On Par With the Good Life in Mitchellville

Frank Zieziula said he and his wife moved to Woodmore from Cheverly after their children had grown up and left home, downsizing from a single-family house to Woodmore townhouse.

"I looked in Montgomery County, I looked in Anne Anne Arundel County . . . this offered me the best for my money," said Zieziula, 58, a Gallaudet University professor.

And the game that Zieziula became "passionate" about six years ago is a few steps away from home.

Kerby Parker, president of the Woodmore Homeowners Association, said that while there are families with children in the community, many residents are "entrenched in their professional life and not really having children."

Parker called Woodmore "an adult playing community."

For Parker, 44, an entrepreneur who runs an information technology firm and construction company, Woodmore symbolized success. He moved to the neighborhood about three years ago, after building a 14,900-square-foot house off Spriggs Request Way, a street lined with grandiose homes that vary in style and materials.

The homeowners association enforces strict rules regarding the appearance of homes. "Typically, you'd say, 'I spent over a million dollars on my home, I should be able to do what I want to,' " Parker said. "No, not here."

Wiseman joked that the strict guidelines sometimes make her think of doing something rash, such as painting her door purple. But she thinks the community is committed to holding onto Woodmore's beauty and value.

"That's the thing we all have in common. . . . We want to work with everybody to keep it real nice," Wiseman said.

In December, Branch realized his dream of living in Woodmore when he moved into a large villa in the Courtyard Villas cluster. He said he enjoys working in his home studio or dining at the country club, with its view of the greens and the lake. He dines almost daily at the club, where he is a social member, and loves the food and the service, he said.

"I don't have any reason to go anywhere else than right around the corner from my house," he said.

It's worth practicing in Woodmore, a luxury Prince George's County community intertwined with a country club's 18-hole golf course.

The front gate with guard post, staffed around the clock.

Woodmore residents talk about the peaceful setting, featuring a 67-acre lake, wildlife, a golf course and lots of trees.