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The Golden State of Golf The golf lifestyle in California is still growing strong. By David Lott Beginning with the Golden Age of Hollywood in the 1920s, California and golf seem to have been made for each other. From Charley Chaplin and Douglas Fairbanks Jr. to Bob Hope, Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra to Bill Murray, Alanis Morissette and Leonard DiCaprio, stars love golf and love to play in the Golden State. (If you were to visit celebritygolf.com, you’ll immediately be struck by the number of celebrity golf events in California.) Thus, it should be no surprise that for many of the rich and famous, following in the star-studded footsteps of Palm Springs’ celebrity settlers, golf course real estate should be a significant attraction. Indeed, California registered a record number of million-dollar home sales last year, up 50 percent from 1999, according to DataQuick, a subsidiary of Vancouver-based MacDonald Dettwiler and Associates which monitors real estate activity nationwide. Southern California’s million-dollar sales were up 32 percent in 2000. And you could trace many of those sales to master-planned golf communities. Add in the diversity of courses that range from the desert tracks of Palm Springs to the lush layouts in Lake Tahoe which are protected by snow-capped mountains which you can ski following a morning on the links, and you’ll understand how California can be such a powerful magnet for golf enthusiasts. Discussions with golf community real estate professionals underscore the statistical story. Last year they experienced panic-buying, cash closings and heavy bidding for homes. This year, say California realtors, the market has become a bit more cautious and as a result, healthier, with some resistance to prices, and buyers having the luxury to shop around. But the drive to live where you play golf is still very strong. “The market for dream homes is stronger than ever,” says Jeannie Johnston, director of sales at Pasadera County Club on the Monterey Peninsula. Johnston says that buyers from Silicon Valley, while not so crazy-active this year—last year they were making commitments before their primary home had been sold—this year people are not quite so exuberant, creating a more stable market. PEBBLE BEACH/MONTEREYThe Monterey Peninsula has long been a favorite vacation destination. A major commercial center during the Spanish Colonial days, Monterey has preserved many of its historic adobes around Custom House Plaza. Carmel-by-the-Sea, an artist's colony and celebrity getaway since the 1920s, is today a charming collection of cottages, galleries, boutique hotels, fine shops and restaurants. The Peninsula also offers some of the most breathtaking scenery in the world—the famed 17-Mile Drive, Point Lobos State Park and Big Sur, plus the tremendous views golfers get from its world-famous golf course, Pebble Beach. The past two years have been extraordinary for Pebble Beach. The course hosted both the 1999 U.S. Amateur Championship and the 2000 U.S. Open Championship in addition to its annual AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am tournament. And in the May 2000 issue of Golf Digest, the magazine’s editors confirmed what many golfers had already believed for years: Pebble Beach Golf Links is the No. 1 golf course in America. That’s where the magazine ranked the course on its biennial list of “America’s 100 Greatest Golf Courses.” The ranking marked the first time in the history of the publication that a public golf course had achieved the top spot. So whether you crave a leisurely walk on the beach, an afternoon of wine tasting or whale watching, a hike to a historic lighthouse or a walk down the fairways following in the footsteps of the greatest players of all time, the Pebble Beach/Monterey area is an ideal place to be. Pasadera
Country Club Scheurer also designed the Golf Villas, located along the fairways. The villas feature six Spanish colonial home designs, ranging from 2,747 to 3,808 square feet, and offer a nice balance of luxury and convenience and access to the club’s extensive amenities. “Pasadera is the only true private country club on the peninsula,” says Jeannie Johnston, director of sales, and so it attracts buyers who want to take advantage of the tennis, swimming, private fitness and wellness facilities as well as the club’s magnificent Jack Nicklaus Signature Golf Course. Another benefit is that Pasadera is located eight miles inland from the ocean—and the fog line—making it eight degrees warmer and