Overview: Family-owned and operated coastal Alabama resort and golf community, located west of the Florida panhandle, offers three courses. The Woodlands, a Larry Nelson-designed layout, has lakes, marshes, and tree-lined fairways. Cypress Bend has wide fairways, rolling hills, and numerous lakes, while Cotton Creek is a brawnier test with hills, lakes, and well-positioned bunkers. Both were designed by Arnold Palmer.

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Selling points: Alabama real estate sells for a fraction of comparable property in Florida. Community is five minutes from Gulf Shore beaches and is convenient to restaurants and outlet shopping. Community amenities include a Spa & Health Institute and on-site Courtyard by Marriott.

Kelly Plantation ($$-$$$)
Destin, FL
800-837-5080

Overview: Located on Florida's Emerald Coast, this 908-acre community features a semi-private Fred Couples-Gene Bates layout flanked by bayous and nature preserves. Several holes feature scenic views of Choctawatchee Bay.

Real estate: Interior lots are priced from $80,000 to $180,000. Golf course lots are $61,000 to $280,000. Waterfront lots run from $495,000 to $1.5 million. Homes are available from $357,000 to $2 million.

Selling points: Powdery white sand beaches, water sports, excellent fishing. Plantation Club has a full array of recreational facilities. Equestrian center offers boarding, riding ring, lessons. Destin area has over 100 restaurants, many of them specializing in fresh Gulf seafood. Region boasts an average of 343 days of sunshine per year.

Mission Inn's Las Colinas ($-$$$)
Howey-in-the-Hills, FL
800-916-9091
www.missionrealestate.com

Overview: Located 30 miles north of Orlando and Walt Disney World, the 1,000-acre Mission Inn Golf & Tennis Resort is an established golf retreat that recently decided to build a residential community around its two courses, El Campeon and Las Colinas.

Real estate: Homesites and lot packages range from $199,000 to $1 million.

Selling points: Disney World and Universal Studios are a short drive away, yet community is quiet and removed from hubbub. Fine ocean beaches are an hour's drive east. Nearby St. Johns River gives direct access to Atlantic. Rolling terrain is atypical of Florida and usually reminds East Coast folks of home.

Money Hill ($)
Abita Springs, LA
985-875-0010
www.moneyhill.com

Overview: Set in wooded, rolling hills dotted with lakes north of Lake Pontchartrain and New Orleans, this secluded community is located in an area long favored as a family vacation getaway. Ron Garl-designed golf course has elevated tees and plays around the shores of a 200-acre artesian-spring-fed lake.

Real estate: Garden homes start in the upper $170,000s. Garden villa and residential community homesites, depending on development phase and location, range from $53,000 to $115,000.

Selling points: Community is a short drive across toll causeway from New Orleans, which offers some of the nation's best restaurants and cultural events, including Mardi Gras.

PGA Village ($-$$$)
Port St. Lucie, FL
800-682-5551
www.pgavillagehomes.com

Overview: This 72-hole, 3,000-acre development 40 miles north of Palm Beach has nine distinct neighborhoods, with over half the complex dedicated to nature preserves and lakes. North Course, by Tom Fazio, is a Pinehurst-style spread. South Course, also by Fazio, evokes a Florida wilderness. Pete Dye Course is a solid layout with the designer's usual quirks.

PGA Village, Port St. Lucie, Fla.: $400,000-$500,000.

Real estate: Two-bedroom condos start at $137,000. Three- to four-bedroom courtyard/patio homes with private pools range from the $180,000s to $250,000. Two- to three-bedroom townhomes are priced from the $160,000s to $300,000s. Homes are available from $200,000 to over $700,000.

Selling points: Developed by PGA of America, development features a 35-acre, state-of-the-art learning center plus a full-service golf fitness center. Easy access to I-95, beaches, marinas, airports, shopping, and the spring training camps of the New York Mets and other major league baseball teams. Golf courses are walkable.

Tiburon ($$$)
Naples, FL
800-889-7922
golf.wcicommunities.com

Overview: Exclusive Mediterranean-themed community in Naples is centered around 27-hole Tiburon Golf Course designed by Greg Norman (a fourth nine is slated to open this month). Layout is marked by close-mown fairways, stacked sod-wall bunkers filled with tangerine-colored coquina sand, and an absence of rough. Mediterranean-themed clubhouse and new 295-room Ritz-Carlton Golf Resort overlook the courses.

Real estate: Neighborhoods include Castillo (penthouse condos from the $600,000s); Ventanas (mid-rise tower residences from the $375,000s); Escada (custom estate homes with homesites from $795,000 and homes starting at over $2 million); and Serafina (two-story villas starting at $1.5 million).

Selling points: Tiburon has been built by Watermark Communities, Inc. (WCI), a major player in Florida golf real estate. Adjoining golf course and practice center is the Rick Smith Golf Academy. Naples, located in southwest Florida at the edge of Everglades National Park, is known as one of the Golf Capitals of the World. Area beaches are excellent.

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