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ISLEWORTH GOLF & COUNTRY CLUB • 6100 PAYNE STEWART DRIVE • WINDERMERE, FL 34786 407.876.5432 •

WWW.ISLEWORTH.COM

L INKS Art on the Greens

ART

Sotheby’s scores a hole-in-one with its monumental sculpture sales at a Florida golf course.

When the Golf Course Isn’t Enough THERE’S never been anything terribly sexy about living in a golf community. Imagine cookie-cutter spec homes dotting yet another dull par 4 in Myrtle Beach, and you get the picture. Even if you like the game and are in the market for a vacation home, you may never have considered buying in one of these old-style resorts. This is a phenomenon not lost on builders, who are out to change that — and the look of golf-course living. The new breed of golf community has a strong personality with distinctive architecture; loads of amenities, many catering to families; and a real sense of place.

Bernar Venet - Indeterminate Lines

FOR FOUR MONTHS each year, an errant shot at the Isleworth Golf & Country Club in Windemere, Fla., could land in the rough, in the water, in a sand trap, or behind a million-dollar work of art. Five years ago, Stephane Connery, Sotheby’s worldwide director of private sales, followed his hunch that huge sculptures and golf courses would pair well and installed 11 large-scale works by Salvador Dalí, Auguste Rodin, and Henry Moore on the Isleworth grounds. Some of the sculptures encroached on the course, including a Moore piece that was placed between the first and 10th tees. To reach potential purchasers other than club members, Connery showcased the works in a catalog through which collectors could contact Sotheby’s to request prices and arrange sales. “Monumental sculpture had done well at auction, but it takes up a lot of real estate [at the auction house],” Connery says, recalling the genesis of the sale concept. (He defines monumental sculpture as works that are larger than life size.) “I know the owner of Isleworth well, and I discussed with him showing monumental sculpture at Isleworth. We explored the idea of doing a private sale based on that.” That first show sold seven of its 11 works, mostly to people who never saw the Florida display in person. Connery says that nearly all of the sales for the first four shows occurred through the catalog, but that Sotheby’s will arrange tours of the golf course display on request. The fifth Isleworth show, which opens on January 1 and will continue through April 15, will differ from its predecessors because it will feature the works of only one artist, contemporary French sculptor Bernar Venet.

The display will include 25 of his pieces, although not all of them will be available for purchase. Two of Venet’s large, abstract metal sculptures were included in last year’s Isleworth show. Arcs in Disorder: 3 Arcs x 5 (2003) sold about a week after the sale catalog reached collectors, and 217.5˚ Arc x 21 (2005) was purchased a couple of weeks later. “We had a good experience with him at the last show, and I was very impressed with his work,” Connery says. “I thought it would be an interesting experiment to do a single artist show with him. It’s a museum-quality retrospective. The difference is at least half the works will be for sale.” The 66-year-old Venet will include five new sculptures in this year’s show. Overall, the pieces will range in price from $160,000 to $1.2 million, though Connery does not yet know which sculptures will be off-limits. Venet has offered Sotheby’s works from an inventory of pieces that he sends to exhibitions around the world, and he needs to keep enough examples of each type to support future shows. If, for example, eight of the 10 Arc sculptures in the Sotheby’s display are purchased, then Venet likely would want to retain possession of the remaining two. “It’s not a bad thing at all that not all are for sale,” Connery says. “First there, first served.”

Sotheby’s, 212.606.7441, www.sothebys.com; Bernar Venet, www.bernarvenet.com

The new choices include log homes on a Colorado mountain, sleek modern designs in Florida, and estates managed by Ritz-Carlton in Virginia. Aside from the manicured 18 holes, there is barely anything recognizable from the typical golf club in these developments, which can come with round-trip airport transfers, concierge services (like club and dog washing), spas and stables. “The classic model of houses ringing a golf course is dying,” said John Kirk, an architect with the New York firm Cooper Robertson & Partners, who designed homes at WaterSound, a beachside golf community in the Florida panhandle. “Instead the golf course is like a big public green,” he said, adding that “people want to be able to walk to the post office or to get their morning coffee.” Vacation home buyers continue to get younger — a median age of 47 in 2006, down from 52 in 2005, according to a survey by the National Association of Realtors — as more families move in next to the retirees at golf communities. Developers have responded by offering more design options, holiday kids’ clubs and summer camps, and myriad recreational activities beyond the driving range.

Isleworth Golf & Country Club practice range

But the question is whether there are enough buyers for these new golf retreats. “The long-term demographics are favorable,” said Walter Molony, a spokesman for the National Association of Realtors. “It would not be surprising if we saw the vacation market hold its own while the rest of the market declines.” Bernard Markstein III, a senior economist with the National Association of Home Builders, concurred, saying: “The vacation buyers are still there. They might be a little more cautious, but to some extent it’s turning into a buyer’s market. It might be a good time to buy a vacation home.” As tastes change, developers are willing to try just about anything to woo the new crowd. Here are a few examples. The Mediterranean Villa The Gardens of Isleworth; Windermere, Fla.; www.isleworth.com “We kept hearing that people wanted to downsize,” Lisa Richards, president of Isleworth Realty, said of the Gardens of Isleworth’s new homes — averaging around 4,000 square feet compared with the community’s 10,000-square-foot houses. The Gardens’ 30 Italian-inspired villas, which start at $2.95 million, are built around private courtyards with features like sliding glass walls, landscaped fire pits, fireplaces, and water walls that blur the lines between indoors and out.

