These have been bad years for those ad agencies that had counted on a continuing stream of media placements from free-spending golf communities.  That all ended with the housing crash.  In its most flush years, for example, The Cliffs Communities spent $14 million for marketing and bought prime positions in such high-end magazines as The

        But since 2006, these high-end communities have largely been absent from the major paid media.  We all know what happened in the market, especially at the high end.  Over the last few years, only the financially strong –- or crazy –- golf communities have continued to throw good money at advertising, even though one could argue some counter-communications were needed to overcome perceptions that a $1 million home in a golf community is a risky buy.  Most communities rationalize their lack of spending; modern customers, they say, use the Internet to conduct research.  Maybe, but the hedge fund managers and their ilk who can afford the high-end properties likely have neither the time nor the inclination to conduct Internet searches.

        But they do read the Wall Street Journal.  And the increasing number of ads popping up for golf communities in

        “We have not done much marketing in a while,” says The Landings Vice President of Marketing Bill Houghton, “and we probably fell off the radar screen” amid all the earlier advertising by The Cliffs, Reynolds Plantation and others.  Houghton, who recently arrived at The Landings from a similar post at Reynolds Plantation, told me that The Landings' 2010 sales volume is ahead of last year, which gives Landings owners -– its residents –- the confidence to spend.

        Just like rehiring and investing in capital equipment typical signal restored health for corporations, advertising by

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We are still in a buyers market, but that could change by the end of 2010, especially in the mid-level ($400,000 to $750,000) segment of the residential leisure market.  If you are considering purchasing a golf community lot or home in the next couple of years, it is not too soon to start looking.  Contact me and I will be happy to offer you my thoughts based on your requirements.  I never charge for my services.

The Landings in Savannah, which features six golf courses and a debt-free balance sheet, is feeling confident enough to start spending on advertising in such venues as the Wall Street Journal.