Where the cart path goes, who covers damage to your house.

Noise from the maintenance crew and their leaf blowers at 3 AM!

Ensuring it's not a course that I could play on! Houses are like a ball magnet when I golf.

LOL, shiltsy!

I've read that a golf course lot could increase your home value by 10-20%. On the other hand, I'm not so sure everyone actually WANTS to live on the golf course. Also, there are a few lots that I'm considering that are 30K less because they are not on the course- but I'm having hard time envisioning what more 30K will give to our budget (we have not designed anything, obviously, because we have not idea what our lot will be like).

This is so hard! There is actually so much demand for this neighborhood that they are holding a lot lottery, with families only getting 15 min to choose once their name is called. Craziness, I tell you.

i've read a lot of articles about how golf course communities are not getting enough members/money to sustain the course and the courses are falling into disrepair and destroying property values or putting huge financial burdens on owners, or the land is being sold off and developed...

Not sure if it is a problem where you live.... I absolutely would never ever live in a golf course for a number of reasons and the risk of what will happen to the course in the future is one of them.

http://www.ccfj.net/CCFJGolfCurseOwnerReliefAct.htm
http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702303703004577474563368632088
http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2014-06-26/news/os-rolling-hills-golf-club-homes-20140626_1_rolling-hills-golf-club-golf-course-casselberry-golf

"I'm not so sure everyone actually WANTS to live on the golf course."

I would think that would include the majority.

Unless you golf, why bother with the hassle, with the lack of privacy (yes, golfers come right into yards and even look in windows!), and with the additional $$ shelled out to maintain the course?

Right handed golfers will tend to slice the ball of the tee box if hit incorrectly. I would not build on the right side of any fairway. You may also consider acrylic windows.

We have friends that built on a golf course some twenty years ago , in FL, The property values have gone up and down in that time, but they love the lifestyle and have made a lot of like minded friends.

Location is no guarantee. I live square with a tee, straight out the back, and I STILL get balls in the yard. You'd think nobody was that bad at it.

Golfers aren't a problem. They're just trying to have some fun (the men all cuss and the women all cheer) and golfers and homeowners ignore each other for mutual convenience. A well trained dog would keep the golfers from looking in your windows, BTW.

There is a LOT of land to be maintained on a golf course and you'd think they'd spray everything to death, but I have never seen them spray anything even once in the last twenty years. They do noisy things like cutting tree branches during the day and you'd never know the night maintenance people were there if you weren't outside yourself. Everyone has an electric cart, and even those enormous mowers just hum.

Golf courses often carry a security insecurity. People can come into your yard at night and disappear back onto the course quietly, and all that open grass can make you neighbors with coyotes. Your dog can help there.

Our big fear is what happens if the course goes bust, but nothing is ever guaranteed. If that happens, and apartments start to sprout up, we'll just put a tall wall behind the low hedge.

And get a second dog, well trained.

Find out about the rules and covenants. Having a house on the fairway when you cannot grill or entertain (or use) your outdoors is not very enjoyable. In addition to how/when you can use your yard, also the placement of furniture, landscaping, etc.

House position in relation to fairway, tee, etc.

Pets - fences often not allowed. A large parade behind your house every weekend.

Not for me.

I'm among those who would never live on a golf course but I like privacy in my back yard - not someone wandering through looking for their lost ball. I think it would be very important to understand the financial standing of the course. My husband is a shareholder for one course and a shareholder and board member for another. Golf is falling on hard times. Interest in the sport in general is waning and as mentioned above some courses are going out of business and being sold for other purposes. That would greatly concern me.

I also live on a golf course. We are golfers and this was our dream. We LOVE it. We live on the #1 fairway, about 60 yards down-fairway from the men's tee box. So we don't really get a high number of balls in our yard because most players hit the ball a lot further.

Yes, there are some negatives. Golf balls and golfers in your yard, a bit of noise, etc. But, for us, the benefits FAR outweigh the negatives. Not the least of which is our view down the course - all that beautifully mowed, trimmed grass that I don't have to take care of!

Our worst time is during a few big tournaments when there's a lot of extra players/carts/balls/etc. And sometimes on the second day of the tournament they get carried away with their liquid refreshments. But for the most part, golfers are friendly and respectful of those who live adjacent to the course.

The people we bought our house from had a couple of little (4 and 6 years old) kids, and they had some concerns about them getting hit by balls. To my knowledge, they never were, but they built a big new screened-in back porch for the kids to play on, out of range of flying balls. And I really like the porch!

One more thing - our course is a private course, not public. Therefore, we know almost EVERYBODY who plays here, and they know us.

edited to add: And we never have to buy golf balls! we have an unlimited supply.

This post was edited by littlebug5 on Wed, Feb 4, 15 at 21:17

Thank you so much everyone for your feedback. My husband is an avid golfer, so when the chance arose to build in a young, family friendly, affluent community, I was ready to pounce. I thought maybe, if we live in a golf course community, then we can all benefit from the insane amount of hours required of this hobby; essentially, if you can't beat them, join them!

Thanks again and best of luck on your builds!

Ask about the increase in homeowner's insurance for the increased damage to the home as well as the constant trespassers onto your property. You're living in a condo, but just don't know it. There is no concept of private property when a golfer is searcing for a lost ball!

I once dated a guy who lived next door to a golf course. This was in metro Boston - so it was just a run of the mill condo on a busy street that happened to be adjacent to a golf course. Wow - I never realized how loud it was - the sound of a golf club hitting a golf ball. We could not leave the windows open in the spring/summer lest we be awoken at 6:00 AM on a Saturday morning by the whack of golf balls.

