I lived in Savannah from birth to about age 44. With 4 years in Athens and 3 in Macon sprinkled in, so I feel eminently qualified to comment on the Georgia and Coastal Carolina spectrum.

First, its too damn cold from about Thanksgiving to March. Oh, there will be a few 65 degree days in January, but every body and his brother will be playing on those days. Most of your golf on the Ga Carolina coast in December, January and February will be played in 45 to 60 degree weather. If its not raining. And that 60 degree part is from 2:30 pm to 4:15 pm.

Now in the July, August, and til about Sept. 10 you'll get temperatures between 90 to 103, with about 80% humidity. Great conditions for thick bermuda rough and grainy greens. This is also great conditions for all sorts of flying, biting things.

Athens and Eatonton GA are even colder in the winter, and Eatonton, about 40 miles from Macon, gets stifling hot in the summer.

Trust me, its a great area to be FROM.

As far as the Landings, its 108 holes of generally uninspired golf architecture, with about 3000 homes inside the gates, seemingly half of which are occupied by retired CEO's with egos bigger than their wallets. A constant clash of the titans atmosphere sort of permeates the place. The golf is not bad, but with 6 courses winding among the salt marshes, one would think they could have come up with at least one allstar. Also, the bugs are extreme at Skidaway.

I'll challenge the Kiawah chamber of commerce on his allegations at South Florida. There has never been a day in recorded weather history where the temperature hit 100 in Miami. Savannah and Charleston have them every year. Florida, being a peninsula surrounded by water has more pleasant weather than Ga/Carolina 12 months per year.

Good stuff, gentlemen.  Keep it coming.   Any specific communities?

I started this thread for personal interests primarily, but also because I thought that a number of participants here may be in a similar situation of planning for the second half of their adult lives.  Despite my constant whining about how bad I am playing, golf will always be an important part of my life in one way or another.  One of the great things about the game is that it can be enjoyed in so many different ways and places.  It even helps those with some gypsy in them because as soon as you get in a friendly club, you are no longer a stranger.

My hope is to buy or build an ultra low-maintenance residence, probably no more than 2,000 S.F., and $300m, give or take $50m.  Privacy is more important to me than living on a course, though I would want to ve within a few minutes of the club.  Some nice views would be nice, but not essential.

I don't want to play at a real busy place, preferring to pay more for a player's club that is not exclusive for its own sake, but selective in terms of having members that love golf and are not assholes.  I also don't want to be nickeled and dimed to death or forced to take a caddie or ride a cart either by club rules or peer pressure.

In regards to Austin, TX, it is one of the prettier places in the state, but I have not found the golf there to be particularly good.  Spanish Oaks is a very nice course, and I still hear mixed reports about Austin GC (the CC is not high on my list).  Austin has terrible traffic problems and it can be hotter than hell.  The cost of living is okay, with housing ranging from very affordable to exhorbitant, depending where you want to live.

Waco, TX with Ridgewood CC and a Nicklaus affiliated design course is an interesting recommendation.  I'll be heading down there in the next week or so, though it is still way too hot for my taste and pretty strictly cart golf.

For a rural type location in TX, Glen Rose and its two county courses designed by Jeff Brauer and John Colligan is a place worthy of consideration.  Due to a nearby nuclear power plant, the tax base is great so the rate is quite low.  I think that county residents pay like $7 to $10 to play the courses at Squaw Valley.  The lake that cools the twin reactors also has very clear water and some very unusual fish (just kidding).

Regarding the genteel Ms. McBride, I have no illusions that she can be turned away from the dark side.  The only time we met, early in the year of the last election, she made sure I knew of her background as a "yellow dog" Dem and wore her X-large Kerry button on a place where it could not be missed.  She seemed so happy and pleasant that disuading her from her fantisies would just be too cruel.  Hopefully her very ingratiating manner has not been undermined by the harsh realities and outcome of the election.  I am sure that if we were ever partime neighbors, that we would get along famously.  Now, Ace is altogether a different proposition.

Tiger, as one of your boys one said, "a tiger does not change his spots".  Really, if I can be the lone innocent lamb at a dinner with a pack of wolves and still enjoy the experience (and live to tell about it) isn't that a good sign that we can all get along?  You see, Sandbox Gracely had it right when he called me "The Great Unifier".  From west of Panama City to Pensecola along the coast, I am sure that I can find a little place for my double-wide.   I could be happy at Camp Creek, and something under 35' docked not too far from there.  Alternate the summers between the UK, northern US,  and Canada.