“We’ve lived in Isleworth for 18 years,” said Dick Smith, 78, a retired automobile manufacturing executive, of himself and his wife, Jolene, 74. “But we wanted something smaller, so we sold and bought one of the Gardens.” Among Mr. Smith’s new neighbors in the Gardens is Paula Creamer, the 21-year-old L.P.G.A. star. With Tiger Woods, Mark O’Meara and other P.G.A. players among its residents, the Isleworth development, outside Orlando, is heaven for serious golfers. “You see Tiger out there playing Annika, but they don’t bother with us,” Mr. Smith says of his weekday foursome. “It’s too much of a business for them to bother with a $5 Nassau.” Home ownership does not grant membership to the Isleworth Country Club and its difficult (142 slope) Arnold Palmer course, which is by invitation.

BY SALLIE BRADY Copyright The New York Times

But housing market jitters across Florida have caused prices in Winter Park to fall by as much as 15 per cent from their peak and inventory remains high, according to Scott Hillman, president of the Fannie Hillman Associates estate agency. At the high end, he is selling a seven-bedroom, 8,000 sq ft Georgian revival house built in 1898 and listed in the US’s National Register of Historic Places for $8.5m. It comes with a billiards room, tennis court and home theatre, as well as a boathouse on the shore of Lake Osceola. More affordable is a 3,400 sq ft lakefront home with five bedrooms built in 1965 at $1.3m.

Central Florida’s new theme

hat do Tiger Woods, Ernie Els and Annika Sorenstam have in common besides low golf handicaps and hefty bank balances?

But not everyone who lives in the 660-acre is a famous athlete. Many, such as Lawrence Wosskow, earned their entry fee in the business world.

They all live in or near Orlando, Florida, a city best-known for its Walt Disney theme park but now seen as an appealing destination for holiday and primary home buyers in the US and abroad, especially if they are interested in golf.

Best known for his 2005 takeover of the UK’s Little Chef chain of motorway restaurants, Wosskow suffered a heart attack six months after the acquisition and subsequently retreated to Isleworth to recover. “We decided that, as soon as I was able to fly, we’d spend some time here with me recuperating in the warmer weather rather than in England [and then] we started talking about whether we should move,” he recalls, speaking on a mobile phone from his boat on one of Isleworth’s seven lakes.

Aside from Woods, Els and Sorenstam, more than 100 members of the Professional Golfers’ Association live within the city’s limits and many more are scattered around the area. According to the National Golf Association, there are 97 “golf facilities” in the metropolitan area, just under 10 per cent of the total number in a state with more than any other in the US. And 56 of those are listed as golf communities – greens and fairways with houses around them. Professionals are, after all, not the only ones who want to live in a warm climate next to a course. And, thanks to the rapid decline of the dollar against most major currencies and the bursting of the Florida real estate bubble, high-end Orlando property is now more affordable, with a glut of large luxury houses available in the $1m-$3m range, says Reeta Casey, vice president of the Stockworth Realty Group. “The market has been going down over the last year to year-and-a-half and inventory is going up, so obviously you get a better deal,” she explains.

He and his wife decided to trade their holiday home for a 15,000 sq ft property on the third hole of the golf course; they’re also near the driving range, which he and his 14-year-old son routinely share with Woods.

Although he describes his house as “the nicest in the whole estate,” it’s far from the largest. That title goes to a three-yearold, 38,000 sq ft mansion, complete with basketball court, currently valued at $25m, according to Dianne Duvall of Isleworth Realty. The most expensive home on the market today is a 12,025 sq ft property listed at $11.2m. But there are smaller houses in Isleworth too. One 2,800 sq ft, three-bedroom villa is priced at $1.65m and the average cost of a home is $4.5m. At Lake Nona, which is anchored by a Tom Fazio-designed golf course, the prices are slightly lower and the architecture more understated, according toAndrew Odenbach, vice president of the community’s golf and country club. New homes with 3,000-6,000 sq ft of space tend to start at $1.2m-$1.7m. The community also tends to draw more international buyers than Isleworth. Since 2006, 27 per cent of new owners have come from countries other than the US and five of the last 19 purchases were by Britons.

“We bought it at very much the right price,” says Wosskow, who still has restaurant holdings and an ice-cream company in the UK. “One of the rooms alone has had a million dollars spent on it – 22ft-high ceilings “The way I see things working is that and gold leaf. If I needed to sell it right now, I Isleworth is a place where really successful think I definitely could turn a profit. But I’ve American business guys in the area base got no intention of selling.”

Lake Nona Golf & Country Club

themselves and Lake Nona is much more cosmopolitan, much more European influenced,” says Roger Smee, former head of the UK’s Reading football club and chairman of Rock Capital Group, a London-based real estate fund management company, who owns a holiday home in the latter. “The Americans go for the much more high-profile, in-your-face approach at Isleworth [but] if you come from [the other] side of the pond you’d probably favour the more relaxed and leisurely approach to development that Lake Nona represents.” He and his wife decided to buy in the 1990s after his company started investing in Florida. It was recommended to them by golfer Nick Faldo, who was himself a resident. “We saw Lake Nona and didn’t think twice about anywhere else,” Smee says.

