Governors Club

The golf is outstanding, we all love it. As for the residents, some of the unnecessarily defensive comments posted speak volumes about the type of people that call Governors Club home. I am surprised by some of the posts on this site, as everyone knows there are members who are in the pockets of the administration. more

Not so happy and nice. more

I have lived in Governors Club for three years. Somebody told me about the negative reviews being posted here. They are obviously being posted by people against the deer culling program. I suspect that the posters are not even residents. Pros: Diverse and very friendly Cons: Perhaps the high school situation more

My husband and I were extremely pleased with the Governor's Club! We had both our Ceremony and Reception at the Club. The club coordinator, Lisa Johnson, went above and beyond our expectations. The Club offers a great view of the golf course and we were able to get some wonderful pictures of the wedding party. Pros: Beautiful views, great food, excellent service more

My husband and I moved into Governors Club in Feb. of 2010. We have lived all over the country and Chapel Hill/Governors Club is by far our favorite. A week after moving in Governors Club we were visited by several neighbors bringing over goodies and wonderful gift baskets welcoming us to the neighborhood. I have never lived in an area where I was made to feel welcome so quickly. Governors Club supports several very worthwhile charities and the number of people in Governors Club who do volunteer work for these charities is amazing. Everyone has gone out of their way to make us feel a part of this wonderful community!!!! My husband and I are in our fifties and we do not feel as if we are living in a retirement community, nor did we want to live in a retirement community. We absolutely love everything about living here!! Pros: Great place to live. more

My husband and I moved into Governors Club in Feb. of 2010. We have lived all over the country and traveled to many cities in North Carolina. Of all the places we have lived or visited Chapel Hill and particularly Governors Club is our all time favorite. A week after we moved into our new home we were visited by several neighbors bringing over goodies and gift baskets to welcome us into the neighborhood. My husband is an avid golfer and has made many new friends golfing. There is always something fun to do in Governors Club. The fitness center is great and they have tons of classes you can take. There are so many worthwhile charities that Governors Club supports, Habitat and Cora Food Pantry to name just a few. I have never lived in an area where I have had so many people go out of their way to make me feel a part of the community. What I love the most is that it is NOT a retirement community. There are all age ranges and that is exactly what we were looking for. Everyone has been so welcoming and friendly! !!!!! Pros: Great place to live. more

The two previous posts on the deer culling program at Governors Club, while imaginative and provocative, are not reflective of the facts about the deer culling program at Governors Club. The Deer Management Program, of which bow and arrow culling is a part, was put in place after nearly two years of study by citizens groups and a committee established by the Property Owners Association Board of Directors to study the deer population, assess the damage and risks, and recommend steps to ameliorate the situation. After a vote of the community in which property owners who voted overwhelmingly supported the cull by a 4 to 1 margin, the program went forward. We have only used volunteer hunters who are members of the North Carolina Bowhunters Association?s Bowhunters Certification and Referral Service (BCRS). This service was established to provide assistance to communities and other entities that have a problem with deer overpopulation. The hunters are certified marksmen, who are schooled in safe hunting practices. The hunters are assigned to specific hunting sites that were chosen in advance to assure safety and to reduce the chance that a wounded deer would stray onto the property of a resident who does not support the hunt or to any other inappropriate area. These sites are published on a website available to all residents. Field dressing of deer has not and will not take place within Governors Club. We have recently completed the first culling period without adverse incidents, and we will continue to carry out culling in a safe manner during future hunting periods. The property owners of Governors Club, similar to many communities in North Carolina and across the country, want to bring our overpopulated deer herd under control in order to enhance our resident?s safety and protect their property. Pros: Community Support and Involvement Cons: The need to have a program more

I am a single working Mom with two kids under 10 yrs old and the community at the Governors Club has been a wonderful find for us. When we moved here 7 years ago from California, I chose to live in Southern Village because that was the ""kid friendly place"" to live in Chapel Hill. I later joined the Governors Club for the golf, but after spending a few years there decided that it was more than just a place to play golf. It was a community of people that were genuinely interested in creating an ideal environment for families. Everyone has been so welcoming and even neighbors that do not have children living with them volunteer to work at family events. My kids love it here, and I do too. Pros: family friendly, world class golf, terrific food! more

