Quote:
Originally Posted by TrudyM
I just got through arguing with all my husbands childhood friends, that the villages would be better for our retirement than out here in Hawaii (We are visiting family as we do every May) because with the lower cost of living  and all the courses available he could play golf as often as he liked. I need to win this debate as they are pushing hard for us to live here and I hate Honolulu.
If course conditions are that bad on the 18's how bad are the more challenging of the exc courses.  If one planned to play them to work on ones short game?
How much additional do I need to plan in the budget for off campus golf? And if you can't play in the villages why live there isn't golf the whole point. |
To answer your last question first, golf is not the whole point of TV. Golf is big here, but there are so many other things to do as well.
We have experienced unusual winters the last few years. First, there was a combination of colder than normal fall/winter periods when we also had lower than normal rainfall. That, combined with the increased play during the high season, had a negative effect on the courses. The last winter was milder, but there was still lower rainfall than normal. Other, older, courses outside TV seem to have weathered the situation better. Some of those courses are not as restricted with water use as TV is. Some of those courses also have lower fees than TV both winter and summer. So you have a choice. Play within TV which is more convenient, or outside TV which may be less expensive and may be in better condition at times.
In questioning the costs of the championship courses, I was informed the maintenance costs here are significantly higher than outside TV mostly because of the high volume of play they get all year round. As posted above, the older courses within TV tend to be in better condition because the turf has had more time to mature.
IMO, complaints about conditions occur seasonally. This is the time when we are transitioning from the overseed to the regular bermuda. One way to do this is to cut the grass shorter than normal and reduce watering. This kills any remnants of the overseed. Follow that with aeration, fertilization, and water to stimulate the bermuda. During this phase, the course will be hard, thin, and unattractive. When completed, it will be much improved. So I don't see as many complaints during the summer, especially if we get normal rainfall.