The two most exclusive golf communities are Isleworth and Lake Nona in south-west Orlando. Each has an impressive line-up of top-ranked golfer residents. In last year’s Tavistock Cup tournament – an annual contest between the two communities – the Isleworth team included Woods and Mark O’Meara, while Lake Nona’s was led by Els. Isleworth, originally developed by partners including Arnold Palmer and since acquired by British financier Joe Lewis’s Tavistock Group, can also claim baseball star Ken Griffey Jr and basketball player Shaquille O’Neal as residents.

Both he and Wosskow say that Orlando International Airport makes the city an attractive base. “It is the best airport I ever go through. I travel a lot and getting into Orlando is always a pleasure,” Smee says. “Although I hate airports, if I had to name the one at the top of my list of favourites, it would be Orlando,” Wosskow adds. The reason for the large airport, Florida’s biggest in terms of passengers, is what many see as the city’s raison d’etre – Isleworth Golf & Country Club at daybreak

Walt Disney World and ancillary theme parks. But there is a government push to diversify the local economy into hightech and education businesses, as well as tourism, golf and property. Recently the California-based Burnham Institute for Medical Research, the US Department of Veterans Affairs and the University of Central Florida announced plans to build a medical complex as part of a new 7,000-acre master-planned community adjacent to Lake Nona. Other than suburban gated communities, such as Isleworth and Lake Nona, and time-share and short rental apartments near the theme parks, there are two other options for would-be Orlando property buyers - Winter Park, with its “old Florida” charm, and, more chancy, the just-developing city-centre high-rise condominium market. Winter Park, just north of the city, was developed when the state’s expanding rail network reached the area just before the 20th century. By Florida standards, the community is historic, with brick streets, a soaring canopy of mature oaks and a low-rise centre. The campus of the state’s oldest higher education institution, Rollins College, adjoins the commercial district, where boutiques and small restaurants share space with high-end chain stores.

There are even better deals in the new, urban condo developments, with prices in buildings nearing completion in the $500-$550 per sq ft range, according to Roger W. Soderstrom, owner of Stirling Sotheby’s International Realty. And the city is working to make the centre “a place that’s desirable”, he adds, recently approving $1.1bn in funding for a new performing arts centre and a development that will include a conference centre, basketball arena and retail facility. Of course, this remains a fledgling market. When the first city-centre high-rise, the Solaire, was announced in 2005, its 306 units sold out in five days. But many are now back on the market. And it’s unclear whether high values – such as the $3.5m being asked for a 3,500 sq ft, three-bedroom penthouse with two balconies and a roof terrace overlooking Lake Eola in The Vue – can be sustained.

BY HENRY HAMMAN Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2007

THE

What does it take to be the best of the best? Extraordinary golf, great location, attention to detail and paradigm-shifting service.

GOLF T R A V E L

L E I S U R E

1 SEA ISLAND Sea Island, Georgia

9 SPANISH PEAKS Big Sky, Montana

16 WINDSOR Vero Beach, Florida

21 JOHN’S ISLAND Vero Beach, Florida

This year marks the eightieth anniversary of the opening of the Cloister, that citadel of Southern hospitality around which the Sea Island community is built. The anniversary is a reminder that Sea Island has flourished as a resort even while building Frederica, the new jewel of its real estate operation.

This is perhaps the only golf community whose residents are excused for suddenly acquiring twangy accents and buckskin breeches. Fairway-side residences are available (the course, by Tom Weiskopf, opened in 2007), along with your choice of ski-in, skiout neighborhoods, surrounded by views that qualify as religious experiences.

Windsor melds studied elegance with a neo-traditional neighborhood design that was ahead of its time when it was founded by the wellconnected Canadian couple Hilary and Galen Weston.

Flanked by the Indian River and the Atlantic, this haven of quiet grandeur has three courses, tennis, a full gym and apocalypse-proof real estate values.

17 KUKI’O Kona, Hawaii

22 IRON HORSE Whitefish, Montana

For people of means who are never quite content anywhere but in Hawaii, this community’s half-mile-long Big Island beach is pristine. Within the fifteen-hundred-acre property, only 375 homesites are designated.

It’s a short drive to Glacier National Park from this 820-acre sporting utopia overlooking Whitefish Lake. The smartly run Outdoor Pursuits program offered by its developers can take residents from horseback to whitewater to the trailhead of a distant peak.

18 WADE HAMPTON GOLF CLUB Cashiers, North

23 SPRING ISLAND Okatie, South Carolina

Carolina

Even without covenants and codes, the ecology-minded lifelong learners residing here would keep their homes low-slung and wedded to the landscape.

2 PALMETTO BLUFF Bluffton, South Carolina Traditional pedestrian neighborhoods fitted with retro touches like brick and gaslight are an important trend in upscale golf communities, as is generous conservation of land. No golf community melds these two elements like Palmetto Bluff, where the village design is spot-on and the conservation acreage is downright primeval.

3 SANTA LUCIA PRESERVE Carmel, California One of the more interesting residences in this globe-cooling community won an award for its “green” roof, built of sand and lava rock out of which grow sedge and wild strawberries.

4 MAYCAMA Santa Rosa, California When in doubt, developers of golf communities turn to “Tuscan” or “Mediterranean” design themes. This community comes by its European sensibility honestly, through its vintner members and wine-country pedigree.

5 KIAWAH ISLAND Kiawah Island, South Carolina Affluent golf lovers have made profits of their own on Kiawah real estate, although continual improvements to the golf and other amenities make this a hard place to leave.

6 PROMONTORY Park City, Utah The developers of this 7,500-acre mountain masterpiece saddled up and built a cutting-edge equestrian center and have recently doubled their golf amenity to thirty-six holes.