Having read some of the negative Governors Club reviews, I feel like I'm reading about another neighborhood - not the one I call home! We've been members of Governors Club for four years. Until recently, we lived in Chapel Hill but moved to Governors Club in October 2009 because we love the Club so much. Many of the reviews make the club sound like a retirement community! While there are certainly many residents and members of retirement age, over 300 children live in the neighborhood as well. And that number has only increased in the time we've been members. Our eight-year-old son has dozens of friends in the neighborhood. There are at least a dozen children under the age of ten within a quarter-mile radius of our home! The reason that young families have been moving here is very simple. The Club has made a significant investment in family infrastructure over the past several years. We've added a ""splash park"" to the pool. The tennis courts have been completely refurbished with a thriving junior program. Junior tees have been added to all 27 holes of golf and a junior teaching program has started. The family committee has family-oriented programs every month. The fitness center has been completely re-built with all new training gear. A brand new playground has been built. We're breaking ground on a dog park within the next month. Do these sound like the activities you'd find in a retirement community? There's no such thing as a neighborhood that's right for everyone, but we believe that Governors Club is a great place to live and a wonderful Club to join. Don't be convinced by the other reviews that only the rich live in the neighborhood. Yes, there are multi-million dollar homes, but there are also homes in the $200K - $300K price range and everywhere in between. We hope to see many new members in the coming years. Pros: Pool; Fitness Center; Golf Course; Terrific Restaurant; View Cons: Could be closer to Chapel Hill/Franklin Street more

Where are the young families?!@!@!!! All we have seen are all the grandchildren and children of the retired residents here. Cons: not family friendly more

If you like beautiful homes with lush landscape, golf, tennis, pool and fitness, AND DEER HUNTING, Pros: beautiful homes/neighborhood Cons: Bow hunting for deer more

The beauty of the Governors Club upon which many reviewers have commented has been irrevocably ruined by the Governors Club's decision to begin hunting deer almost year round in our backyards. Tree stands have been erected in clear view of houses and on common areas, and hunters are allowed free access between dawn and dusk every day of the week. Residents are not informed of where hunters will be on a given day, and thus they could be anywhere. Wounded deer could run into your yard. A camouflaged hunter could wander by your Easter Sunday party. Your beautiful GC wedding could be ruined by a deer with an arrow in its neck bleeding out in front the Clubhouse. It's horrible that this lovely neighborhood has been turned into a private hunting preserve. more

My husband and I had the most wonderful wedding reception at the governors club two years ago in october. from start to finish, our experience with the event planner and the club as a whole was fantastic. the venue and surroundings are beautiful and allow for both indoor and outdoor entertaining. we were able to take pictures on the golf course and even had our entire wedding party pose for a group shot outside the club! service was smooth and servers friendly. food and drink were ample and of high quality. guests loved the convenience of staying at the cottages. scotti, the event coordinator, was a joy to work with. her creative suggestions and willingness to accommodate all of our requests made the process easy and relatively stress-free. thanks to her arrangement and oversight of vendors set-up, we had no problems and everything was beautiful. we found pricing to be competitive and favorable to other similar venues in the area. this allowed us to spend more on details that we feel made our wedding particularly memorable. (friends are still raving about our band, cookie, who kept guests dancing all night long!) as compared to other country clubs, hotels and venues we investigated for our wedding and have attended for other weddings, the governors club is clearly superior. we would choose the governors club again in a heartbeat! Pros: event planner!, venue, service, cottages Cons: none! more

My wife and I are extremely happy for deciding to hold our wedding reception at the Governors Club (GC). Pros: Great Staff, Good Food, Beautiful Site more

Our daughter's Fall wedding at the Governors Club was perfection. We had both the Rehersal Dinner and the Reception at the club and were just so thankful for the skill with which our event was handled. Scotti was such a calm and professional coordinator and her expertise was invaluable to us from the beginning-helping us to come up with a fabulous selection of food for our events , organizing the timing of each event to the tee and recommendations of vendors. The weekend of the wedding, Scotti and her wonderful staff just worked their magic all weekend. Both events were staged with such an eye for detail and perfection,as well as everyone from the club serving with such pleasant attitudes. Having our events at the Governors Club really allowed us to enjoy the time with our guests, confident that everything would be handled to perfection! Pros: Every detail to perfection! more

