SOUTH CAROLINA
Gary Player's new golf course and golf performance center are the centerpieces of a new residential community, The Cliffs at Mountain Park in Travelers Rest in upstate South Carolina (http://www.cliffscommunities.com). An elite housing multiplex, the Gary Player Estates is also in the planning stages here, and the Gary Player Group will be moving its American headquarters from Florida to Mountain Park. Player, himself, plans to make his North American home here, too.
Surrounded by a million acres of state parks and national forests, initial lots released at Mountain Park sold from the high $300,000s to over $1,200,000. Homeowners enjoy an extensive trail system, an organic farm and a commercial village, and, they are accorded access to all of the private facilities of five residential developments within The Cliffs Communities, which are located in the Carolina Preserve between Asheville, North Carolina and Greenville, South Carolina. Seven championship golf courses are among the amenities, including Tom Fazio's lakeside masterpiece at The Cliffs at Keowee Vineyards; the Jack Nicklaus Signature Course at The Cliffs at Walnut Cove; Ben Wright's parkland beauty at The Cliffs Valley; and the stunning Tom Jackson course on Glassy Mountain at The Cliffs at Glassy. A new Nicklaus course opens soon at The Cliffs at Keowee Falls, and a Fazio track at The Cliffs at Keowee Springs.
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 FLORIDA
Along the 12th and 13th holes of the notorious Blue Monster at Doral Golf Resort and Spa, the exclusive new complex of resort hotel condominiums called The Blue offers special access to all of Doral's five world-famous golf courses (http://www.bluedoralmiami.com). Concierge, housekeeping and private chef services, and Sport Membership for facilities at the resort and spa are among owner's privileges.
In fifteen old-Florida-style buildings in a lush, tropical garden setting, 240 condos are selling in the $500,000 to $1.5 million range. Interiors are lavishly appointed with state-of-the-art electronics, plush furnishings and sleek, contemporary kitchens and bathrooms.
The ninety-nine golf holes at Doral present a watery scene of lakes, ponds, and island greens on the Great White, the Silver, Gold and Red courses and the legendary Blue Monster. The KSL Corporation updated the entire resort and upgraded the courses in recent years, building a glitzy new clubhouse and expanding the spa, now one of the largest and most elaborate in the Southeast. Jim McLean directs the Golf Learning Center, with the help of the latest video analysis, swing computers, and motion trainers—along with a huge lighted driving range, three putting greens, and one of the largest pros shops on the planet.
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 COSTA RICA
A curve of sandy beach on warm, blue waters, 700 acres of forest and mangrove preserve and a Robert Trent Jones, Sr. course are powerful lures to Reserva Conchal on the north Pacific coast of Costa Rica in the Guanacaste Region, a 2.5 hour flight from Miami (http://www.reservaconchal.com). Condos, townhouses, and single-family homes and home sites are available at this new development, part of a master plan that includes the existing Paradisus Playa Conchal, a five-star Sol Meliá resort hotel with extensive recreational facilities.
Under 300 days a year of sunshine, 7,030-yard Garra De Leon (Lion's Paw) Golf Course wraps the resort from sea to hills and back in rolling terrain threading through a fragile eco-system of tropical vegetation, teak and Guanacaste trees, cacti, lakes and ravines. With few other golfers, you will share the habitat with howler monkeys, over a hundred species of vividly colored birdlife, and a gang of iguanas.
Of the four residential communities at Reserva Conchal, the community of La Bahia and La Reserva are established and growing, while Los Ranchos is planned as an equestrian ranch of haciendas, a second golf course and a riding club. And, Los Altos will be a secluded hilltop village.
Property owners and resort guests engage in sport fishing, sailing, diving, horseback riding, tennis, mountain biking, exploring Costa Rica's world famous nature preserves and rainforest parks, and swimming at the largest resort swimming pool in Central America.
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 CALIFORNIA
55 miles north of the Golden Gate Bridge, Mayacama is an exclusive California Wine Country retreat of 675 acres of rolling hillsides dotted with massive valley oaks (http://www.mayacama.com). The Jack Nicklaus Signature Golf Course here is so exclusive that tee times are unnecessary. Caddies lead players on walking-only expeditions through narrow valleys forested with oak, madrone and manzanita, and across streams, meadows and wetlands. Travel and Leisure Golf calls Mayacama one of the greatest residential communities in the country.
In the sprawling, stone and stucco Mediterranean-style clubhouse are the underground wine grottos and vaults, the dining and entertaining establishments, and the golf club facilities.
A limited number of single family "cottages", actually villas, are arranged with privacy in mind on 1- to 3-acre sites; and larger home sites are available. The cottage architecture is rustic Tuscan with hand-finished plaster walls, marvelous verandas, Spanish tile roofs, and vine-draped courtyards; some have guest houses and swimming pools. Home owners and members of the invitation-only wine club have private wine cellars and enjoy special wine allocations and the privilege of hobnobbing with famous winery owners. The golf and social clubs are also invitation-only. A racquet and swim club is underway.
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 IDAHO
Tamarack Resort is owned by tennis stars André Agassi and Stefanie Graf, and their partners (http://www.tamarackidaho.com). 90 miles north of Boise, Idaho, adjacent to the Frank Church Wilderness in the dramatic Payette River Mountains, the residential development and all-season destination has a Robert Trent Jones, Jr., signature course, the 7,319 yard Osprey Meadows. At an elevation of 4,800 feet, groves of aspens and Ponderosa pine, and Lake Cascade are major landscape elements, along with ponds, creeks, wetlands and waterfalls, and a hundred bunkers. The high-tech Jack Nicklaus Academy of Golf at Tamarack is open, and a second championship course is planned.
Also in the works are 129 residential condominiums, and chalets and homes in the village, and a new Fairmont Tamarack, a spectacular 5 star resort in two locations: Belvedere Ridge will feature 225 hotel condos, while Whitewater at mid-mountain will comprise 35 ski-in/ski-out homes.
Nearly 300 properties at Tamarack were sold in 2005, including all of the luxury condominiums at prices from $350,000 to $2.78 million. Homeowner Newt Lesh said, "I became a homeowner for... the investment opportunity and for a legacy for my children and grandchildren. My chalet at Tamarack is a launching pad for golf, skiing, hiking, mountain biking and boating."
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