4 Top Golf Course Towns Where the Buying is Good for 2015-2016

Property Investments with golf course homes are just as popular ever. They’re often priced less than homes closer to other great attractions, like the beach or the sea, and so long as the golf club stays healthy, they’re still generally a smart place to buy. There is a class of investors, notably those who play golf, who won’t look anywhere else. But that said, many homeowners next to the golf course have never wielded a club in their lives. They’ll still tell you they bought the right home.

As real estate investments go, any home will present pluses and minuses. To really evaluate them, of course, you should speak with a qualified agent, with your friends, family and everyone else you rely on. And if you like what you see with the general picture of golf course real estate, then you should get to know Palm Springs, California and some of the surrounding communities. There are few places in the country with the wealth of golf clubs and country clubs, and few that so reliably present returns both in terms of re-sales and for solid rental income.  

Palm Desert California Golf Properties

With 36 golf courses in Palm Desert, nearly every home in the city brushes up next to a golf course. But as one of the strongest growing cities in California in the past ten years, it’s also been a steady and reliable performer, for investors and for the many new residents now calling Palm Desert home, including lots of folks from Canada. Like the rest of the Coachella Valley area, there are condominiums, plenty that are free standing (detached) and just about every variety of home will come on to the market. As it’s also a super-popular second and vacation home market, homes are traded with more frequency than lots of “staying put” communities. The city is also home to 14 city parks, and these too keep homeowners happy and the entire city vibrant with commerce, community activities and the excitement of being filled with relatively recent new settlers.  

Rancho Mirage California Golf Homes

Clocking in with just 15 golf clubs and courses, Rancho Mirage is a very different kettle of fish. It’s the same valley (the Coachella Valley) but Rancho Mirage is a bit more upscale, a little more established and a lot more resort-oriented. Although ongoing rumors that President Barack Obama might spend his retirement with a home in the area have proven stubbornly unfounded, the idea clings on. That’s in part because Rancho Mirage residents are proud of the classy old-style California desert living for which the city is well-known. While real estate development has remained strong, it’s not as intrusive and never-ending as in some younger communities. That’s not to say that Rancho Mirage is stodgy and old. It’s more that the style is classic, proven and a bit more timeless.

Cathedral City Golf Course Homes

With another ten golf courses, in the greater Palm Springs area, Cathedral City might seem like the runt of the litter. But look at it this way: Cathedral City is the most centrally located and put you within easy driving distance of almost a hundred different courses or country clubs. Also one of the oldest outposts in the valley Cathedral City has some of the most varied real estate. So if you’re not looking for a ranch house backing onto a golf course, but still would like to play, Cathedral City is a good bet. There’s also, at times a greater price range with some really affordable homes coming onto California’s only recently recovered housing market. Cathedral City is very much its own place. It’s not Palm Springs or one of the much younger communities in the valley, but rather it’s a sometimes very traditional Southern California community. Whether you’re relocating, or thinking of investing, it is still a very solid foundation in a valley where sweeping change is almost equally traditional.

Palm Springs California Golf Course Homes

While it’s clearly the jewel in the crown of the entire Coachella Valley, Palm Springs golf courses count but ten on the PGA website. But with all that fame, prices are considerably higher although what you’re getting may be considerably more too. Palm Springs golf course real estate can still vary widely. Not every course is the same, after all. But like much of California, Palm Springs deals with its fame and its notoriety with an air of calm assuredness and stoic determination. Entering into the real estate market, as a second homeowner, or as investor just requires having an expert on your side.

As the regulations and prospects for any of the above communities are going to vary – nearly as much as potential investors – it’s important to speak at length and with complete liberty about your own investment or home-ownership goals. We’ll be happy to start that conversation with you and let it carry us wherever you want to go. There’s no better valley for golf and golf-home ownership than this one.  

Archive Posts

There are plenty of posts on Amateur Golfer beyond the first few pages. So check out some of the links, and the archives, below.

The RZN Golf Balls

The RZN is Nike's latest golf ball which is boasting a revolutionary design. The ball's Speedlock core, which harnesses more energy, is said to give it a notable advantage when it comes to ball spin and distance. One of Nike's directors said of the ball... 

The Highest Ranked U.K. Golf Courses

The United Kingdom has a variety of great courses in Scotland, England, N Ireland and Wales. Golf Digest have fairly regular rankings, among which are the top 100 golf courses beyond the United States. The top 10 of their rankings is dominated by the U.K. golf courses. These are the five highest ranked Golf Digest U.K. golf courses...

Great Golf Travel Websites

There are a variety of great golf resorts in the United States and Europe. Golf resorts such as Pebble Beach Resort and Pinehurst have top-class golf courses which have hosted Major championships. As such, there are also a number of great online resources...

Poppy Hill Golf Course

Among the most anticipated golf course reopenings of the year is scheduled for 4 April. Then the newly renovated Poppy Hill golf course, at Pebble Beach, will reopen. Trent Jones returned to the golf course to give it something of a revamp...

Island Golf Holes 

You won't find many island green golf holes. However, there are a few golf courses that include holes with greens surrounded by water. These are a few of the more notable island green holes that your ball will have to land on to stay in play...

