What Makes Golf Course Living Popular is 2023

Whether you are looking for convenience, investment, or amenities; golf course community living has something to offer for everyone.

 

The rise in working from home has brought a new demographic into golf course communities. Golf course living is no longer just for retirees or networking businessmen. Covid has changed  the workplace. Young couples who are able to work from home are now trading traditional work spaces and long commutes for a round of golf in their own backyard. Living on or near the course allows for a quick couple of holes during the workday.

 

Baby Boomers have made an impact on retirement in the last few years. It’s only natural to want to leave the hustle and bustle of city life behind and look for a new home where you can play golf whenever you want.

 

Many golf course communities are nestled within developed areas. You can keep beautiful landscapes and private residential life in check and still enjoy incredible shopping, entertainment, and fine cuisine within a stone’s throw from home.

 

Golf course living comes with many other amenities besides golf. You don’t even have to play golf to enjoy having exposure to it. Other amenities include clubs, restaurants, fitness, pools and various social organizations.

 

In general, golf homes hold their value and typically sell at 3-4 times higher than average single- family homes. Even in periods of economic downturns, golf homes stabilize more quickly than others. Homes on a golf course are an excellent financial, real estate investment for potential buyers when it comes to reselling if the community itself is stable and thriving.

The Importance of Junior Golf

Tellico Village has been offering Junior Golf Camp for over 25 years. Adam Jacob, Head Golf Professional at Toqua Golf Club, has experienced 18 summers of camp here in the Village. Jacob says that Junior Camp is one of his favorite weeks of the year, as he welcomes the change of pace and the excitement the kids bring. Not only is it a week of learning and fun, it’s also a week of bonding with grandparents and making memories. His favorite thing about camp is seeing the repeat juniors coming back year after year and seeing the improvements they have made. Josh Phillips is one of those kids that grew up coming to camp in the summertime and spending time with his grandparents Keith and Annette Schmidt. Josh came to his first camp when he was just 7 years old.

Josh and his family moved from Franklin, Tennessee to New Hampshire last year. While he is still adjusting to the courses throughout New Hampshire, he is also settling in to at-home learning due to the pandemic. However, this superstar is taking it all in stride. The Oyster River High School sophomore recently finished a near-perfect debut season. Here’s a list of his recent accomplishments:

  • NHIAA 2020 Division II Individual State Golf Champion.
  • Oyster River – 2020 Division II State Runner UP – highest finish in school history
  • NHIAA 2020 1st Team Unanimous All State Selection – Boys Golf
  • Nominated for Seacoast HS Male Athlete of the Year

Phillips hopes to make some noise in tournaments like the Seacoast Am and New Hampshire Amateur in 2021. Josh and his family spent most of March in Tellico Village and Josh played in the Sneds Elite Series Tour in Cleveland, Tennessee. Josh and his father, Brett Phillips, have been enjoying the beautiful courses of Tellico Village and the mild winter weather. Josh has made some wonderful memories here over the years and his grandparents are very proud of his accomplishments. We look forward to hearing more great things about Josh and all those junior golfers that we have been blessed to have with us over the years. Tellico Village is very involved with junior golf in its efforts to grow the game. We serve as home to one middle school program, as well as four high school teams. Tellico Village also hosts several local and statewide tournament events.

Bike Riding in Tellico Village

The Tellico Village Recreation Department in Loudon, TN rolled out new activities and amenities for the community to enjoy in 2021.

Tellico Village Recreation Director Simon Bradbury announced on December 22, 2020 that a new bike trail system will be featured at all three Tellico Village golf courses. The courses include Tanasi Golf Club, Toqua Golf Club and The Links at Kahite. The courses offer gentle rolling hills, wooded areas, lush greens and lakefront views of Tellico Lake.

“People have been wanting places to bike in the Village for a long time,” Bradbury said. “As new people are coming in, they’re asking, ‘Where can I go biking?’” Bradbury, thinking outside the box for new ways to utilize amenities we already have, realized that we’ve got some paved trails already in existence. Bradbury went to Chris Sykes, Tellico Village Director of Golf, and the two brainstormed the idea.

The trails consist of cart paths and roads on each golf course. Sykes believes this is a prime opportunity to implement something many Villagers living around the courses have wanted for years. Tellico Village is an active 55+ community in Loudon, TN, and an active lifestyle is a common thing here. This is a perfect solution to give the people what they are asking for, utilize space and resources and keep people safe and healthy.

“There’s been a desire for more parkland-type areas within Tellico Village. Villagers have always used the courses before and after golf hours, but we’ve added some parameters for the parkland activity. People routinely walk their dogs, exercise or run the golf courses ahead of play or in the evening after play. We devised a plan of action for folks to be able to do that and to do it as safely as possible.”

Each bike tour lasts an hour and is guided by Sykes, Bradbury or another staff member.

It was also announced that a new mountain biking group will meet on the Tellico Village Wellness Center’s new off-road biking trails.

“It has worked out beautifully, since recreational outdoor activities has sky-rocketed due to COVID,” Sykes said.

If you’re looking to retire in East Tennessee in a lakefront community, you might want to schedule a Discovery Package and see for yourself why Villagers say “There’s no need to keep looking: it’s everything I dreamed it would be.”

 

Spotlight On Toqua Golf Course

Toqua Golf Course, Clubhouse & Pavilion opened in 1987 and extensively renovated in 2008. The Toqua Course features a classic design built into an exquisite natural setting. There are several holes playing alongside Tellico Lake and others winding through hills and valleys.

Toqua is a beautiful golf course cut through a forest on Tellico Lake. You have everything from tree-lined holes to a links setting on the lake. The genius of the course is that it is playable for all levels of golfers, whether you are a scratch golfer or beginner. It is a championship level golf course that approaches 7,000 yards from the tips and can play as short as 4,200 yards from the “play it forward” tees. Toqua was nominated to Golf Digest as the best new course in 1987.

The Toqua Course offers a driving range, short-game practice area, and practice putting green. Its clubhouse restaurant is popular for casual dining and provides a spacious veranda for post play food and refreshments. In 2014, the 3,024 sq. ft. Toqua Pavilion was opened and is used for tournaments, banquets, and other large gatherings and events.

“Tell’em you’re living life-one tee at a time.”