John and Barbara Langson had a checklist when they went shopping for a new house.

They wanted a home in an active adult community with good security and plenty of activities. The new place had to have a master bedroom on the main level. It had to have three bedrooms, two bathrooms and 18 tee boxes.

Johnny Crawford / AJC (ENLARGE)

For John and Barbara Langson, living in a golf community was high on their checklist.

Frank Niemeir / AJC (ENLARGE)

Richard Circle gets ready for a round of golf at Pinetree Country Club in Kennesaw.

Frank Niemeir / AJC (ENLARGE)

Homes under construction at the Enclave at Pinetree Country Club.

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Golf, said John Langson, was a must.

That meant the Langsons had to look for a while before moving from Lawrenceville to Sun City Peachtree, a 1,726-acre development in Spalding County that when finished will have nearly 3,400 homes.

Because, while there are an increasing number of communities for those 55 and older, there are just a handful of active adult communities built around a golf course. Joining Sun City Peachtree on the short list is the Enclave at Pinetree Country Club in Kennesaw, Cottages at Heron Bay in Locust Grove, Laurel Canyon in Canton and Blue Ridge Golf and River Club in Blue Ridge. If you really want to get away from the city, there is also Houston Springs near Perry in Middle Georgia.

Such developments tap into a fervent passion of Baby Boomers. Half of those surveyed by developer Del Webb ranked golf "extremely important," second only to swimming among athletic pursuits.

Nearly 40 percent of those surveyed living in Del Webb communities — the well-known Sun City developments found across the country — said they played golf at least once a week and they played more than twice as many rounds as others in the age group.

Count John Langson in that group.

"Last year, I played 130 rounds," said Langson, 62.

And that was before moving to Sun City Peachtree. Langson said he figures he'll play 150 rounds this year.

Which makes buying a golf cart practical, indeed.

"That is one of the first things we bought when we moved down here," Langson said.

There is more to golf than whacking a white ball, said Karen Gibler, an assistant professor of real estate at Georgia State University.

"There is the socialization, the clubhouse, the restaurant," said Gibler, who studies trends in the 55 and older housing market.

The golf course — or the swimming pool or community center — is a place to meet like-minded people, she noted.

Those shopping for a house in an active adult community — golf or no golf — are also shopping for neighbors, said Lane Tharp, a Dunwoody real estate agent who also specializes in this market.

"They want to know how they can meet people," said Tharp. "That is always a question: Are there planned activities?"

The second question may well be: Is there any yard work?

A maintenance-free exterior was an important consideration when shopping, said Bill Grisham of Acworth, who has put down a deposit on a lot overlooking the second green at Pinetree Country Club.

Homeowners at the 19-home development in Kennesaw get landscape upkeep as well as country club membership when they move in.

"You don't have to own a yard tool if you don't want to," said Robyn Padgett, who with her husband is developing the subdivision.

Grisham, 56, said he and his wife, Violet, also liked the design that put the master bedroom on the ground floor.

"But the golf," he admitted, "had a lot to do with it."