While trying to think of a topic for this space today, I stared out the back window of our condo in Pawleys Plantation. The window faces the rear tee on the 15th hole, the toughest driving hole on a tough, South Carolina Low Country course (see photo below). The fairway is the narrowest on the Jack Nicklaus layout, a gentle dogleg left with dense trees and out of bounds guarding the entire left side and a few live oaks and out of bounds encroaching down the right. They are there to protect the string of condominiums that runs from the tee box almost to the green. The only good drive on the 15th is a controlled draw of about 220 yards on the fly from the tips, and how many of us can do that on command. The 15th, at 391 yards from the back tees, is one of the shortest par 4s on the course but, nevertheless, has ruined many a good round.
I have noticed that many times a day, a foursome from out of town, down in the Myrtle Beach area to
As they stepped to the tee, golf shirts hanging out, I thought "This should be good."
"enjoy" themselves, will step up to the slightly elevated back tee on #15 and rip away. Today, half the group had their golf shirts hanging well below their beltlines. I muttered a "This should be good" to myself and watched them swing as if they were in a long drive contest at the local range, then slump their shoulders and walk off the tee box muttering their way to the cart. You just know that routine had been repeated multiple times earlier in the round. I would not want to be in the group behind them on a busy day, although the course was not crowded today.
There are good reasons why courses make multiple tee boxes available (and even better reasons why some clubs suggest players play from certain tees). Over nearly 20 years, I have never played the back tees at Pawleys Plantation, even when I had my brief flirtation with a single-digit handicap. The course plays to over 7,000 yards from there, and a round of nothing but fairway wood and utility club approach shots is not my idea of fun. The blue tees at 6,700 yards, a course rating of 72.5 and slope of 137 is plenty of challenge, thank you very much.
I understand the thinking of a decent player on vacation who only gets one shot at a tough course like Pawleys Plantation. "Let me play it the way Nicklaus set it up to be played," the thinking might go. Breaking 90 from the tips for a 10 handicap would be a moral victory, for sure. But breaking 80 from the blue tees would be within the realm of possibility, and certainly more memorable. Trust me, it does not happen that often.
The 15th tee at Pawleys Plantation. The green is beyond the trees on the far left.
It is hot and humid in coastal South Carolina where our family has come for summer vacation. The golf courses are virtually empty and cheap, as in $55 for a round on a couple of dozen excellent layouts, cart included. My wife and daughter have their eyes on the beach, my son and I on the golf courses, and after just a couple of days, we all feel the stress leaving our bodies.
But there is one thing we haven’t escaped -– Mark Sanford, the wandering governor of our adopted state. The Myrtle Beach Sun News, whose front pages are typically filled this time of year with tourism-related stories, has mentioned the Appalachian Trail the last few weeks as much as written about the Grand Strand. Unless you have been deprived of all Internet, newspaper, and television access in the last week, you know
One wonders if there is a connection between cheating at golf and cheating on one's wife.
that the governor told his staff he was headed for a few contemplative days walking the Trail, only to admit later, under duress by the news media waiting for him at Atlanta Airport, that he had been in Argentina with his mistress over Father’s Day weekend (the governor is father to four boys and husband to the state’s first lady). Since then the guv, who either lacks decent PR people or doesn’t listen to their advice, has put his foot in his mouth every time he opens it, which has been way too often. The first rule of public relations is to shorten the story as much as possible; this one just goes on and on in the papers and on the local TV news stations.
According to my neighbor in Pawleys Island, a full-time resident of the state, Governor Sanford had been a fairly good golfer early in his political career, certainly fitting in a state that depends so heavily on golf tourism. I wonder if he cheated at golf. There may be a natural connection between cheating at the game and treating cavalierly the women in your life. We have only to look back to William Jefferson Clinton, who notoriously dropped a few extra balls in the rough during friendly matches, for the archetypal example of cheater at the games of golf and relationships. Or the James Bond character Goldfinger who blatantly cheated at golf and painted his women to death, in gold leaf.
During Clinton’s troubles over the Lewinsky affair, then Congressman Sanford called for the President to resign, saying Clinton lacked “moral clarity.” Many South Carolinians are willing to forgive the governor his lapse of fidelity and are pulling for him to repair his marriage. But his hypocrisy – preach one thing, do another – is a different story. Within a few days or months, a suddenly ex-Governor Sanford may have to practice what he preached during the Clinton impeachment hearings. He may soon have a lot of time to recapture his golf skills.
The Dataw Island Golf Club near Beaufort in South Carolina's Low Country will renovate its Arthur Hills and Tom Fazio golf courses. Fazio's Cotton Dike layout will close in March for nine months of work, followed by Hills' Morgan River course a year later. All but one of the courses' 36 greens will be planted with MiniVerde grass; club members had been "testing" one of the greens planted with the hardy grass.
Former Augusta National superintendent Billy Fuller will handle the renovation projects. At Augusta National, Fuller supervised the change from Bermuda to Bentgrass greens. Previously, he worked with Bob Cupp's design group.
I reviewed the Morgan River course and the community after a visit in March. To read the review, click here. If you would like more information about Dataw Island, please contact me.
Moving argument: Migration, cost of living studies encourage moves south
Sunday, 28 June 2009
In 2008, United Van Lines, one of the nation's largest shippers of household goods, relocated nearly 200,000 customers. Most of them went south and west, many with golf clubs in tow.