As Martin suggested, I'd enjoy spending an extended stay at or near St. Andrews.  I've visitied Aberdour, best know for its fine American resident, author, and contributor to this site, the incomparable Rihc Goodale, and that little village with its train station would make a great seasonal base.  Something like this and a season in Dornoch are definitely under consideration with a high likelyhood of happening.  Ditto for a season or two in Oz and NZ.

North Carolina appears to be a great place for a home base.  The Chapel Hill idea intrigues me, as does the Pinehurst and Charlotte area.  
 
I've recently visited Knoxville and very much enjoyed Holston Hills.  Proximity to airports and a cold and wet winter season along with hot and wet summers are concerns.

Again, thanks for the suggestions.

 

     

My father in law retired to the NC mountains(Little Switzerland) and loves it.He spends 6 or 7 months a year there.He doesn't play golf anymore,but I do when I visit.I love going down to Mt Mitchell,and next summer I am going to plan ahead on Linville and Grandfather,all within 30 minutes on the parkway.I think he has me playing at Mountain Air labor day weekend.

My hope is to buy or build an ultra low-maintenance residence, probably no more than 2,000 S.F., and $300m, give or take $50m.

I'd say for $300-350 m (million?), you could live pretty much anywhere you damn well please!  

AD

Marty, start building the "uncle in-law" quarters onto your home.  I'm packing my bags.

Dearest Uncle,
would that I lived within the hallowed ground which contains the St Andrews local area, I would be outside wielding the pick and shovel as we speak.

I have the unfortunate bad luck to reside not only outwith the said geographical locale, but to also not live within the next 'ring-fence' of North-East Fife which I think extends as far South and West as Cupar. Those lucky residents receive a similar offer of discounted golf (something like £250 per annum currently?)

I have tried in vain to entice Nancy to move to St A for many years now, especially as she works in Dundee which would be a 20 minute commute for her. She will have nothing to do with the idea as she (mistakenly) believes that St A is, and I quote, "always cold and windy". Stupid Woman!

FBD.

Aye, young laddie Martin.  Bah ye half ta apeeel ta hair feminin weighs.  Tull'er thers a bonnie goot shoppin a'the bonnie fein sturs   in tha grey ol toon.

Rihc, souns lik'a werkers paradise ta' me, ana eevin bettr uon fer a indulent lout lik meself.

I'm figuring McCall Idaho for summers and a few weeks in the winter for skiing.

Now I need to find a milder climate for the other months of winter.  How about New Mexico in Winter?

Tiger,

I knew that

By the way, I've been in Fife in January, March, and December and it's not a pretty site unless bone chilling cold works for you although I did play the Old Course in January and the New in March.  Of course, this was in the mid-80's and I was much younger

Quote from: Rich Goodale on August 28, 2005, 12:35:06 PM

Lou

What with the global warming caused by you and W and Tiger Bernhardt all the rest of you evil Murcan capitalists, Fife will have a Mediterranean climate by the time you are old enough to retire.  Sure the winters will still be dark, but where better to practice your night putting?

Rich - you forget to mention the downside - melting of the polar ice caps will cause the links at St Andrews to be under several feet of water - not to mention Dornoch as I read in your book!

Like the Chinese did with the Yellow River (or tried to anyway), they will build massive dykes to hold the waters at bay.  

Bill,

By my standards, Dallas has extreme weather ranging from well below freezing to three months of like hell conditions.  I've sat at many baseball games when the 10:00 p.m. temperature was still in the mid to upper 90s.  

Over $350,000 would constitute a large investment in real estate.  Reasonable cost of living would be something within the 65 to 70 percentile; reasonable tax burden would exclude most states with more than a 5% income tax rate, relatively high sales tax (say over 5% if it has an income tax), and a property tax rate over 1% based on full valuation.

An old friend of mine recommended the Shenendoah (sp) valley many years ago.  He wanted to build a golf course and claimed that the weather on the east side of the mountains was very moderate throughout the year, but with four separate seasons.  

Lou,

The only criteria that probably couldn't be met is the tax burden. Marginal state income taxes about 6% and sales taxes generally between 4-6% depending on locality. Real estate taxes are extremely low in York and James City County.

The Shenadoah Valley is nice but it would have the same tax structure and the Weather would be more extreme than the Tidewater or Peidmont area of Virginia.

Bill

Mike,

I would be very happy with a place near the Ocean course and a membership at the Island Club.  Alas, my finances would be stressed along with my daughter's expectations.  I guess that I should have been a better student, worked much harder, made better investment choices, and not have played as much golf as I have.  Can I blame or sue somebody?
Nah, I am sure that there is a little place off the radar where people like me can find peace and happiness for whatever time we have prior to being put to our final rest.