7 THE CLIFFS COMMUNITIES Travelers Rest, South Carolina It was a busy year for the Cliffs and its tireless managers, highlighted by news that the next golf jewel in the Cliffs’ crown would be designed by Tiger Woods.

8 PRONGHORN Bend, Oregon Views of Mount Bachelorfill the horizon of this thirty-six-hole landmark in the hospitable high desert. A bit ahead of schedule, Pronghorn’s imposing clubhouse opened its doors in 2007, with gourmet dining and personal wine storage among its niceties.

10 3 CREEK RANCH Jackson Hole, Wyoming Outdoorsy though they may be, 3 Creek Ranchers delighted in last summer’s opening of the main clubhouse. Along with giving them a place to store calories (chef Marcel Beauclair arranges that), it offers more ways to burn them, including an ultramodern workout facility, reportedly open twenty-four hours.

11 ESTANCIA Scottsdale, Arizona There are shots on Estancia’s perfectly groomed Tom Fazio course that encourage big swings, and others where the landing zones are carefully veiled by a dramatic desert landscape.

12 THE BEAR’S CLUB Jupiter, Florida The unmatched professionalism that marked Jack Nicklaus’s playing career is replicated in this community’s daily operation. There are outsize touches—a stuffed polar bear in the clubhouse—but the decorum and detail work is subtle.

The peaks and knobs of quiet Cashiers are filling up with golf and guard gates while the easy society of Wade Hampton moseys along at its own pace.

19 REYNOLDS PLANTATION Greensboro, Georgia Despite its just-folks ambience, this is one of the most innovative golf communities in the U.S. Its wild new Jim Engh–designed Creek Club has raving fans.

20 YELLOWSTONE CLUB Big Sky, Montana On track for a grand opening in 2009, the golf clubhouse will treat members to views of the Spanish Peak mountain range.

24 STOCK FARM Hamilton, Montana Not a pun on the name of its founder, Charles Schwab, Stock Farm is a Montana golf enclave set apart from the region’s potentially overwhelming ski culture.

25 SILVERLEAF Scottsdale, Arizona Built on a New Urbanist template, with neighborhood life encouraged. The golf course helped establish Tom Weiskopf as a specialist in desert design.

13 THE GREENBRIER SPORTING CLUB White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia A community with a built-in dignity and athletic gusto, courtesy of the grande dame resort that spawned it, the Sporting Club is anchored by a member’s lodge, sports complex and spa, all adjoining the Tom Fazio–designed Snead course.

14 TALISKER Park City, Utah An emerging enclave for the wealthy, worldly and athletic, Talisker stretches across ten thousand acres of Wasatch wilderness, near the understated glamour of Park City, with golf by Mark O’Meara.

15 ISLEWORTH Windermere, Florida The lake-region community that has everything just added a unique touch to its golf practice facility: bunkers with varieties of sand types to let the resident tour pros (there are many) hone their escape shots. The art installations by Sotheby’s continue, including treasured sculptures on street corners.

HOW WE COMPILE THE LIST Our compilation of the Top 100 communities seeks out superb golf, luxury residences, extraordinary locations and a breadth of lifestyle opportunities. To be eligible, communities must offer property owners an opportunity for membership in an affiliated private golf club. Limited public access to the course—such as for guests at a resort—is allowed but may detract from a community’s ranking. Each property is reviewed in the following six categories, in order of importance: golf amenity; residential architecture and style; location, including natural setting and proximity to cultural activities; management, service and programming options; nongolf amenities, such as a full-service spa, equestrian center or marina; and environmental stewardship.

has hosted the hugely popular Camp Isleworth for more than 10 years. Among the activities at the six-week-long summer camp are golf and hip-hop dance lessons to hands-on ecological field days. “The thing that’s unique is Isleworth really is a community,” says Lisa Richards, longtime president of Isleworth Realty. “They’re friends; they socialize. … They all have such busy lives, but there’s really a strong sense of community.”

Isleworth:

Of course, Isleworth’s fantastic location in maturing Orlando is another appealing element. For example, Isleworth is located less than 10 miles from downtown Orlando’s soon-to-be constructed new Performing Arts Center and National Basketball Association arena, 20 miles from the Orlando International Airport, minutes from Walt Disney World, Sea World, dozens of world-class restaurants and the new Millenia Mall, which features Neiman Marcus, Bloomingdale’s, Macy’s, Gucci, Tiffany’s and most other luxury boutique retailers.

