Overview: Ambitious 2,300-acre mixed-use resort and residential community, located across the Intracoastal Waterway from the Barefoot Landing shopping and entertainment complex, features 1,000 homes and 2,600 multi-family units spaced in 23 different neighborhoods. Centex Homes is the builder. Barefoot boasts a quartet of courses designed by Greg Norman, Pete Dye, Davis Love III, and Tom Fazio. All four opened in 2000.

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Selling points: Myrtle Beach, the self-proclaimed Golf Capital of America, is a lively beachfront town where the language of golf is understood and spoken by everyone. Planned amenities at Barefoot include a Charleston-style Town Center with brick sidewalks, open-air cafes, and retail stores. Also planned is a 190-slip deepwater marina and dry dock facility, equestrian center, resort hotel with spa and conference facilities, access to a private beach club, and specialty retail shops.

Berkeley Hall ($$$)
Bluffton, SC
888-817-8458
www.berkeleyhallsc.com

Overview: New 36-hole complex near Hilton Head Island was founded by same development team that built nearby Colleton River and Belfair. This 860-acre development, set on the Okatie River, offers 36 holes of "core golf" -- two Tom Fazio-designed courses unencumbered by interior homes. A 35,000-square-foot, Jeffersonian-style clubhouse anchors the two courses and a 30-acre golf learning center.

Real estate: River, golf, lake, marsh, and/or wooded home sites are priced from $219,000 to $1.5 million. Four-bedroom Golf Cottages starting at $795,000 also available. Homesite prices include club membership.

Selling points: Community was designed for serious players who like to walk (but not through a subdivision). Caddies are available. Berkeley Hall, with home sites limited to 440, claims to be one of the lowest-density private golf club communities on the East Coast.

Ford's Colony ($-$$)
Williamsburg, VA
800-334-6033
www.fordscolony.com

Overview: Well-established 2,800-acre community, located near historic Colonial Williamsburg and convenient to Baltimore, Richmond, and Washington, D.C., features homes designed in Colonial, Georgian, Federal, and Greek Revival styles . The 54-hole country club features three rolling, wooded designs by Dan Maples.

Real estate: Lots from $79,500, courtyard/patio homes from $175,000 to $375,000, homes from $275,00.

Selling points: Homeowner association at Ford's Colony was recently ranked the No. 1 community association in the U.S. by the Community Association Institute. Half of the development's acreage is designated green space. College of William and Mary, the nation's second-oldest college (1693), is nearby, as is Colonial Williamsburg's Historic Area. The Dining Room at Ford's Colony is a AAA Five-Diamond Award winner.

Mountain Air ($$-$$$)
Burnsville, NC
800-247-7791
www.mountainaircc.com

Overview: Located 35 miles northeast of Asheville in Blue Ridge Mountains, this 1,000-acre community atop Slickrock Mountain boasts the third-highest golf course east of the Mississippi, with elevations topping out at over 4,000 feet. Residents enjoy cool summer temperatures and 100-mile panoramic views. Roughly 25 percent of the community's residents arrive by private plane.

Mountain Air, Burnsville, NC: $2 million.

Real estate: Homesites, averaging .7/acre, range from $200,000 and up for golf view to $350,000 and up for premier mountaintop view. Camps at Creekside offers two- and three-bedroom, Adirondack-style homes from $250,000 to $410,000. Red Oak Lodges at The Ridges, offers three-bedroom homes priced from $900,000.

Selling points: New Slickrock Village Green, built to resemble a traditional mountain hamlet, is community's social center. Rustic clubhouse inset with picture windows has spectacular mountain views. Nearby Asheville offers a broad range of cultural activities and performance arts. Average midday temperature in July is 78 degrees.

Westbrook at Savannah Quarters ($$-$$$)
Pooler, GA
866-778-2783
www.savannahquarters.com

Overview: Bob Cupp-designed Woodyard Golf Club, opened in 2000, is the centerpiece of a new residential community 20 minutes from Savannah that is part of the larger 2,588-acre Savannah Quarters development. A second course by Greg Norman is planned.

Real estate: Home sites range from one-third acre cottage lots priced from $80,000 to half-acre estate as well as larger homestead sites to under $200,000.

Selling points: Big draw is Savannah, one of the most interesting cities in the South. Westbrook is a 20-minute drive to Savannah International Airport and 30 minutes to Memorial Health University Hospital. Most cultural, shopping, dining, and educational opportunities are within a 30-minute drive. Beaches of Tybee Island and Hilton Head Island are within an hour's drive.

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