The latest edition of Home On The Course, our free newsletter, will be sent to all subscribers on Tuesday. The newsletter is free of charge and includes reviews of golf communities, advice on how to search for a golf community, and observations about real estate that should appeal to anyone looking for a vacation or permanent property near great golf.
Although we typically feature golf communities in the Southeast U.S., in this month’s special combined July/August issue we review the Cape Cod, Massachusetts golf community known as New Seabury. If not for the winters, you could mistake New Seabury for a community on Hilton Head, such is its location beside the sea, its 36 holes of stellar golf and its collection of both multi-family and single-family dwellings that fit seamlessly into the gently rolling landscape. As a vacation home owner in South Carolina, a condo, and a primary single-family home owner in Connecticut, I have, in theory, the ability to play golf year-round, although life sometimes intrudes on golf plans and much of our winters are spent up north. Still, a community like New Seabury can provide half of the formula for year-round golf. Learn how in the July/August issue of Home On The Course.
New Seabury Ocean Course. Photo by Kent Earle
My favorite golf course in Connecticut played host to the Junior Girls National PGA Championship a few weeks ago, and I caught the last nine holes on the last day. I came away impressed by how well these teenagers play but, more importantly, I learned a few things about my own game from the way they approached theirs. Is it a coincidence that, a week later, I shot my best round of the year? Maybe, maybe not. You decide by reading about the five lessons I learned from a group of teenagers.
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I have previously spilled my dreams onto these pages about a partial retirement in Scotland. No self-respecting golfer could dream otherwise. I am mindful that dreams, for many reasons, often exceed our grasp. A few years ago, I plunked down a couple hundred dollars and became an overseas member of the Crail Golfing Society, thereby almost forcing myself to make the trip across the Atlantic on an annual basis to play the eight rounds of golf on Crail’s 36 holes beside the North Sea to which I am entitled on an annual basis. For now, that is about as close as I can get to living in Scotland, at least part time.
In an article the other day, the website Top Retirements.com pitched Scotland as a potential retirement location but added the appropriate caveats about moving to a foreign (non-American) land. I recommend the article to those fellow golfers who might be contemplating a Scottish relocation. The major obstacle to an American living in Scotland is that, except for a few of us –- those with Scottish ancestry or a couple million dollars to invest in a Scottish business –- residency is capped at six months per year.
The elements of seaside golf in Scotland in one photo at the Crail Golfing Society; pot bunker, sloping green, gorse and the ocean.
No problem for those who might otherwise live seasonally in two homes, as friends of mine do in the States; six months and a day in Florida, to qualify for its non-existent state income tax, and the rest of the year in Connecticut, a high-tax state. Those with the means, inclination and love of golf could just substitute Scotland in summer for Connecticut or any other cold-winter state. I daresay that real estate in a small Scottish town near great golf will be more reasonably priced than comparable housing in most northern US states, and renting an apartment for five to six months annually is also a viable and cost-effective approach.
Tax rules for foreign residents in Scotland and the rest of the UK became a bit complicated with a new tax law enacted a few years ago; it is best to consult an expert or at least do your research online before getting serious about a part-year retirement in Scotland. But the effort will be worth it for those who can imagine a relaxing and healthy lifestyle – most Scottish layouts require walking -- and cool summers on some of the greatest golf courses in the world.
You can read the Top Retirements article here.
North Berwick Golf Club is one of the coolest layouts on the planet, but also cool was that I rode the train from Edinburgh to North Berwick with my clubs in tow.
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