[tophcfa]

I just returned North from a wonderful 12 days at our Villages home. I managed to get in 10 rounds of Championship golf during the trip and was very pleased with the course conditions. I played every course except for Glenview and Bonifay. The overall conditions were as good as I have experienced in a long time. I would say that Tierra Del Sol was in the best overall condition, especially the greens, and every other course, with the exception of Havana, was in excellent shape. Havana, for some reason, was the only course where the conditions were not excellent. I hit several fairways with my drive only to find my ball on a lie with little to no grass underneath it. The course seemed kind of dry and burnt. I am not sure if it is because of the elevation changes on that particular course or if the course lacks adequate irrigation, but the conditions were noticeably different from the other 9 courses I played. The conditions at Havana were not horrible, just not up to par with the other courses.

Here are some other observations. You just can't beat Laurel to Riley at Palmer as the best 18 in the Villages, but I will also give a shout out to Calusa to Tequista at Belle Glade and Osprey to Egret at Evans Prairie as excellent 18 hole rotations. My favorite 9 holes are Riley at Palmer, Hibiscus at Cane Garden, the back 9 at Tierra Del Sol, Egret at Evans Prairie, and the Palms at Hacienda Hills. Also, Torri Pines at Nancy Lopez and the back 9 at Orange Blossom Hills are interesting layouts with some different kind of holes.

I also managed to sneak in one round at my favorite executive course, Pelican, which was in good shape. Can't wait till the Holidays are over so we can get back to the Villages and play some more golf : )