Varsity Club
University-adjacent golf communities keep the school spirit alive.
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When Janice Parker and her husband Dan look out their front porch, they are reminded of their college days. A building inspired by the University of Georgia’s columned Phi Kappa Hall is only yards away from their house; the same hedges that surround the football field at Sanford Stadium have been planted on the first hole of their golf course; and their part-time home is decorated in the school’s colors: red and black.
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A University of Georgia flag flies from a terrace on a Georgia Club residence
owned by alumni Janice and Dan Parker. (Click image to enlarge.)
It is all part of the lure of the Georgia Club, a gated neighborhood near the University of Georgia in Athens—one of a handful of communities around the country billing their college-adjacent location (and college spirit) as amenities. “The university is our lake, is our ocean, is our mountain,” says Tom Valdes, director of sales for the Georgia Club.
From university golf tournaments and Easter egg hunts with the school’s gymnastics team to lectures with visiting college professors and transportation to campus events, the communities aim to give residents as much of the college experience as they desire. Developed by private companies, the communities often have a close relationship with college alumni associations.
The Parkers split their time between a home in Florida and their Georgia Club home, where they do not have to battle the traffic to attend a rousing football game. “You don’t really like to think that you’re moving back into a fraternity or sorority, but those are really the good times of our lives,” says Parker. “The spirit is all around.”
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Hole 5 of the Chancellors golf course at the Georgia Club. (Click image to enlarge.)
As is the case in most homes at the Georgia Club, the Parker house is full of school spirit. Parker found a red leather chair for the living room and a mirror shaped like the arch at the entrance to campus. Statues and pictures of the school’s bulldog mascot, Uga, can be found throughout the three-bedroom home. An artist superimposed phrases like “Go Dawgs” and school symbols in red and black on the powder room wall. When they are in town, the Georgia flag flies proudly from their terrace, and they drive a red Georgia golf cart around the neighborhood.
“We were looking for a place that would be close to the activities of the university and a lot of the people that we’ve met through the university—as well as the golf,” Parker says.
Golf is so integral to these communities that some have even built clubhouses
and courses for university teams. Golfing is why Bob Kolb, president and CEO of
the Melrose Co., based in Hilton Head Island, S.C., decided to develop the
Traditions Club at Texas A&M. Kolb says when his son, a high school golfer,
started looking at colleges, he discovered that some schools did not have golf
courses; so Kolb began selling golf course memberships to dedicated alumni. That
idea evolved into developing neighborhoods with a university theme—and
second-home buyers responded quickly.
The Honor Roll
The Georgia Club
Number of homes planned: 1,100
Prices: From the high
$300,000s to more than $1 million
Amenities: A 27-hole golf course and
clubhouse designed by Denis Griffiths, tennis complex, fitness center, swim park
and village hall with meeting space.
866.725.8100
www.thegeorgiaclub.com
The Traditions Club
Number of homes planned: 350 to 450
Prices: From
the $350,000s to the $950,000s
Amenities: An 18-hole Jack Nicklaus/Jack
Nicklaus II golf course, clubhouse, swim and tennis center, lifestyle center
with a spa and fitness and wellness programs
888.377.2582
www.traditionsclub.com
Cobblestone Park
Number of homes planned: More than 370
Prices: $60,000
to $220,000 for homesites, homes range from the $550,000s to the
$600,000s
Amenities: The 27-hole University Club of South Carolina golf
course, tennis courts, walking and biking trails, fitness facility with multiple
sport courts, a pool, sauna and meeting space.
866.333.8110
www.cobblestonesc.com