How to Speed up Your Golf Rounds

When the sun is shining, golfers flock to golf courses. As such, queues can then emerge at the tees. If that happens during your round, you should maintain a good pace on a busy golf course to ensure that play is not held up. Here are a few suggestions.

Do not Linger on the Green

When you have holed the ball, do not linger on the green. Do not remain on the green to fill out your scorecards and put clubs back in the bag. You should put the flag back in the hole as soon as possible, and then vacate the green. Fill out the scorecard and put your club back in bag when you're at the next tee.

Searching for Balls

You must not spend any longer than five minutes searching for a ball. That's stated within the R&A book. If you can't find your ball after five minutes, drop another one to resume play. Don't search the ball at all if it lands somewhere where you probably won't be able to find it in five minutes.

Play Provisional Balls

If your tee shot might have landed the ball somewhere where you might not find it, you should play a provisional ball. A provisional ball is a second shot from off the tee. If you cannot find your original ball, you can then resume play from the position the second ball landed at. This will save you having to go back to the tee after searching for a ball. If you do find your original ball, don't include the provisional shot on your scorecard.

Don't Always Play to the Rulebook

If you're not playing in a golf tournament, don't always stick to the rulebook. For example, if your ball landed in an unplayable like, you would have to drop it two club heads back from the point it landed. However, if you drop the ball in a more convenient location, on a better lie, than two club heads back your next shot will probably come off better. That could save quite a bit of time. 

Those suggestions should speed your golf rounds up a little bit. If you're still holding up play, you might as well stand aside for the group behind to play through.

The Quarry at La Quinta Golf Course Video

The Quarry at La Quinta is a golf course built on the remnants of a gravel quarry. It is set alongside the Santa Rosa Mountains, and includes plenty of untrimmed palm trees. The 7,083-yard golf course is ranked among the greatest in the USA. Check out the Quarry at La Quinta Golf Course below:

Vice Golf Balls

Vice Golf have launched a new range of golf balls. They are the Vice Tour, Vice Drive and Vice Pro series of golf balls. These are superbly packaged golf balls with great logos, and each ball also includes a putting line on it.

For a low compression golf ball you should check out Vice Drive. This ball has been primarily designed to optimize distance. Consequently, it's a two-piece golf ball with long run/roll.

The Vice Tour is a 3-piece golf ball. It provides good distance off the tee as well as decent spin. Overall, it is a mid-range golf ball. Check out the Vice Tour video below.

The Vice Pro and Pro Neon are the same golf balls, except one is white and the other is yellow. They are three-piece, urethane covered golf balls that have great durability. The video below provides some further details about the ball.

The new Vice golf balls series shows some innovation. You can find further details at this website: http://www.vicegolf.com/uk/?forceLang.

Golf Club Selection for Chip Shots

Chips shots can be very useful shots in or around the green, or even to lay the ball up onto a better lie. Likewise, they are flexible enough not necessarily to be limited to the use of one or two clubs.

The 7-iron is a golf club that is often used for chipping. This is perhaps unsurprising, for it strikes a good balance of possessing a reasonable amount of loft; while also giving reasonable ball roll. As such, it might be ideal for for a standard chip shot onto the green from 20-30 yards.

At any rate, however, the 7-iron will not always be ideal to use. Let us say you find yourself more like 10-15 yards within the flag, or even less, without being on the green itself. Then you might find yourself parked up close to the collar but not quite on it. Consequently, a 7-iron would not be a suitable club to chip with here.

Wedge clubs, like the sand wedge, are best to use under such circumstances. They have greater loft and minimize roll to ensure the ball will not go so far and will stop on the green fairly swiftly. At any rate, you could even just try putting the ball onto the green if the fairway is reasonably smooth. A long putt from 10-15 yards out will travel along the ground throughout, and could be just as effective.

To chip the ball onto a green from slightly longer distance, consider using a longer iron. Let us say you are about 30-35 yards from the flag. A 6-iron will provide a good deal more roll towards the flag stick than a pitching wedge, and the chip will have less loft and greater accuracy. Ultimately, that roll of the ball is what will give the distance. Remember that you can probably chip a ball anywhere between 50 -70  yards on a golf course.

Chipping out of longer grass will require shorter club selection. This is because you will need their loft to be able to chip through the longer grass. As such, the wedges can be the most effective clubs to use when in longer grass around the fairways and greens. A 9-iron might also give you enough loft to make a chip out of the rough.

A wet or dry golf course might also require different use of clubs. On wet grass the ball will not roll as far, and so you might want to pick a slightly lower iron than usual. In dryer conditions it will roll further, and so moving up to a higher iron will reduce that.

Ultimately, there is some flexibility for club selection with the chip shot. Do not to limit yourself to just one or two clubs for chip shots, and take distance and conditions into account when on the course.

Oak Hill (East) Golf Course Video

Oak Hill's East is ranked among the top golf courses in the USA. This is a golf course that expands 7,145 yards. It has hosted myriad golf championships such as the U.S. Open, PGA Championship and Ryder Cup. This video gives you an overview of the golf course's 18 holes.