United Van Lines has conducted a migration study for 37 years, and with such a large database of moves, the patterns among its customers reflect
The highest inbound states included the Carolinas and Alabama.
patterns in the larger population. The results of the company's study, which is published early each year, indicate that North and South Carolina and Alabama are among the "highest inbound" states in the nation ("highest inbound" defined as more than 55% of relocations into the state). Oregon, Nevada, Wyoming and South Dakota joined them as highest inbound states.
On the other side of the coin, the "highest outbound" states among United Van Lines' customers were mostly across the northeast quadrant of the nation, and included Maine, Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois and North Dakota. A "highest outbound" designation reflects 55% of moves leaving a state. All other states are considered "balanced" by the study; that is, moves into or out of the state make up no more than 55% of total. (Note: The highest inbound "state" was the District of Columbia -- the study looks at the continental 48 states and the nation's capital district -- with a 62.1% rate. I will leave to others any political comments about increases in the size of government, or Republicans following Dick Cheney's lead and sticking around Washington).
Of course, there are many reasons people move, but generally it is safe to say they do so for what they perceive as a better life. People in their
Real estate prices are simply explained; it is all about supply and demand.
working years relocate for a better job, or a place they consider better to raise a family, or to be near aging parents. Those approaching their golden years leave for a warmer climate, a more relaxed atmosphere away from traffic, the threat of crime and the hassles of everyday life. Costs of living, naturally, are inherent in a better life, and looking at a chart of comparisons of expenses in 100 cities both north and south, it is easy to see why the migration patterns are toward the Carolinas, Alabama and some "balanced" states in the southern U.S.
A serious golfer moving from, say, Long Island, NY to Roanoke, VA, could join the new Ballyhack Golf Club, and help pay for it, in part, by saving 38% on their costs of living.
Those leaving Boston, for example, according to a chart by ACCRA (American Chamber of Commerce Research Association) and published in Where to Retire magazine, will decrease their costs of living by moving to 64 cities across the nation, and increase their costs by moving to only two -- Honolulu (by 22%) and San Diego (by a mere 1%). A move from Boston to Savannah, for example, will drop costs by 30%, according to the ACCRA data, which measures costs of food, clothing, real estate, healthcare, transportation, utilities and a range of goods and services. Other COL improvements moving from Boston: Asheville, NC (25%); Austin, TX (28%); Charleston, SC (28%); Charlottesville, VA (19%); Greenville, SC (31%); Hilton Head Island (17%); Knoxville, TN (34%); Mobile, AL (30%); Myrtle Beach, SC (31%); Raleigh, NC (23%); Phoenix, AZ (25%); Wilmington, NC (24%). Note that the data does not include taxes, information which is easily available on the Internet. Suffice to say, however, that these cost of living "raises" moving from Boston to the south are significant.
Those moving from New York City, New York's Nassau County, Washington, D.C., and some cities in California where home prices appreciated wildly in the 1990s and early 2000s will enjoy larger cost of living decreases than Bostonites who relocate south. Those leaving Chicago, Philadelphia, St. Paul, MN and other northern cities will find slightly smaller decreases than those from Boston but the improvements are still double-digit percentages.
So what does this all mean? It means a lot for those who are flexible and have considered relocation to a warmer climate. First, if migration patterns
Migration patterns will continue north to south, which means properties will appreciate faster in the Carolinas than they will in the northeast and other northern areas.
continue north to south (and west) -- and the betting here is that, with more baby boomers nearing and reaching retirement age, they will -- then properties will appreciate faster in "highest inbound" states than they will in "highest outbound" states. Real estate price trends are really quite simply explained; it is all about supply and demand. High supply and low demand equal lower prices; high demand and low supply equal higher prices. In the current economy, the supply of homes everywhere is high, but when the markets stabilize, prices will appreciate faster in states like North and South Carolina than they will in New York, New Jersey and Illinois because of higher demand in the south.
Second, the ACCRA data argues that for those who live in the high-priced states up north, a move south will put more money in their pockets. A 30% improvement in cost of living means more house for your money and the
Holding out for the last dollar in your home for sale could cost you dearly in a number of ways.
opportunity to go out to dinner and enjoy more the fruits of your labor or your pension. And the data provide compelling evidence, as I have argued here before, that those with a plan to move to warmer climates should not hold out for the last dollar when they attempt to sell their homes. Doing so could cost you dearly in a number of ways -- by extending the length of time it takes to sell your house (and move on with your life); by forcing you to drop the price of your home later if your neighbors are pricing their homes more realistically; and by denying you months, and maybe years, of a lower cost of living and a less stressful lifestyle. And while the home you refuse to price at its true market value is not appreciating in market value, the home you would buy in the south is indeed appreciating, making it harder for you to afford later.
I know; I am a broken record, repeating what I have written here before; and because I make my living from helping people find their dream home on the course, it seems I have a vested interest in getting people to sell and buy. Okay, fine, don't believe me; just check the numbers. You can find the United Van Lines data by clicking here. Unfortunately, Where to Retire does not offer the ACCRA chart at its web site, although they offer a "free" sample issue there. Otherwise, you will have to plunk down $4.95 at Barnes and Noble or some other store with a large magazine stand. Or, better yet, contact me if you want to compare a city near you with a city you might be considering. I will be happy to share the data and my advice, which is always objective and always free.