Our homeowner's insurance is no more expensive because we live on a golf course. I do not view golfers looking for balls as "trespassers." The out of bounds is clearly delineated, so golfers can come into the yard to get a ball, but they cannot play it out of the yard. .

Yes, from time to time, someone is in the backyard looking for his ball. Because it is a country club course and because we are members, it is often someone I know. And no one is ever on our course before 8. Even the maintenance guys aren't out before 7.

Maybe it is because I come from a golfing family going all the way back to great uncles, it simply doesn't bother me. Maybe if I weren't a golfer married to a golfer, and the mother of a collegiate golfer, I wouldn't be as happy to live on a golf course. But I LIKE it.

Lizzie, get your kids involved in golf. DD got her first real clubs at 6, just a driver, a putter, and an iron. If you live on a course, your DH can take the kiddies out to play a hole or 2 in the backyard in the late afternoon after the course is closed.

My in-laws' house in Florida is on a course. They love it (he plays twice a day, she plays once every two days). Their backyard is just their lanai so there is no worry of getting hit by a ball in the yard. No restrictions on BBQ or anything like that. They have a golf cart they use to go down to the clubhouse.

I would choose one a little farther from the cart path. Personally I'm not a golfer or much of a people watcher, so I'd have chosen a pondview house myself instead. But they like watching the golfers come by. They chose a place behind a little rise and have fairly heavy landscaping (bushes and stuff) outside of the lanai. They are on a street that abuts a fairly narrow part of the course...I might choose a wider part personally.

The course is very popular and I've never really noticed the noise coming from it as being detrimental. In FL we sleep with the window closed anyway, I guess.

This post was edited by robotropolis on Thu, Feb 5, 15 at 9:01

And no one is ever on our course before 8. Even the maintenance guys aren't out before 7.

Wow, that is late. My husband was out on the course at 8:30 this morning, and it is Feb. He starts much earlier in the summer when the sun comes up earlier.

This is one of those personality things - what works well for one person won't work well for another. It's just like the HOA issue - some people love them, some people hate them.

My spouse is on the golf course at 6 am in the summer. And yes, the whack of a club hitting a golf ball can be pretty darn loud at 6 am in the morning. ;) But - so can your neighbor who decides to mow his lawn at the crack of dawn, or the next door kids playing basketball, or the idiots up the road who let their dog bark 24/7.

I've lived on a couple golf courses, and the biggest negative for me was the lack of privacy. Golfers were frequently walking through or onto our yard. I didn't like the balls hitting the house either. That said, the view sure was pretty. Right now we live on Golf View Rd, but nestled into the woods and not directly on the golf course. Much better. BTW, neither of us are golfers.

"And no one is ever on our course before 8. Even the maintenance guys aren't out before 7."

Hub worked a private golf course for decades and they started up the machines at 4am. During and preceding tournaments they worked 24/7.

We live in a rural golf course community with no limitations in our covenants for grilling, entertaining, etc. Cart paths are clearly identified. Our home is across from the course. The interior lot was chosen because we wanted a walkout basement and privacy in the backyard.

Real estate taxes are less for my 3300 sq ft house than a 2000 sq ft house at the country club comparable homes. Our homeowners insurance is not increased, nor my neighbors based on past conversations.

The course is privately owned by two families and has been open for 40+ years. We are not assessed any fees for the course and pay for a membership. It is open to the public and we have had no serious issues. Sometimes golfers get rowdy or are disrespectful to the greens/tees, but it always gets back to the clubhouse.

We love living on the course. Hubby plays every day after work and twice a day on weekends. Our kids love the setting and I have a 3 year-old grandson that is going to be a golfer. Our one golf cart is now two. One for us and one for the kids.

Golf course living is not for everyone. Your course may be in a more affluent area with a lottery for lots. Best of luck in your decision making.

There's a private country club with golf course in my town. I've never lived on it but have friends who do or did.

I'd ask about what other activities take place, if any. For example the one near me hosts a fireworks display every 4th of July. You have to be a member to watch from the club, but people who live near the course can watch from their yards. (pro)

They do skeet shooting on winter weekends. I can hear it a bit from my house, which is at least a half mile away. (con, but not too bad)

If you have kids, it might offer potential jobs. (pro) My daughter is a life guard and my son caddies there over the summer. (Although with a membership fee well into six figures you'd think some people might tip better!)

The one here has a high fence all around the property so no one would go into anyone's yard to look for a ball. (Although I'm sure the fence is more to keep non-members off the course!)

cearb, I guess our guys are just lazy. :-)

In a different city, I had friends who had a standing tee time for 6 a.m., but I've never seen anyone on this course that early. We live close to the turn, so that may account for the lateness of the maintenance crew and the golfers.

A lot of people mention people walking in their yards. At our club, most people who live on the course have fences that deter people from walking into their yards and when the ball gets in their yards, it's considered gone! My mom lives on a course where the yards are larger and slightly elevated over the course so she has the added bonus of no one behind her and lots of privacy. To me that is the ideal golf course lot!

One consideration ... how mature is the landscaping?

If there's a view you like, will young trees cover it in a few years?

I lived next to the rough of a golf course. There was a 6 foot high chain link fence separating the golf course from the adjacent properties. We did get a few stray golf balls on our property, but nowhere near the house. We didn't hear any noise from the golf course. It was lovely.