Longleaf Country Club

Longleaf is located between Pinehurst and Southern Pines on the site of former horse racing track, and the course actually weaves its way through remnants of the original fence around the track. The 18 hole course is on the easy end of the scale as far as Pinehurst Area courses go. Pro Tees - 6,600 yards (70.9/124). Men's Tees - 5,400 yards (65.3/112). I'm a very average golfer and I played from the Pro Tees - and it actually kept a few of the fairway bunkers out of my reach! The front and back are totally different, with the front being pretty flat as it weaves through the old race track; and the back is very hilly. Both are really picturesque. The best part was the price - $35 for 18 holes including cart after 2 p.m. It's not much more during the week, and I think only about $50 on the weekends. The course was in great shape, with very soft greens. Not crowded at all. Longleaf is a residential community with a lot of different housing options, including condos and townhouses right on the course starting out in the high $100k's to low $200k's. There's also a good selection of other housing options. The club itself is a real bargain to join, and features a nice pool, tennis courts and a croquet court. Longleaf has a very active croquet community. Finally, it is in an ideal location right along beautiful Midland Road, which connects Pinehurst and Southern Pines. Longleaf is just 2 or 3 minutes to either town, where you'll find great restaurants and cultural things to do, not to mention great shopping. Longleaf is also less than 5 minutes from the Hospital and Sandhills Community College. All in all - a perfect place for a permanent residence or even an affordable second home. For more info, give us a call at 800-788-8814. You can also visit us on the web at http://www.mcdevitttownandcountry.com If you are interested in visiting Pinehurst in person, we provide our clients with 2 nights of complimentary lodging for 2 in our golf condo in Pinehurst on a first come first serve basis. So come for a visit - you'll be pleasantly surprised.

The Carolina is a public course in Whispering Pines, NC, just 3 or 4 miles from Pinehurst. Designed by Arnold Palmer, The Carolina is a challenging course from any tee box, requiring fairly straight and accurate shots on a lot of the holes. Back tees - about 7,000 yards (73.2/142), Mid tees - 6,500 (71.6/134), Men's tees - 6,000 (69.8/122). Terrain is flat to slightly hilly. Greens are tough and protected by hazards on a lot of holes. This is a great course even if you are an average golfer like me, but unlike a lot of other Pinehurst area courses, balls hit into the woods are probably gone for good on most holes. Hit the clubs that you hit the straightest. Rates are very reasonable. I played last Sunday afternoon for $45 including cart, and the fee is only $25 on weekdays after 4 o'clock. I got these deals by going to the website and printing out a coupon (thecarolina.com). In high season, rates might be slightly higher, but are still among the lowest in the area. They have a pro shop and a grill - both are adequate but nothing fancy. The practice range is poor, so don't go there if all you want to do it hit some balls. The Carolina is a gated community that has just never gotten off the ground. The Developer did a great job with the entrance and the golf course, but never built a clubhouse or any other amenities. There are only about 12 houses in the community. At some point, that will change because The Carolina is convenient to just about everything - Pinehurst and Southern Pines are both only about 4 miles away. Whispering Pines itself is a great place to live. It is not a bad drive to Fort Bragg for families who want to live in the Pinehurst area and send their children to the Moore County Schools, which are great. For info about real estate or golf at The Carolina or anywhere in the Pinehurst area, give us a call toll free at 800-788-8814 or visit us on the web at http://www.mcdevitttownandcountry.com