AN ISLE OF DISTINCTION

Isleworth Golf & Country Club

hen a deep freeze decimated Florida’s citrus crop in 1886, Sydney Chase and his brother, Joshua, went searching for surviving groves to supplement the scare supply at their Sanford operation. Soon after, they stumbled upon a section of promising property in Southwest Orlando, where some 1,300 robust orange and lemon trees were thriving on an island between Lake Tibet Butler and what is now Lake Isleworth. The sight of such bounty caused Sydney Chase’s father-in-law to remark: “Well, you certainly have an island of worth here. Why not call it Isleworth.” The name stuck. And so has the worth. But this one-time citrus grove – now called Isleworth Golf & Country Club – has since taken an additional meaning: island distinction. How else can one describe an enclave of estate homes that feature many well-known athletes, including Tiger Woods, Mark O’Meara, Shaquille O’Neal, Grant Hill and Ken Griffey Jr., and numerous business tycoons such as International Management Group ViceChairman Alastair Johnston, Tupperware Brands Corp. Chairman/ CEO Rick Goings, Darden Restaurants Chairman/CEO Clarence Otis Jr., and Tom Williams, Chairman/CEO of NBC Universal Studio’s Parks & Resorts division. If that’s not distinctive enough, Isleworth has a unique one-of-a-kind relationship with Sotheby’s, in which the renowned auction house is using the gorgeous grounds of the lakefront community as an outdoor exhibit for famous sculptures. For instance, a recent collection, “Monumental Masterpieces of Modern Sculpture,” comprised 11 pieces from famous artists such as Auguste Rodin, Henry Moore and Salvador Dali. The $40 million of artwork proved to be such a success, Isleworth displayed a new set of sculptures this year for another private showing and sale, featuring the works of renowned artist Bernar Venet. Another ongoing hit at Isleworth is the Tavistock Cup, the $3.88 million internationally televised event pitting Isleworth’s high-

profile touring golf professionals versus their counterparts at sister Orlando community Lake Nona Golf & County Club. In recent years, Isleworth has featured the likes of resident captain Mark O’Meara, PGA Tour stars Woods, John Cook, Stuart Appleby, Robert Allenby, Charles Howell III, Lee Janzen, J.B. Holmes and LPGA Tour standout Paula Creamer. Meanwhile, Lake Nona has featured equally as many noted golfers, led by Ernie Els, Sergio Garcia, Retief Goosen, Nick Faldo, Justin Rose, Ian Poulter, Trevor Immelman and LPGA superstar Annika Sorenstam. Collectively, these touring pros and other Tavistock Cup veterans have accumulated more than 700 worldwide victories and a stunning 51 major championships. Now in its fifth year, the selfproclaimed World Golf and Country Club Championship has donated more than $3.5 million to local and international charities through the Tavistock Foundation. And best yet, Isleworth and Lake Nona residents, members and invited guests are the only ones who have the opportunity to witness this special annual affair broadcast live throughout the U.S., Canada and Japan via The Golf Channel, and more than 40 other countries through international affiliates. It is unique touches such as these that make the 600-acre Isleworth property one of the world’s elite country club communities. Yet, having such Class A cachet is just one reason Isleworth continues to draw dozens of professional athletes, entertainers, entrepreneurs and other business executives. Another attraction is the strong sense of community and family-oriented nature of Isleworth. In other words, Isleworth isn’t like most Florida golf and country club communities where retirees mostly occupy the development during the winter months. For instance, out of 235 homeowners, 73 percent are full-time residents, giving Isleworth a true year-round feel or sense of permanence. Another surprising statistic is the 228 children aged 18 and under who live at Isleworth, 83 percent of whom are under 14 years old. This youthful foundation isn’t something new, considering the community

Besides the many world-class attractions this medium-sized city has to offer, Isleworth’s natural setting is equally as impressive thanks to seven and a half miles of lake frontage and seven surrounding bodies of water that make up the Butler Chain -- Lakes Butler, Bessie, Blanche, Chase, Isleworth, Louise and Tibet Butler – designated by the state of Florida in 1984 as Outstanding Florida Waters. This distinction means the pristine Butler Chain is protected by Florida’s Environmental Regulation Commission, the only lake system in the state to have such recognition. It was this precise natural beauty that led Arnold Palmer and a group of investors to purchase the original Isleworth tract 25 years ago and develop what they envisioned to be one of the most exclusive and luxurious golf course communities in the world. When Isleworth opened in 1987, Palmer’s master-plan called for approximately 400 homes on half-acre lots, a championship course designed by Palmer and design partner Ed Seay, and a grand 63,000-squarefoot Mediterranean-styled structure built in the tradition of Addison Mizner’s Palm Beach designs. Six years later, however, after being embroiled in a lawsuit and experiencing financial problems, Palmer’s group lost its dream property when it was forced into receivership and eventually sold out to Aviva Land Holdings, a subsidiary of Isleworth resident Joe Lewis’ Tavistock Group. One of the first things Lewis did was redesign the community to feature more estate-type homes. So the new ownership group took all the half-acre lots and converted them into multi-acre homesites, paving the way for the numerous grand estates that now grace the Isleworth grounds. As part of this new-look Isleworth, Lewis instilled a philosophy of “only the best.” The community more than lived up to Lewis vision, event by demand from the aforementioned clientele, and numerous first-rate amenities such as the tennis facilities and pool, full-service fitness center, community boat ramp and storage, and the recently renovated 82,0000-square-foot clubhouse and Steve Smyers-designed golf course. Among the more exciting additions to the clubhouse is the 7,000-squarefoot expansion of the existing men’s locker room and grill. Called the Champions Grill, the new addition features a golf simulator, miniature basketball court, 3-hole indoor putting green, pool table, poker table and arcade-style games surrounded by 11 plasma screen televisions.

