See the last two words of your post for the answer, it’s not your cart.

Cane Garden
 

I have lived in the Villages full time for 18 months. I am not a priority member and have played several Championship courses paying the necessary green fees. Being an avid golfer, I have taken numerous guys to a golf mecca in Myrtle Beach with over a 100 courses. Green fees with cart, including lunch and beer usually runs between $35 and $60 dollars. In over ten years of going to Myrtle Beach, we have never had an issue with bad conditions on any of the courses. Since most of us living here who play golf, we all have a sense of the seasonal conditions necessary to maintain the courses, including sanding, punching, fertilizing and maintenance. All you have to do is ask the question prior to paying your green fees, is the course in good shape? If the response is not, just say I do not desire to play a course not in decent shape. Most courses outside of the Villages even go so far as to discount green fees if certain conditions exist at time of play. I call that professional integrity. If we ask the question enough times and get the proper answer, I would think we would see a better set of conditions on the courses. Remember, there is power in numbers.

Not a captive.
 

There are people that think they are golfers that have no self respect and have no problem ruining a golf course for everyone else. The ambassadors can't do their job because one complaint will get them fired. That situation is the course manager's and the owner's fault and is unacceptable. That is why I never play a championship course while in season. I play other courses in the area which are in better condition and cheaper in cost.

Course maintenance information can be found here, very good source.
Golf The Villages

"One complaint will get them fired"?

Let me tell you what the Ambassadors do, and would take more than one complaint to get them fired

They "try" to keep pace of play, even though the elitist a holes think they are pros, and think pace of play is that the ones in front of them are playing too slow, even when they are shown that everyone is either ahead of, or on time.
They sand the freaking divots for the lazy asses that don't
They repair the freaking ball marks for the lazy asses that don't
They rake the bunkers for the lazy asses that don't.
They keep placing the rakes in the proper positions, which if people would attend "Good Golf School", would know the why and how.
They fill divots on the tee's for the lazy asses that don't
They police the tee's and pick up cigarette and cigar butts for the lazy asses that just toss them on the ground.
They pick up your garbage......there are garbage receptacles on every hole ya know.
They keep you hydrated
They fill your sand bottles
They get grief for pin placements beyond their control
They get grief for the course conditions
They try to make your day of golf as enjoyable as they can.
All this and more for minimum wage.....and a smile............. why?
Steve

Courses go thru cycles.



The bad will come back to good.

Would be nice if golfers wouldn't drag feet on the greens. At least now by the rules golfers can repair "spike" marks.

Min wage and reduced green fees...

:agree:

Another thing I've noticed with the new rules, is that a lot of people are jerking the flag out of the hole...to get their ball.

At least previously when the flag had to be removed, the really lazy could use those little suction cups at the end of their grips...to retrieve their balls.

Now, they're damaging the edge of the cups while jerking up on the flag...because of their laziness. :mad:

As to course conditions, rumor has it that Tierra's greens...are in excellent shape. :thumbup:

This post is dead on. I see people jerking the flag out to remove balls from the cup all the time. I've mentioned it to playing partners, but obviously you don't want to alienate the people you play golf with, so you have to be careful. And I agree about Tierra. It is the best golf course in The Villages now. Conditions are beautiful right now, with smooth, medium fast greens.

Belle Glade and Lopez in good shape.

Ohio Buckeye, the conditions of the greena have nothing to do with the amount of play. THey are black in places with no grass. THey are bumpy as crazy{maybe a roller would help} and the Champ courses are rarely totally full anymore. Conditions and prices? Played Glenview Monday THe greens were healthy but very slow. I just do not think the people who run these courses know what they are doing.

We played Cane Garden yesterday, Allamanda to Hibiscus, and I mostly agree with the OP. Allamanda was OK, with decent greens and fairways, but Hibiscus was disappointing. Fairways were fine, with plenty of grass, but the greens are very patchy and bumpy. The turf management on these greens is lacking. But overall, I wouldn't say either course was in terrible shape. But neither was in as good condition as Tierra or Orange Blossom. And the $47.00 I paid as a priority member is not a bargain by any stretch. I paid $48.00 on Saturday at Juliette Falls, and that is a bargain. What a nice golf course.

Are you taking into account the cost of the priority membership, the cost of your golf cart, and wear and tear on the golf cart? And depending on where you live in The Villages, it may take the same amount of time to drive to Palmer in a golf cart as it does to drive to Ocala in a car.

Course conditions
 

Played Bonifay Destin-Ft. Walton Tuesday. Every green on both nines had been treated with some kind of black dust that made putting almost impossible, ruined your golf towel by wiping all the black residue off of your ball, and made your golf shoes look like you had walked through a coal mine. For this, I paid $47-- the Priority rate. I must admit, the Ambassador had empathy and handed out good golfer coupons to my group. My partner joked with him about whether the reward could be used to pay for dry cleaning.

Okay, courses must be maintained. But is it fair to charge full price to play a course that's getting a face lift? If I had wanted to putt on mud, I might have played Lake Miona for half the price.