Thanks Gracie, for starting this thread. As we're looking for our long-term home in retirement golf is very important to us, and this is great information.
Today, we belong to a very nice, but also very casual private club. It's a golf-only club. We participate in some club tournaments and leagues. We play regularly with a few other couples, and also really enjoy getting out either very early or late and playing as a twosome. We like playing fast, and can often get in 9 holes in less than 1 1/2 hours, and if we're lucky, 18 in just over 3.
The fact that there are so many options - both Executive and Championship - is very appealing to us. We're both mid-handicap golfers ( 14.2 and 14.8 index right now) and don't need extremely difficult golf courses to find golf a challenge. When evaluating retirement communities, one critical factor is: Will we enjoy playing here in our 70s and 80s? My wife's parents were life-long golfers, and as they got into their later years, we could see how it became more difficult for them to play some courses. More important than length even is how easy/hard is it to get from the cart to and from greens. Some modern courses make that much more of a challenge than it needs to be.
One question I have is what is the typical cart-path policy at Villages courses? How often is it cart-path only?
Related to some of the follow-up comments: Definitely, new golfers should start with lessons. My wife has written a book - aimed primarily at women just starting with golf, but would be useful for all beginning golfers - that offers a fun method for getting started playing golf. If anyone is interested, please PM me.
We're looking forward to checking out The Villages with a LSV in January.
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