With comfortable furnishings and wonderful views of the first and tenth tees, as well as the 18th green, it’s the ultimate “guys hang out.” It’s also the epitome of what Isleworth is all about: informal elegance in a secured setting. “We take our security seriously and our residents appreciate it,” says Tavistock Group director Doug McMahon. “They’re private and we respect that. The people at Isleworth can live anywhere, but they choose to be here because of the climate, the beauty of the place, its private setting and the world-class amenities. This is their refuge – it’s also their home.” The resulting renaissance in the post-Palmer era has put even greater worth in Isleworth. For example, there is minimal vacant land available in the community – home sites range from 1 to 14 acres – with prices starting at $575,000 and surpassing $4 million. Meanwhile, homes prices start at more than $1 million and exceed $20 million. To put Isleworth property in greater perspective, of the 25 homes that sold for $3 million to $5 million in the Orlando area from January 2000 to year-end 2004, Isleworth can claim two-thirds of the transactions, according to Richards, who has been at Isleworth since its inception. Now, Isleworth is adding another real estate chapter to its illustrious Orlando history with the Gardens of Isleworth. These Old World Mediterranean-inspired Villas, priced from $2 million-plus, give residents an opportunity to downsize in a turn-key environment, yet still experience all the elegance and luxurious trappings of Isleworth. The goal of this final Isleworth offering is to create a botanical oasis befitting of the distinguishing characteristics of Isleworth’s home buyers in a villa setting. Designed to accommodate young professionals and multi-homeowners, the Villas come in four well-appointed floor plans and four distinctive elevations, ranging in size from just under 3,700 square feet to nearly 5,800 square feet of living space. “The Gardens of Isleworth have been designed to provide our residents with the gift of time – time to spend with their families and friends,” Richards points out. “The grounds are maintained by Isleworth Home Services and the Isleworth Concierge Program provides the ultimate in high-end services and programs to fit the needs of our residents.” Richards says some of the prime candidates to “downsize” and live in the “maintenance-free” Garden Villas environment are current Isleworth residents. And Richards’ prediction should not come as a surprise because Isleworth residents are certainly not averse to moving up and/or down within the community. In fact, one family is now living in its ninth different Isleworth property. And perhaps the most remarkable thing, Richards adds, is 40 families currently living in the gated enclave have owned two or more Isleworth homes. “Out of that number, 12 have owned three or more homes,” Richards proudly notes. “The numbers speak for themselves – once an Isleworth owner, always an Isleworth owner.” That’s what happens once you discover an island of worth.

BY SCOTT KAUFFMAN

ORLANDO HOME&LEISURE

green fairways on a cloudless afternoon, cocktails in hand, in pursuit of stars such as Woods and the adorable Ian Poulter. So what’s the big draw? “Unlike any other golf tournament, you can walk right on the fairway,” says regular Bob McClelland of Orlando. “You can talk to the players and stand within feet of Tiger as he putts.” It’s a social affair - with plenty of sotto voce banter from the gallery - but when the pros putt, you can hear a pin drop.And no one asks for autographs. When the sun goes down, the coveted party is the Tavistock Cup Gala. This year, the Isleworth clubhouse is transformed into an opulent Roman bash. To enter, you need the hefty golf Roman coin attached to a lavish invitation. Just past the red carpet, a Bacchanalian Roman Bath beneath a sheer white swath of ceiling-to-floor fabric recalls Nero’s bawdy Rome. Men and women in barely there (seriously “barely”) Roman togas fan one another with palm branches, giving and receiving table massages. (“How do I get to the Roman bath?” asks one guest.)

dipping necklines replace the day’s red-and-blue golf tees, with Armani, Roberto Cavalli, Prada and Dolce & Gabbana among notable couture. Rose’s wife, Kate, is a standout in a short green number. And yes, Woods is the only guest in designer denims and an untucked shirt, outshined (at least sartorially) by Poulter, who has appeared in a blue sharkskin suit with a white shirt and skinny tie. Cuisine is lavish, but does anyone really eat at these affairs? Champagne, mojitos and martinis are the chic drinks du nuit. Every turn holds a surprise, from scantily clad, Roman-inspired dancers to dueling gladiators, jugglers, acrobats and a room for gambling. The climactic close is the high-ticket raffle on the veranda, where veteran golfer Gary McCord announces the big winners. And we mean big: The grand prize is twin Cadillacs; other winners walk away with an Air Nautique boat, a trip to Rome and Venice, his-n-hers Cartier watches and an iMac. How

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this?

The

pressure’s

on,

Lake

Nona!

BY PAM BRANDON

TAVI TALES “Golf is a day spent in a round of strenuous idleness.” -William Wordsworth.

hey can’t be serious. Your Gucci loafer-clad tootsies can’t even touch the tony fairways of the Tavistock Cup unless you are wearing a red or blue golf shirt. This passe fashion statement is de rigueur at the annual schmoozefest, where that nylon-spandex shirt is as coveted as an Armani cashmere top; you’re on the VIP list if you’re a member at Isleworth or Lake Nona, a tournament sponsor or an invited guest. Otherwise, you’ll be watching this as a recap on The Golf Channel. Though the haute couture of Boca’s tennis matches and Palm Beach’s polo fields is missing, this exclusive golf tourney is one of the most sought-after tickets in sports, with the gallery limited to about 3,500 invited guests and no ropes on the fairways for unparalleled access to watch the best players in the world compete. Played each spring be-

tween the two courses, the crosstown rivalry match is “intimate” compared to the crowd of 100,000-plus that throngs Bay Hill, says Winter Park’s Helen Miller, who has been a loyal spectator at every Tavi tourney.

