Spending retirement on a golf course seems like a dream to a lot of people. If you're an avid golfer, it probably sounds like the life, but it's not a life that everyone will enjoy. Before you make the move to a golfing community, there are a few things to consider.

HOA Requirements

Golf courses always look beautiful, but they don't always take care of themselves. Some golf communities have landscaping baked into your cost, but others require you to take care of it and meet strict HOA requirements. If that kind of yard work doesn't sound like something you want to do, this might not be your best move.

Before you make the move a permanent decision, make sure that you've actually taken the time to go over your agreement with the utmost attention to details. If you don't like something you see in there, ask if it's negotiable or not. If it's not, you'll need to decide if it's something you can live with or if it's a dealbreaker.

Community Scheduling

You might love the idea of being able to walk to the golf course and play a round when there's not a tournament taking place, but will you be quite as thrilled about meeting people involved in a tournament? Many golfing communities open up their course to skilled golfers every so often for tournament play, which doesn't fit every personality.

If you're moving to a golf community because of the friendships you can make with other golf enthusiasts, this will be right up your alley. But if you already know your playing partners and really don't want to expand your inner circle, this could be a problem.

Price of the Course

Living on a golf course doesn't come for free. Your ability to play whenever you want is going to be baked into the cost of your home, which means you've got two decisions to make. First, can you afford the cost of living on the course as opposed to playing every so often? Second, will you use it enough to make that extra cost worth it? This is why you need to crunch the numbers and double-check your budget, because this information decides better than anything else whether it's a good deal.

If you've got the budget space and the mindset to enjoy life on a golf course, you'll find it's a great way to live out your golden years. If you've done the research, it can be an excellent decision.