How is golf different in The Villages and how is the game different as we age?

[graciegirl]

I have been playing golf for over forty years and have played on a lot of courses over time.

Moving here after a hiatus for a few years due to illness was a huge change to the golf I was used to all of my life.

Like many golfers who moved here we belonged to a club for most of our lives and played golf on one course and we played eighteen hole golf only.

I played more seriously, belonged to a ladies league and we kept scores and turned them in for our handicap. I would play maybe three 18 hole rounds a week if I could work them in and play golf a couple of evenings a week with Sweetie and I going out for nine, not a foursome. I liked playing as a twosome. That isn't an option here.

The folks I played golf with played a lot of golf and played a lot of golf with me. I knew their usual game and they knew mine. We usually played in friendly competition in club events.

Golf here in The Villages is quite different in many ways and my game is much different, as I don't seem to get the same distance that I got from clubs twenty years ago... and perhaps my short game and putting are a little better.

I started this thead for veteran golfers to explain to wannabe folks considering the move here just how nine hole golf here is different than golf we left behind. I think championship golf is fairly similar. I don't play it anymore.

AND to ask how your game has changed as you get a little older.

I think.........I enjoy the golf here more. I am not sure why.

[Golfingnut]

The Villages courses are much easyer than the average course I played other places we have lived. The first cut of rough here is very friendly and what would be 18 inch deep true rough other places is non-existent here. Don't get me wrong, I like that. I am getting too old to loose 2 or 3 balls in the rough per round and end up with scores over 100. I'm up for lower scores and enjoying the game. Since we all play the same difficulty its a fair competition.
SO: In my opinion, its easyer here but more fun. With the lack of true rough, slow play is reduced dramaticly.

[jebartle]

Sooooo different than our private club in NC.....I played the same 18 holes with the same girls 3 times a week, ladies day was a MUCH smaller group of girls, LOTS of fussing:shrug: over NOTHING back in NC...Played tournament golf 2 or 3 times a month:eclipsee_gold_cup: at some of the most beautiful courses (Biltmore Forest, Champions Hills, Cliffs (3) to name a few) I belonged to Western Carolina Womens Golf Assoc. and we played for $35, which included golf, prizes and lunch (kinda miss that!)....My handicap has gone up since I've been in the Villages....I was a 6, now a 10 (age I'm sure has a LOT to do with change)....Most of the girls walked....Never had an opportunity to play golf with 3 men and this happens all the time in TV which is great fun...Rules of golf are rather loose on executive courses here in TV, which is OK by me, I'm not playing against the golfers, just the golf course (Of course, if it is a tournament than rules should apply)...In NC we lived on golf course but they did not allow private golf carts and in TV we take our golf cart everywhere!...Yea!:pepper2:..Mimosa Hills was a typical Donald Ross course with lots of traps, only one water hazard and lots of hills, different in TV...Most courses are pretty flat, lots of hazards with hazardous critters (gators, snakes) in TV, courses are beautifully manicured with wonderful landscaping....Some of par 4's fairways on execs. are a little rough thou!

[Polar Bear]

...I liked playing as a twosome. That isn't an option here...

I look forward to making golfing friends and playing in full groups in TV. But I also like to walk late in the day, including summers, finishing just at sunset. Would this be possible with non-foursomes? Or even <eek!> alone? :^)

[JoeC1947]

[QUOTE=graciegirl;671990]

I would play maybe three 18 hole rounds a week if I could work them in and play golf a couple of evenings a week with Sweetie and I going out for nine, not a foursome. I liked playing as a twosome. That isn't an option here.


A twosome is an option here. You simply use someone's ID that you know doesn't golf for the other two slots. That way you'll only be paired up is if there are walk on golfers.

[JP]

I LOVE playing golf in the villages. I think the courses are beautiful albeit more easy than other courses I've played but as I've got older I've finally realized I'm never going to be as good as Tiger Woods and don't need the added challenges of 'hard' golf courses. I also like the number of courses we have so you aren't always playing with and seeing the same people.

[MikeV]

I too have found that even with a good strike my shots do not travel the same distance as in the North East. Maybe the air is thicker closer to Sea Level or something. I just adjusted up one club length and all is as it should be. Wind is also a factor here.