Central Florida’s beautiful people are in the company of golfers Justin Rose, Stuart Appleby, Robert Allenby, Paula Creamer (taller than she looks on television) and Annika Sorenstam, among others. Best-dressed guests from the U.K., South Africa, Australia, Argentina, Bahamas, Jamaica and Mexico highlight Tavistock Group’s international clientele.Women’s

Team Isleworth reclaimed the 2008 Tavistock Cup presented by Citi Private Bank. With a $3.8 million purse ($1 million to charities of their choice), rookie J.B. Holmes led Team Isleworth to victory

On a crisp, sunny day, the whomp-whomp of a helicopter signals that Tiger Woods has arrived, his big white bird swooping down on the Isleworth Golf & Country Club fairways. Tee time!

with a -4 (68) score to claim the low medalist for Day Two, winning

Rules, rules, rules.: Along with the Isleworth-red-shirt and Lake-Nona-blue-shirt rule, there are no cell phones and no cameras. Requisite plastic badges dangle around everyone’s neck; if yours is gold or silver, you have carte blanche to wander in the clubhouse where legendary Joe Lewis, founder of the Tavistock Group, is rumored to be holding court. The rest of the elite audience seems happy to hang out in the Grey Goose tent or stroll the emerald-

Isleworth and Lake Nona, two master-planned communities

$500,000. Ian Poulter of Team Lake Nona finished runnerup, while Mark O’Meara and Tiger Woods shared third place. The tournament debuted in 2004 as a friendly rivalry between owned by the Tavistock Group that are home to many of the world’s top golfers. The Tavistock Cup has become the World Golf and Country Club Championship, an officially sanctioned PGA Tour event. The event garnered 10 hours of live coverage on The Golf Channel with distribution to more than 80 different countries.

What Makes A Great Club?

Team Isleworth Reclaims Tavistock Cup Team Isleworth defeated Team Lake Nona to win the fifthannual Tavistock Cup inWindermere, Fla., in March. The intimate two-day tournament—with its invitation-only gallery—was held this year at the Isleworth Golf & Country Club, pitting Isleworth’s touring professional golfmembers against those of the Lake Nona Golf & Country Club.

“A club needs good members, good management for the members and good facilities for the members’ use. If it’s a family-oriented club, then obviously there needs to be facilities for kids. And obviously, the look of the whole place - the environment should be in good shape. The spirit of the club is important too.” ERNIE ELS

“Members. Facilities.” ANNIKA SORENSTAM

Holmes’ sweep of prizes included a 2009 Cadillac Escalade hybrid for his 1-foot-9-inch, closest-to-the-pin shot as well as $110,000 to be split equally among Team Isleworth for the OldMutual Long Drive Challenge. Team Isleworth netted $2.1 million, of which $1 million is donated to charities selected by each player. “Exactly what you’ve got here (at Tavistock Cup). Great members, a great golf course - just great people. It shows how good both golf courses (Isleworth and Lake Nona) are and how much fun the members are. It just makes a great contest to play” IAN POULTER

“Great members. That’s what I love about Lake Nona. Some of the members are my great friends. We play with them a lot, and we travel to other golf courses and play golf. It’s the great members and the great atmosphere at the club, plus great support.” GRAEME MCDOWELL

TeamIsleworth’s 19.5-to-11.5 victory was highlighted by a spectacular performance by rookie J.B.Holmes, as he took home the Payne Stewart SalverAward for lowmedalist, the Old Mutual Long Drive Challenge award and the Cadillac Closest to the Pin prize. Holmes led Team Isleworth to victory with a -4 (68) score to claim the low medalist for day two, winning the $500,000 purse. Ian Poulter of Team Lake Nona finished runnerup, whileMark O’Meara and TigerWoods shared third place.

EDITORS NOTE Players were interviewed at Tavistock Cup in Orlando, Florida. Tavistock Cup is a unique team competition pitting the golf professional members of Isleworth Golf & Country Club against their counterparts at Lake Nona Golf & Country Club. The officially sanctioned PGA Tour event began in 2004, and since its inception, has donated $3.5 million to many worthy organizations around the Globe.

Participants for Team Isleworth included Holmes, O’Meara (the captain), Woods, RobertAllenby, StuartAppleby, Daniel Chopra, John Cook, Paula Creamer, CharlesHowell

“The membership makes a great club. I would say that, excluding facilities and things like that, a club really boils down to membership and how well they intermingle. Some of the affairs and get-togethers the club puts on really help gel those relationships and make them grow. Obviously, with new memberships coming in, those are the things you try to hand on to the future.” STUART APPLEBY

Charles Howell III, Trevor Immelman and Mark O’Meara share a moment at the Tavistock Cup. III, NickO’Hern andCraig Parry. TeamLakeNona’s golfers included Poulter, captain Ernie Els, Ben Curtis, Chris DiMarco, Retief Goosen, Trevor Immelman, GraemeMcDowell,MarkMcNulty, Justin Rose, Annika Sorenstam and Henrik Stenson. The 2008 Tavistock Cup was the first for Homes, Chopra and Creamer. The event was presented by Citi Private Bank and broadcast live on the Golf Channel. Tavistock Group is a private investment company whose luxury residential communities include both Isleworth and Lake Nona.

