But home prices in Costa del Sol are high, and buyers, who are mostly from Europe, include royalty and celebrities. This is a very expensive place to buy a home, he said.

At Finca Cortesin, for example, the 57 villas set around its 18-hole golf course that have either four or five bedrooms and 70-foot-long pools have a starting price of $4 million. For golfers, Costa del Sols big advantage is the weather. Winters are sunny and mild so you can pretty much play golf year-round, Mr. Sens, of Golf magazine, said.

With its strategic location between Asia and Europe and in the heart of the Middle East, Dubai has become a coveted spot for golf homes in the last five years, said Mr. Kauffman, the golf analyst.

Dubai is the financial and cultural capital of the region and a Las Vegas equivalent in terms of restaurants and luxury shopping, he said. More recently, it has become a golfers haven and has some of the largest master-planned luxury golf communities in the world with courses built by top architects.

The roughly 2,800-acre Jumeirah Golf Estates is an example and includes 16 different living districts and two courses designed by the Australian golfer Greg Norman. Parks, walking trails and green spaces abound throughout the development, and each district has its own style and amenities.

Flame Tree Ridge, for one, is meant to evoke the feeling of being in the Tuscan countryside and has four- and five-bedroom villas with stone facades and terra-cotta roofs. The properties have views of the golf courses, large landscaped gardens and pools.

But Dubai is expensive. Mr. Kauffman said that pricing is akin to New York real estate.

The Dominican Republic is a prime destination in the Caribbean for golf-driven real estate, Mr. Sens said, and has at least a half dozen sizable golf developments.

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Looking for a Place to Golf in Retirement? Expand Your Horizons - The New York Times