creating more playing time. One the community’s most celebrated homes has unobstructed views of four holes on the golf course and the mountains and is priced at $4.595 million. From its elevated position above the third hole, the 6,000-square-foot home offers a wine cellar, four bedrooms, five bathrooms, a bonus room and much more. Only 214 homes will be built on Pasadera’s 565 acres, creating a low-density environment that allows for privacy and a sense of openness. Alain Pinel Realtors “Some people have more than 30 years sales and marketing experience here,” says Managing Broker Craig Boswell, an avid golfer with a 14 handicap and a broad base of knowledge about area golf communities that is based on extensive personal experience. Boswell notes that Alain Pinel has golf course real estate listings throughout the Pebble Beach area and at such exquisite properties as The Santa Lucia Preserve, Carmel Valley Ranch and Quail Meadows, in addition to Pasadera. As for the market in general, Boswell cites there is a slight wait-and see attitude among buyers simply because there are now more homes available than last year when they were snapped up immediately. “There’s been an uptick in valuations as well,” he says. “There’s still a strong buyer demand, but since these homes will serve as a second home or semi-retirement, there’s not the same kind of immediacy that’s present when someone is shopping for a primary home.” Prices in the Pebble Beach area and Carmel begin at $1 million and go up from there. At the new Santa Lucia Preserve, a 20,000-acre haven of which 18,000 acres will remain protected, there will be only 300 “homelands”; lots at this exclusive golf and ranch community are going for $2 million and homes range from $3 to 5 million. PALM SPRINGS Palm Spring’s evolution to a golf and recreation enclave for the wealthy has been simply a logical one. Located only 90 minutes from Los Angeles and the film capital of the world, it was just a matter of time before its sunny weather, dry climate and desert lifestyle attracted the city’s elite. Even the husbanding of its water resources has been a plus, resulting in innovative desert golf, or target golf, designs in which as few as 90 acres are used for courses which formerly took double the area. Presidents and headliners from all walks of life going back to Herbert Hoover and Franklin Delano Roosevelt have come here to play golf, mix with celebrities and enjoy world-class shopping and dinning. PGA WEST The real estate line-up is impressive, too, with eight top-quality companies approved to build homes within the property with prices ranging from the low $300,000s to more than $1 million.Rancho La Quinta The weakening economy has only obliquely affected Rancho La Quinta. “Interest is still high,” says Bill Dawson, director of marketing and sales, “but the marketplace is cautious right now. There’s more of a wait-and-see attitude. People are paying more attention to their net worth.” Dawson says that everyone who has signed a buying agreement this year has followed through, but sales are not at the red-hot level they were a year ago when his team sold more than 200 homes. Rancho La Quinta is now in its seventh year and has sold more than two-thirds of its 900-home inventory. What has been driving buyers to the community today is “its unique sense of community,” says Dawson. “We have just one builder—us—not 14, so there is no competition between builders,” says Dawson. “We are a private community and our greatest asset is the people who brings their friends in.” Other elements of appeal are Rancho La Quinta’s mission-style architecture, its desert lifestyle and its amenities, which include a new golf clubhouse, the Racquet Club & Fitness Center and 36 holes of golf. Ranging from 2,635 to 4,243 square feet of living space, the fairway homes of Rancho La Quinta embrace the warm ambiance of mission-style architecture and views of the golf course. The Encantos, which start in the high $400,000s, feature three bedrooms and have outstanding views of the 14th and 15th fairways of the Jones course. Square footage ranges from 2,635 to 2,924 square feet. On the Pate layout you’ll find the luxurious Montañas fairway homes, which feature four bedrooms in residences ranging from 3,077 to 4,243 square feet and priced from the low $700,000s. SOUTHERN CALIFORNIASouthern California is known world-wide for its famous beaches, such as Venice, Malibu, Santa Monica and Laguna Beach, which is also a renowned artist's colony. But the beach is only the beginning. If you like being active outdoors, you can do it in southern California. Southern California's whitewater mecca is 150 miles from L.A. via Bakersfield or Palmdale, where the Kern River come into Lake Isabella. Other activities in the area include giant sequoia trees viewing, hiking, rock climbing, golf, and fishing. Lake Isabella offers boating and water-skiing and snow skiing is only 10 miles away in the winter at Shirley Meadows, the southern-most ski area of the Sierras. The image of the healthy, suntanned, southern Californian has developed for a reason, and if you’re tired of the city life, this is the place to come. Costa Verde at