BY MARK MOFFA

Tavistock Cup 2008 - Hole 18

Orlando’s Luxury Leaders

he evolution of our great city has brought growth in ways that only visionary types could have foreseen. For that reason Orlando CEO would like to take a moment to admire a particular group of forward-thinkers who have pioneered a standard in many industries in our Central Florida town ¬¬– the luxury leaders. She still remembers the first days in her 24 years as a Central Floridian. At that time, the several miles of lakeshore and the encompassed 600 acres of property now known as Isleworth Golf & Country Club were simply orange groves as far as the eye could reach, says Lisa Richards, President/ Managing Broker for Isleworth Realty and a resident of Windermere. Although the definition of luxury has changed over the past two decades, the positioning of this piece of land nestled among the Butler Chain of Lakes provides pristine waterfront views in nearly every direction, rendering the land itself a timeless example of luxurious living. It’s strange to think about life before there was a Mall at Millenia or a Bentley dealer or even before Orlando acquired the Magic because of all that exists today. Roughly ten to fifteen years ago many of the upscale choices in retail, real estate, dining and cars that Orlando residents now have did not exist. So who decided Orlando was ready for the best of the best? To be sure there are many people who have made Orlando what it is today. It was our goal to provide a snapshot of some of the most influential people and groups that have come to be revered by their clients, colleagues and others as the ones who changed the face of luxury in this city.

Residential Arnold Palmer, Joe Lewis and Tavistock Group, Cahill Homes Arnold Palmer first purchased the land for Orlando’s most exclusive residential community with a group of investors in 1983. After laying out a magnificent 18-hole golf course that snakes throughout the community parallel to the shoreline Arnold and his wife, Winnie, oversaw the completion of Isleworth’s clubhouse – a building that set the bar, according to Richards. Besides

the presence it held just by its sheer size, the original Isleworth clubhouse was constructed with fine materials that were not widely available at the time, including the Brazilian walnut and coquina stone that still remain throughout the building’s interior. In the community’s early years, before the palatial homes and famous athlete residents carved Isleworth’s distinct reputation, the building proved instrumental in illustrating to potential buyers what the neighborhood was going to be all about, Richards says. For this, she credits Palmer with the genesis of the community’s standard. “The fact that Arnold had enough confidence in his vision for the club before he really had any membership to support it was very impressive,” Richards says. “Once the Club was underway, we began attracting high net worth individuals who had the financial wherewithal to create luxury in the residential setting.” Indeed it wasn’t long before the community began attracting such residents as Shaquille O’Neal, Mark McCormack of IMG and others who enjoyed the comfortable, private life within those pink walls. Things like impeccable landscaping, design standards set forth by a team of custom home experts on the community’s

design review board, around-the-clock security and the fact that the Butler Chain of Lakes are protected by the state all contributed to the appeal of Isleworth as a sound residential investment. Behind the scenes, however, there was financial trouble for the community’s developer. The bank foreclosed in 1993, and while may not have seemed so at the time, it was probably the best thing for Isleworth’s future. Through a quick and smooth transition one of the community’s own residents, British currency trader, private investor and sole principal of Tavistock Group Joe Lewis purchased the property for approximately $21 million. Lewis’ acquisition marked the beginning of a new era for not only Isleworth, but also Orlando. Since that time the mantra has been, “what can we do to make it better,” Richards says. By way of Lewis’ own interpretation of a luxury lifestyle, Isleworth offers its residents an atmosphere that is unmatched by any other residential community in Central Florida. Cultural infusions, such as the staple Sotheby’s sculptures and the annual Symphony Under the Stars on-site philharmonic orchestra concert, as well as outstanding year-round youth services program for the neighborhood’s some

Isleworth Golf & Country Club

225 children, recent additions to the clubhouse, including the 7,000 square foot Champion’s Grille, and the redesign of the golf course in 2003 by Steve Smyers make Isleworth a very special place to live, Richards says. Senior Managing Director of Tavistock Group Rasesh Thakkar has been with the company for 20 years and is also a resident of Isleworth himself. He credits Lewis for the community’s concern with maintaining the utmost quality in every category, no matter how small it might seem. The Isleworth Home Services hassle-free lawn management division will do everything – even cover residents’ flowers in cold weather – without being asked. Thakkar says Lewis just did what felt natural when he bought Isleworth. “You never have a worry and that’s all part of the luxury lifestyle,” he explains. “It’s all done in an understated way, and yet whatever you want whenever you want it. We just try to be proactive and make it just appear. We try to anticipate every need or want or desire.” Tavistock Group’s tireless quest has carried over into its sister community, Lake Nona Golf & Country Club, as well as all the growth that is taking place in the Southeast Orlando region’s new medical park, also a Tavistock project. In addition to donating acres of the property for what will be the city’s largest park, Lewis has

also donated some of his own funds to help get things started. The University of Central Florida College of Medicine, the Burnham Institute for Medical Research, the University of Florida Research Center, Veterans Affairs Medical Center and Nemours Children’s Hospital have all signed on to spend millions of dollars on state-of-the-art facilities. With construction already underway Thakkar says Tavistock is applying its same quality principles to everything at the medical city from entry points and monumentation to landscaping and the width of roads. “It’s the culture that we have,” he says. “It’s a culture that puts the resources toward facilitating great visions.” As the owner of one company, Cahill Homes, and co-owner of another, Southpoint Homes, longtime Orlando spec home builder Steve Cahill only purchases only the best lots in the right areas for his projects, and for a long time the majority of his build sites have existed either in Isleworth or Lake Nona. Since his first company began in 1977 it has striven to produce an excellent and quality product rather than to try and create socalled luxury, Cahill says. With each small square bronze plate that is placed on the wall of a completed Cahill-built home – a stamp of quality approval – however, it is apparent that during the process both

quality and luxury were achieved. Interpreting the lifestyle of customers exists as a common thread between Orlando’s most exclusive residential communities and the homes within them.