Second homes: Come to Pinehurst for the golf, stay for the lifestyle

— -- Imagine Scotland's St. Andrews, the birthplace of golf, with much better weather and Southern hospitality, and you have Pinehurst, the nation's oldest golf vacation destination. The area's nickname, the "Home of American Golf," is no hyperbole. When Massachusetts visionary James Walker Tufts developed Pinehurst in 1895 as a health retreat full of outdoor activities, it became quite literally the nation's first golf resort.

Today there are eight golf courses at the resort, plus dozens more in the area, including the adjacent villages of Southern Pines and Aberdeen. True to Tufts' active lifestyle vision, Pinehurst also boasts a championship tennis center, tournament croquet facilities, and a 200-acre lake complete with marina and beach club.

"Initially it is the golf that draws them, but we also get a lot of tennis players," says Joanne Padgett, broker in charge of Pinehurst Resort Realty, adding that the town is popular with buyers from the Northeast, California and Florida. "Once they get here, they get interested in croquet, lawn bowling and boating."

Pinehurst has been ranked the world's top golf resort by Travel + Leisure Golf, and the No. 2 U.S. golf town by Golf Digest. Another attraction is value: Prices are reasonable compared with other top second-home golf regions. "You can buy a one-bedroom condo for under $100,000, and homes over $2 million are very rare," Padgett says.

The resort is such an integral part of town that second-home ownership here is an unusual hybrid between a private golf club and vacation retreat, as owners share the courses, spa, restaurants and resort facilities with visiting guests. "There is a separate private clubhouse for members, and they have activities all the time," Padgett says.

Most village homeowners also get an annual unlimited membership package to seven of the resort's courses, including Number Two, where both the Men's and Women's U.S. Open will be played in 2014, for as little as $300 monthly — less than the dues at many single-course country clubs.