My husband and I have lived in Governors Club for 10 years. And yes, we are retired, and we moved to the South from the Boston suburbs. We knew noone who lived here--we just liked the convient location. Our home was built by a fine local contractor. It is a modest home which suits our needs--there are many like ours in the development. The community could not have been more welcoming--we had never experienced this in New England. Our neighborhood is friendly, helpful when there is an illness or emergency. We were both golfers when we came here, but I have had to give it up for health reasons. There are many opportunities to work/volunteer in the community and outside. My husband and I both work in the VITA program, I was an active member of the Chapel Hill Service League for 7 years and am still a sustainer. Most recently, my husband was on a committee to improve the facilities at our golf club. His job on the committee was to study and research all aspects of replacing the playground equipment at the pool/tennis/playground/fitness center. The project is now all complete. Since we live near the playground, I can tell you very clearly that there are lots of happy kids at Governors Club! We have a junior golf program, a swim team, a junior tennis team, and instruction in all those activities with more activites besides those mentioned.. To conclude,we cannot think of another place we would rather live--and we have checked many other locations in the area. I would also add that I am not a real estate agent. Pros: Friendly people of all ages, lovely landscape Cons: None at the moment more

We have lived here for 14 years. We moved here when we were in our 40's and found that the diversity of ages and backgrounds of our neighbors was one of the things we liked the most. Everyone was extremely friendly, interesting and welcoming. Now we have grandchildren and enjoy all of the kid-friendly activities. There are many young families living here and the children have year round activities. There is something for everyone from young to old. Living here is like going to a family resort that offers myriad amenities for all. The setting is amazing with gorgeous views and natural areas along with manicured and rolling golf course greens that wind through the community. The recently renovated clubhouse is beautiful and enjoyable. From a casual gathering to a formal affair this club offers everything! The food is reasonable and delicious. The staff is friendly and attentive. The Property Owners association is award-winning. We had a choice of living anywhere and we chose here. We are certainly glad we did! Pros: Friendly, beautiful, diverse Cons: none! more

This club is an absolute joke! Full of senior citizens with terrible attitudes! Do not move here if you have children, this is not a ""family friendly"" place at all. My husband and I have seen children yelled at by residents for laughing too loud at the pool, saw a bigoted old woman shake her head at two sweet little black girls quietly playing by the pool, and had two friends yelled at by angry old, unhappy men. more

Clearly, the last reviewer is a Realtor(c). Here is the real story on the Governors Club: more

Not only had my husband and I been dating for 10 years, but this is the first wedding in our family, so we took great care in choosing the perfect place with the perfect service. Planned for 9 months with their event planner. We had several guests coming from out-of-state and wanted one location for the ceremony and reception. They do not live up to their expectations. Do not fall for their marketing schemes-contract has loopholes in their favor. They promised us everything up front (space the night before, exceptional service, pastry chef) and didn't deliver.. We thought this was a one-stop venue-just what we needed! The event planner was confused about which event was ours for the preliminary meetings. Despite the fact that the event planner created an event plan and I provided the vendor schedule, that all parties acknowledged and agreed upon, the wedding was a disaster. The Governors Club had booked another event to end right before my wedding was to begin. They actually gave our vendors approx 2 hours for set up! Our florists were not able to finish arrangements. Although we were told by the event planner than a meeting would be held to inform staff of the set-up and our needs, on the wedding day I had to assist in setting up because none of the staff members knew where things were going. The wedding party had to prepare in dirty rooms because staff refused to clean (half eaten cookies and drink bottles from another group). Our dinner was not what we originally ordered- the meat was tough, bread was dry. Vendor meals were served on stale bread. Half of the guests were not served any cake and had to ask several times for tea or beverages. They lost our baker's supplies. We had to go back to the club after our honeymoon to retrieve them. Florist vases and decoration supplies were lost. We scheduled items to be picked up the day after the wedding. They refuse to send us any final bills AND the manager refuses to meet with us to discuss our experiences. Pros: Outdoor views Cons: Lack of service, event planners, management more