (see photo of 5th hole, top above) made Golfweek’s top five list for best accessible courses in Alabama, I thought Oxmoor Valley (bottom photo, 3rd hole) was every bit as good and even more challenging.
    
 

    I got lost on Bald Head Island one night a few years ago, and I don't mean metaphorically.  I was lost literally for about four hours on a cold November night, scared that my golf cart would run out of battery juice and I would have to sleep the night by some desolate roadside freezing my butt off.   Cell phone service was spotty, the guidance from the police on the mainland was misleading, and I missed dinner for the only time in the last 40 years, perhaps the greatest indignity of a night filled with them.
    But by dawn's early light, the ill effects of the night before had worn off, except for the rumbling in my stomach.  The view of the water from my cottage's bedroom window as the sun came up and the cart ride to breakfast past rolling sand dunes and coastline were uplifting.  My round of golf later on the links style George Cobb course restored my bearings fully, and I left Bald Head the next morning, after a brilliant sunset the night before, with a better understanding of why some people choose to live on an island served by ferry only.  Greta Garbo would have loved it here, especially in winter.
    If money were no object, Bald Head Island, just off the coast of North Carolina near Southport, would be a nice place to set up a family compound of sorts, a place where kids and grandkids would be sure to visit in summertime and where, if it were your only home, you and your significant other could pass winter days in splendid isolation (but with a good map, if not GPS).  Some of the homes are huge and all, because of the layout of the island, within a short cart ride of a beach, the golf course and the two large

    Bald Head Island Realty sends me a regular stream of messages about events and homes for sale, including one I received yesterday.  Homes currently on the market range from a 2-bedroom, 2-bath single family home on a wooded lot for $525,000 to a 5-bedroom, 6 ½-bath oceanfront home for $4.12 million(see artist's rendering above).  A lot adjacent to the golf course is currently on the market for $295,000 and one with an ocean view for $3.7 million.  But beware construction costs; because materials and labor must be shipped in, costs are typically double what they are on the mainland.
    If you would like more information about Bald Head Island, let me know (see contact button at top of page) and I will be happy to send it.   Or if you would like the name of someone to contact at Bald Head's real estate office, I can do that as well.  If you want to dip your toe into island living, summer rentals are also available on Bald Head.   

The Grand National Lake course opens with a beautifully designed par 4 dogleg left that brings all the Robert Trent Jones elements into play -- sand, water, and an elevated, sloping green.   

    A resident of Atlanta can leave his home after breakfast, play 18 holes of golf at the excellent Grand National complex in eastern Alabama, then nine at Grand National's fine Short Course, and still be home for dinner.  
    Lucky Atlantans.  The rest of us will just have to settle for flying into Atlanta and then taking the no-stress drive to Grand National and its 54 holes of golf.
    Grand National, located between Auburn and Opelika, is at about the midpoint on the Robert Trent Jones Trail, which runs 380 miles from one end of the state to the other.  Grand National is a 90-minute drive from Atlanta, a straight shot down Interstate 85.  Those who make the journey will find a taste of the consistent quality I found at the three multi-course complexes I visited on the Trail a week ago.  On the other hand,

    Like other greens on the three courses I played, these were elevated, some significantly so, and the firm surfaces made me play cautiously to avoid too many lob wedges up too many steep slopes.  The greens were large, sloped and well protected by steep bunkers, as well as the slopes.  Grand National and the other courses I played are all about positioning on the approach shot.  Landing zones off the tees were generous, although some sported the traditional Jones bunkers -- not huge, like a Palmer's or Fazio's, but definitely in play.
    The 600-acre Lake Saugahatchee dominates the 54 holes at Grand National and comes into play or into view on 32 of them.  Unlike Oxmoor Valley, near Birmingham, which I also played and enjoyed greatly, the terrain at Grand National is kindler and gentler and a lot easier walk from the cart paths to my errant shots (because of recent rains, I played cart path only the entire week).  Grand National is a course you could grow old playing,

    More than two-dozen single-family homes were in various stages of construction at National Village, including a few that are just about ready for occupancy, but it was hard to see how the community fits the strategy to attract retirees.  Wonderfully appointed yet close to each other on quarter acre tracts, at $600,000 to $800,000 they seemed overpriced for the Auburn/Opelika area.  Elsewhere in the southeast, such prices will fetch a home on a ½ acre with nice views of a golf course, if not water or mountains, in a gated community with a private golf club.  The RSA and the developer do have plans for lower-priced homes closer to the golf course and for a town center, with villas, near the hotel and conference center.  That could be the spur to attract more golfing retirees to the area.  
    For now, the developers might want to consider lowering the prices at National Village to encourage some quick return on their investment in the already-built homes (none had been sold by the time of my visit).  With a university town nearby, a no-hassle drive from Atlanta, and 54 holes of excellent golf just down the road, their community has the ingredients for success.  

Ratings for Grand National Lake Course
    I rate elements of the courses I play on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being "perfection" and 1 "avoid at all costs."  "Playability" is my assessment of how players of all capabilities might enjoy the course.

Layout         8    Fun and challenging.
Condition     7    Elevated greens almost too firm.
Playability    8    Multi-tee options typical of thoughtfulness on entire Trail.    
Aesthetics    8    Lake in view and in play on most holes.    
Amenities     6    Excellent for daily fee; a few day lockers for rent.
Overall         8    Private club conditions and staff.

The Lake Course's signature hole is the par 3 15th with its island green and no bailout.