Yesterday, I decided to go out and get in a round of golf at nearby Hyland Hills. Hyland Hills is an 18 hole course in Southern Pines, NC - one of over 40 courses within about 10 minutes of Pinehurst. There are golf front homes and condos right on the course. I showed up at about 4 thinking I would play 9 holes to get back in time to catch live coverage of the US Open. In the Pro Shop, they told me the "after 1 pm rate" was only $29 for 18 holes (cart fee included). GREAT deal for a decent course in the heart of North Carolina Golf Country. In any event, the course plays 6,300 yds from the Men's tees (rating of 69.1) and 6,900 from the back tees (71.9). Playing from the back really isn't that long because a lot of the tee shots are downhill. It's been dry here and the greens were really soft. The fairways are generally very wide and foregiving and the hazards are few and far between. The course is located on one of the highest spots around, so the views are nice and there's usually a gentle breeze (which is nice in the Summer months. You'll get your share of uphill and downhill lies because the course is very hilly. The fairways are in nice shape and generally well maintained. My favorite hole - No. 7, which is a nice straight par 5 with a slightly uphill first shot that you have to hit at least 220 yards in order to be able to see the green for your second shot, with a good approach for us average golfers. The pro shop leaves a little to be desired, but the staff is great. Hyland Hills offers very inexpensive lodging - probably the cheapest in the area, and a restaurant with the basics. The course is about 2 miles north of Southern Pines, and is the closest one to horse country. It's also pretty close to Fort Bragg - 30 to minutes away. For tee times, call 910-692-3752, although I have never found it to be very crowded. Oh, there's also a very basic practice range. If you are looking to relocate to golf country here in NC, there's no better value for your money than you'll find in the Pinehurst areas. Give us a call at 800-788-8814 or check us out on the web at http://www.mcdevitttownandcountry.com If you are looking for golf game, you can always e-mail me at noel.mcdevitt@sothebysrealty.com

The Sandhills Youth Soccer League, based in Southern Pines NC, is an extraordinary organization with the obvious mission to organize and promote youth soccer in Southern Pines, Pinehurst and the surrounding area for children from ages 4 -18. League play is conducted in three different competition levels based on skill and commitment - Recreation, Challenge and Classic. In addition to league play, SYSL also organizes tournaments and camps for players as well as coaches and referees. For information about registering your young players or about serving as a referee or coach, contact the Leauge Office at 910-693-0662 or gosysl.com. The SYSL is the kind of league that you'd ordinarily find in a much larger area, and it is run by folks with an incredible amount of soccer experience. Moreover, the Town of Southern Pines has been very supportive, most notably through the construction of a state of the art Youth Soccer Complex in a convenient and central location. For info about Southern Pines in general and real estate in particular, give us a call at 800-788-8814 or visit us on the web to request an area info packet: http://www.mcdevitttownandcountry.com

Pinehurst NC is a hidden gem as a retirement desitination according to an article yesterday by AOL (May 27, 2008). For those of us who live here, we've known it for years! Pinehurst is an incredible place for "retirees" who want to live an active lifestyle. In addition to golf, every day reveals another thing to do in the area. Best of all, Pinehurst is a great value when it comes to real estate. Home prices start around $200,000 and go all the way up over $3 Million. Our clients who have relocated from all over the country tell us that you can get 2 to 3 times more for your money in Pinehurst than you can in other places. Pinehurst is only about 60 miles from the Raleigh, NC area, the RDU Int'l Airport and the UNC and Duke hospitals. However, most of us don't make the drive very often. Pinehurst and the adjoining town of Southern Pines offer hundreds of restaurants, great shopping and an incredible major regional hospital that employs over 4,000 people and serves about a dozen counties. Add the great location (2 hours from the beach and 3 hours from the mountains), wonderful weather and the best neighbors, Pinehurst is worth consideration - we promise you'll be surpirsed if you have never made the trip. For more info and a hefty packet of area info, inlcuding a free area DVD, just give us a call at 800-788-8814 or visit us on the web at http://www.mcdevitttownandcountry.com