Ocean Trails Designed by the renowned Pete Dye, Ocean Trails appears on its way to a reputation as one of the world’s great ocean courses. Already eager golfers have been playing on the course’s 15 completed holes. The course is scheduled for its grand opening this fall. Director of Real Estate Sales Lilla Zuckerman notes that Costa Verde is another example of the luxury home market’s refusal to be affected by the stock market’s gyrations. “The market fluctuations don’t affect it,” she says. “In fact, luxury real estate is seen as a more solid investment than stocks.” The oceanfront homesites at Costa Verde at Ocean Trails represent a rare opportunity to purchase coastline real estate. The first phase features 36 lots with prices ranging from $1 million to $2.5 million. Amenities include the early-California-style clubhouse which features sweeping ocean views extending to Catalina Island. In addition to the ocean vistas you will see from your homesite, you’ll also overlook the golf course and be able to use the hiking and biking trails which meander around the property, through the golf course, along the bluff tops and down to the beaches. Furthermore, 80 acres have been restored to its native habitat. Zuckerman also notes that these oceanfront lots, which are reserved for custom-built homes, have no restrictions. If you have a vision for a dream home overlooking the ocean, you can bring it to life at Ocean Trails. Making the community even more attractive is its closeness to Los Angeles. Beverly Hills is only 45 minutes away and the airport is less than an hour. Pauma Valley Country Club Located at the foot of the Palomar Mountains in northern San Diego County, Pauma Valley was developed in 1961 with the completion of the Trent Jones course. It features a 24-hour, gate guarded entrance, a gracious clubhouse, attractive guest rooms, tennis courts, a swimming pool and a 2,800-foot private airstrip at 740-foot elevation. In general, condominiums at the club range from the $200,000s to more than $2 million. Home ownership does not guarantee or include club memberships, points out Smith. She currently has two lots for sale, one of which has 6.7 acres and golf course frontage. The club is surrounded by lush groves of Valencia orange trees and avocados managed by second- and third-generation descendants of the original growers. Many locals call this valley and its adjacent hills “the favored land,” and it is an area that is unlikely to ever see rapid growth thanks to severe county restrictions on the subdivision of land. The peaceful repose you feel at Pauma Valley country club is a key reason for both its popularity and its closely guarded privacy. Sherwood Country Club Real estate opportunities at Sherwood rival the best anywhere in the world. The Classics at Sherwood, for example, are estate and fairway homes on the Jack Nicklaus Signature Golf Course that currently sell from $3,275,000 and higher. The Bridges at Rancho Santa Fe Many of the homesites have golf course frontage, range from one-half to three acres and are priced from the mid-$600,000s to more than $1 million. Homes within the gates range from $2 million to more than $4 million. The 18-hole, par-71 course has five sets of tees and plays to almost 6,900 yards from the tips. Golf memberships are equity and are currently $215,000. Monthly dues are approximately $675 with total membership limited to just 350. The Bridges at Rancho Santa Fe course is ranked No.
20 in the state by Golf Digest, a strong showing when you consider that every one
of the Golden State’s Top 10 courses are ranked among Golf Digest’s “America’s 100 Greatest Courses”: Pebble Beach you’ll notice has three layouts in the top 10 and nearly all of them are in the areas covered in this report. If you want great golf and the best of the California lifestyle, it’s all right here—you can even look it up. David Lott is Editor and Publisher of GolfCourseHome.net.
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