I could have no trouble recommending enthusiastically most of the more than 150 golf communities I have visited and reviewed over the last 10 years. After all, developers don’t invest in a multimillion-dollar enterprise to fail, although some indisputably do a better job of development than others. To anyone or any couple interested in moving to a golf community but not sure of where that community should be, the choices are dizzying. If it is mandatory to be close to a city or be able to play multiple golf courses under one membership or enjoy mountain or ocean views from the golf course, then the choices narrow.
        However, as I have found, each community is special in its own way, and those differences could make the difference between choosing one community over another. In the July issue of my free monthly newsletter, Home On The Course, I plan to include a list of communities that display “something special.” As a preview, here are a few that stand out. (Click here to subscribe to our free monthly newsletter.)

Treyburn, Durham, NC

        Those with even a passing knowledge of college basketball know that perennial powerhouse Duke is located in Durham, and that means Treyburn residents can take advantage of continuing education courses on one of the most beautiful campuses in America, as well as watching big-time collegiate athletics. Treyburn’s Tom Fazio golf course threads its way through the community, its sculpted fairways winding through trees and over streams and distracting attention from the homes beside the layout. But it is the club membership itself that makes Treyburn special, especially for serious golfers who don’t mind a little bit of travel to play some of the best layouts in the Southeast. That is because Treyburn is one of a dozen clubs in the McConnell Golf Group collection in which membership in one club confers privileges at the others, which range from the mountains (e.g. Asheville Country Club) to the coast (The Reserve at Pawleys Island). Nearby Raleigh Country Club, designed by the famous Donald Ross, and Hasentree, another Tom Fazio gem, are within a half-hour’s drive, essentially giving Treyburn members three top courses within easy reach for the reasonable price of one.
Treyburn Country Club

Wintergreen Resort, Nellyfield, VA

        I don’t know of a community better suited to active adults than Wintergreen, which is both a resort and year-round residential community. The 45 holes of exceptional golf designed by Ellis Maples and Rees Jones are special enough, and the fact that a community geographically in the Southeast region maintains an active and popular ski operation just a couple of hours from Washington, D.C. qualifies as unique. But for me, the truly special aspect about Wintergreen is that, on any given day in January, you could very well ski in the morning and play golf in the afternoon. That is because the Rees Jones 27 holes are located in the valley below the mountains and ski lifts, and when it is freezing at 3,500 feet it can be sweater weather down below on the golf course. This weather anomaly occurs just often enough to qualify Wintergreen for “special” status.
Wintergreen Resort (Jones Course), Nellysford, VA

The Reserve at Lake Keowee, Sunset, SC

        Back in the ‘90s and early ‘00s, the group of communities known as The Cliffs was the big gorilla among golf developments in the upstate area of South Carolina, and The Reserve was fighting for attention. Formed by a small group of local professionals with the good sense to call in a professional management team from startup, The Reserve boasts lots of special characteristics, such as its tournament ready Jack Nicklaus golf course, the crystal clear lake along its edge, and a large and comfortable craftsman style clubhouse atop a 200-yard lawn that sweeps down to the lake and community pools. But you have to be in The Reserve clubhouse on a cool autumn evening when Clemson University’s vaunted football team is playing an away game to understand the special spirit that happily infects the community. If it were a home game, many of The Reserve’s residents would make the 25-minute drive, but in the clubhouse when the Tigers are away, it might as well be a home game, given a boisterous crowd festooned in Tiger orange. Retiring couples from Syracuse, home of the Orangemen, should not consider tossing their shirts and pom poms before a move to The Reserve.
Reserve at Lake Keowee, Sunset, SC

        You know the saying “Idle hands are the devil's playground.” Apparently, 35 golf courses, plenty of other amenities and dozens of social clubs (aka taverns) are not enough to divert some residents at the gigantic, age-restricted Florida playground known as The Villages from a life of crime.
       Earlier this week, area police raided a home at The Villages on a tip from a neighbor about a possible illicit drug operation. What they found, however, was not only a cache of methamphetamine and heroin, but also a golf cart chop shop. One of the five arrested said he had been stealing 30 golf carts per month. The arrests follow others a few months ago for golf cart thefts in The Villages.
        The community, which is known for its inexpensive housing and high level of amenities, is growing at one of the fastest rates in the country, with well over 100,000 residents inside the boundaries. Television ads that feature the squeaky clean Arnold Palmer, may he rest in peace, and Nancy Lopez make The Villages seem a hotbed of activities and safety. But like cities of a similar size, and despite the fact the community is restricted to “mature” folks only (age 55+), The Villages has its issues that include theft as well as a staggeringly high percentage of socially transmitted diseases. You would think old folks would have the experience to protect themselves, as well as their golf carts, some of them valued at $25,000 and more. Apparently not.
        The news about The Villages is in stark contrast to a stop my wife and I made 20 years ago to visit friends of my parents in a large Florida retirement community (no golf). The wife told us we could only stay for a couple of hours because the couple was headed to a concert on site early that evening and they needed to get there early to buy tickets.
        “Aren’t you afraid they will be sold out?” I asked.
        “No,” she replied, “we can always buy a ticket from one of the residents.”
        “A scalper?” I asked. “How much do tickets cost at the box office?”
        “$2.50,” she responded.
        “How much do they scalp them for?” I asked.
        “We can usually get them for $3.00.”
        Now that is not much of a living, but at least it’s an honest one.
        You can read an amusing article about The Villages’ crime spree at Deadspin.