It is a great time to buy a lot in Pinehurst NC, especially one that carries with it a transferrable membership to the Pinehurst Country Club. If you are not familiar with Pinehurst, it is the home of the famed Pinehurst golf resort. Pinehurst has 8 courses in all, and 6 of them come with the Pinehurst membership - including Pinehurst No. 2, where the US Open was played in 1999, 2005 and will be played again in 2014. The bottom line is that a membership at Pinehurst rivals a membership at a premium club anywhere in the world. Memberships are available to landowners in Pinehurst - and some of the lots in Pinehurst carry with them a "transferrable membership". That means that the owner of the lot, at the time of purchase, may join the Pinehurst CC for a transfer fee of $12,000 with no further initiation fees. Buying a lot in Pinehurst, therefore, is a great investment if you are a golf enthusiast whether you live in Pinehurst or not. Moreover, if you plan to move to Pinehurst one day, you'll have a lot ready for your new house. The best news is that a Pinehurst Membership lot is a solid investment - and year in and year out, that's proven true. For example, Pinehurst Membership lots sold for an average of $33,000 in 2005, $35,000 in 2006, $50,000 in 2007, and $51,000 in 2008 so far. You hear nightmares about the real estate market all over the country. However, Pinehurst is still a solid investment. You won't get rich flipping real estate here, but you aren't likely to lose. Why? - Value and demand. A Pinehurst Membership lot stayed on the market for about 97 days in 2007. In 2008, the average is down to 86 days - that's from the time a lot is listed until the day it closes. Prices up slightly combined with the ability to sell more quickly than last year - that's a sign of a healthy market. The last good reason to buy a Pinehust lot is that they are likely to surge in price when the US real estate market gets going again, which it will. At the average pricepoint, a Pinehurst Membership lot is a great investment - one that will hold its value and one that you can actually use! For more info about lots in Pinehurst, call us at 800-788-8814 or visit McDevitt Sotheby's International Realty on the web at: http://www.mcdevitttownandcountry.com

Pinehurst and Southern Pines have of course played host to numerous Mens' and Womens' US Open Golf Championships over the last decade, but if you live in Pinehurst, you can make the short drive over to Charlotte every year to enjoy the Wachovia Championship. It's a favorite among tour players and it is a great chance to see the world's very best players each year since there's only a US Open (either Men's or Women's) every 3 or 4 years. Charlotte is one of the up and coming cities in the country if you prefer a larger (and getting bigger) city. If you prefer the quality of life of a small southern town combined with the sophistication of a larger city, come to Pinehurst and Southern Pines for a visit. It's in the heart of NC golf country, with great real estate values, perfect weather and of course some of the best golf in the world. For more information, give us a call at 800-788-8814 or visit us at: http://www.mcdevitttownandcountry.com

Looking for an alternative to living right beside Fort Bragg? Consider Southern Pines, a quaint and very sophisticated town only about 30 minutes from Base. Great restaurants, nightlife and opportunities to meet a lot of cool people. Seeing is believing - just come over for a visit. For more area info, call our office at 800-788-8814 for a relocation guide and tons of other info. Or, go to http://www.mcdevitttownandcountry.com

North Carolina boasts low real estate taxes in the country - and for the quality of life in NC, the value you get for your real estate tax dollar is extremely high. For example, a house that was built in 2006 in Pinehurst in a very nice community on a small lake sold recently for $580,000. The annual taxes for that property in 2088 will be about $4,600. The house has about 4,300 square feet. Here's another example - a house that sold in Southern Pines in an older, well establised neighborhood in Southern Pines recently sold for $275,000. The taxes for that house in 2008 will be approximately $2,550; and the house was a little over 2,000 square feet. These are approximate numbers, but they are pretty close. For more detailed info about taxes in our area, go to http://www.mcdevitttownandcountry.com/info/realestate-tax.html

The figures listed above inlcude all municipal and county taxes. I am sure that there are places with slightly lower taxes, but these are surely on the low end. Better yet, the quality of life, especially in the Moore County communities of Pinehurst, Southern Pines, Aberdeen, Carthage, Cameron, Seven Lakes, Whispering Pines, etc. Just an hour South of the Raleigh Durham Chapel Hill area, Moore County is a great place for families or retirees.