T&L Golf readers choose Carolinas & Georgia as best area to live; Florida finishes second

I've used this photo of the 17th at the Cliffs' Keowee Vineyard golf course often because it remains one of the most memorable holes I have played. The par three requires a driver or three wood from the tee to a green surrounded by trouble. The hole (and course) were designed by Tom Fazio. The Cliffs is high on the list of Travel & Leisure's best golf communities.

The readers of Travel & Leisure Golf magazine, a rather upscale demographic, has voted the combined area of the Carolinas and Georgia (with 26.2% of the vote) as the best place for a golf home. Florida (25.6%), which sports almost three times the number of courses as the Carolinas and Georgia combined, finished a close second. The stragglers included California (15.3%), Arizona (14.9%), the Rocky Mountains (9.6%) and the Pacific Northwest (8.3%).
Although this is a far from scientific study, the results hint at the continuing migration of golf community residents from Florida to the states a little farther

A warm climate is not enough to keep some residents from fleeing Florida for the Carolinas and points north.

north, mostly the Carolinas. Consider that climate and, to some extent, the lack of a state income tax, have been the traditional lures of Florida. But now, threats of hurricanes and the realities of high insurance premiums, stifling summer heat and mind-numbing traffic have combined to take some of the sun out of the Sunshine State. Plummeting home prices haven't helped either.
For those making the move to the Carolinas or Georgia from Florida and elsewhere, T&L Golf suggests the golf communities you might consider. At the T&L web site is a list of the magazine's take on the top golf communities in the U.S. South Carolina developments occupy three of the top six positions, with Palmetto Bluff in Bluffton at #2, the Cliffs Communities (various locations in the Carolina mountains) in the fifth position and Kiawah Island holding down the sixth position.

The best community, according to T&L, is Pronghorn in Bend, OR; third and fourth places are held down by the California communities at Santa Lucia Preserve in Carmel, CA Mayacama in Santa Rosa, respectively. The golf courses at two of the top three communities were designed by Tom Fazio; Palmetto Bluff was the work of Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw.

I have visited personally many of the best communities in the southern U.S., including The Cliffs and Kiawah Island. If I can help you find the community that best suits your lifestyle and golf game, please contact me. I do not charge for my services.

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Sunday, 01 March 2009 09:33

Last Updated on Sunday, 01 March 2009 09:57

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