[collie1228]

Golf seems more enjoyable to me in TV, but I think there are several reasons for this. First of all, I play from the white tees, which are closer here (I would be playing from the equivalent of the blues "up north"). The championship courses are generally shorter here than the courses I played in my other life. The fairways are wider with less rough. There are fewer trees lining each hole - in fact I'm trying to think of a single hole in TV that I would call "narrow", and can't come up with any. Maybe Tierra Del Sol's No. 10? Water holes here come into play less. Regarding rules, the group I play with is very strict about playing by the rules, with the only exception being that we can roll the ball to a good lie in the fairways. And we putt out every putt. The cost of championship golf in TV is high , and I'm not all that pleased with current greens conditions (Mallory's greens are a disgrace). But at least the price went way down this week. Overall I like playing golf here. And I love the convenience of using my own cart.

[ajbrown]

A twosome is an option here. You simply use someone's ID that you know doesn't golf for the other two slots. That way you'll only be paired up is if there are walk on golfers.

Maybe I misunderstand and I apologize if I did. What you recommend is very wrong.... and should never be done IMO. It is called ghosting. I in fact know a person who lost their golfing privileges for this exact behavior.

I look forward to making golfing friends and playing in full groups in TV. But I also like to walk late in the day, including summers, finishing just at sunset. Would this be possible with non-foursomes? Or even <eek!> alone? :^)

I think you will find opportunities to play in smaller groups later in the day. In fact, I just played over at Heron the other day with my Dad. After we were done, he took off and I went and played Pelican by myself. I had the course to myself, it was a beautiful evening and really relaxing.....

[justjim]

Gracie, my golfing experience over the years is very similar to yours. At one time I was very competitive, but physical issues over the last 10 years (along with age) has my game down to "bogey golf"---on the Championship Courses. But I enjoy it and I'm just happy that I can still play. I play championship courses about once and occasionaly twice a week. I think the prices are reasonable compared to the last couple of Private Clubs that we belonged. My best friend starting playing golf just a couple years before we retired. She is really quite good on the executive courses and enjoys playing with me. It's really nice for husband and wife to play golf together. She did the right thing and got several lessons. I really recommend lessons for all new golfers. I wish that I had started that way. FORE!

[Yorio]

I have seldom played 9 holes of golf until I came to the villages. The only time I will play 9 holes up north was when I played with real beginners. It has always been 18 holes with the guys or couples golf few times a year. I used to play three or four times consecutively going on excursions to Myrtle Beach and other places a few times a year. No more. For a while 6400 yards was a norm. No more. I need below 6000 yards to enjoy. We jokingly say old seniors should be 15 holes a round as those last four holes are trying especially long par 5s. So in a nut shell, I enjoy 9 holes executive courses very much now. My aim is to hit mid30s or below and the hope is to get better with the approach shot. My distance is in the toilet so pitch and put is the name of the game. In reality, I don't need 14 clubs as most clubs go the same distance which isn't much but my ego keeps me carrying those 14 clubs.

[COgolfer]

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.

[Yorio]

COGolfer - A good thing about The Villages Championship Courses are they are mostly flat at least for me. My private club up north had 13 of the 18 holes had water come to play with ups and downs. I belong to MISGA(Maryland Inter Senior Golf Association) which plays about 50 private clubs in Maryland but indeed playing those courses become more difficult each year. not so much comparatively in The Villages because many fairways are wide with no trees as obstacles.

[Thnonne]

As we get older we can adapt to our lessening ablilities. Older golfers can use lower compression balls. Older golfers can get senior flex shafts, a wise teaching pro said to me "your swing is not going to get faster as you age." Older golfers can move to forward tees as the distance they hit shortens (not doing this is a major contributor to slow play), play the tees that fit your ability and/or age level. We can still play satisfying golf if we put aside our egos and do the things that help a senior golfer succeed.

[l2ridehd]

The Villages championship courses are more wide open, shorter tee for tee, and easier to play then the courses I play in VA. And yet the slope is not that much lower. As an example the course I belong to in VA, the Black tees are 7200 yds, the blue 6800, the white 6400 and the red 5800 yds. In the Villages most blue run around 6100 and most white about 5700. So shorter to accommodate our slower swing speeds. I drop about 6 strokes a round playing the blue here.

The executive courses can be really easy or a few of them are a challenge. Go play Pelican from the back tees to be humbled by an executive course.