If it's too expensive FOR YOU, don't play there. Please don't bring the rest of us down with the complaining.

The "more" was donated to Arnie's hospital.

Please stop comparing rates to rates back home. Depending on where you live, those rates are exorbitant compared to our area. Instead, look at the courses surrounding The Villages. You can play many of these (with a cart included), for far less than here in The Villages. Eagles Ridge has a great layout, and is in great shape every time I've been there. Rates are under $35 with cart during the slow season, but in the fall the rates only go up to $45 while The Villages goes up to $60+ - and that's with your own cart!

Just outside the "Bubble" Sunday around 9:00 AM less than $50 per person with the cart, at the Del Webb courses up north, and at the Continental on 44. I'm sorry but the rates in the bubble are a bit high. You have to work 20 hours a week at minimum wage at a golf facility to get half off.

You chose to not take your own cart…and didn’t do your due diligence before going. Why post here? The rates are clearly published on golfthevillages.

I've played all the available courses within a 40 mile radius of The Villages and with the exception of Baseline and Rolling Greens executive layouts, none of them charge extra for a cart. Booking online, all are far less expensive than any Villages championship course.

Back home they would let us play for free if we promised to pull the weeds near where your ball landed. They'd also let you use your garden tractor as a cart for free as long as you left the mower deck running as you travel.

My /guess/ as to why the higher extra charge for a cart here:
This is the only golf cart community among the bunch mentioned so far in this thread. There are people - whether we like to acknowledge it or not, who will take a cart out - and simply not return it. Or take it and assume they can use it all day, and use it to go to lunch in the squares, or go shopping, or stop home to shower before returning to the club for drinks.

They will do this, because they think they're entitled, that the rules don't apply to them. If you think that doesn't happen, think again. It happens. Weekly, if not daily.

To offset the cost of needing extra carts, to accommodate the entitlement of the few who take those carts for many hours after they've left the golf course, SOMEONE has to pay extra. Since the ONLY people who do this, are people who - take the golf carts and don't use their own, then they are the ones who will have to foot the bill.

If the charge for using their golf carts is unacceptable, don't use them. This is a golf cart community. It's assumed either you or the person you're golfing with (or each of you) has your own golf cart. The country clubs are available for non-residents, who can't bring their own golf cart. That means they have that cart until they return it. So if they're going to pay for it, they might as well take it off the course and go to the squares for lunch. Or stop at CVS to pick up their husband's prescription. Or visit a friend who lives here. Etc. etc.

They're not supposed to - but they do. And so, the charge.

I think distance was a major factor in not taking own carts

Wow! Is this a major problem? In twenty years never heard of this before…… not even on the grape vine.

Wow...............how did you determine this is wide-spread enough (not jus a friend or two) to cause an imbedded surcharge in the rental rates??

There is no SHADE anywhere on the courses south of 44. Sorry no thanks!

I guess you have not seen Glenview CC then? By far the best looking and well kept course in TV.

:shocked:
Have you played down there???
Southern Oaks has shade (to name one).

So the phrase "I /guess/" just kinda slipped past you didn't it?

I didn't "determine" anything. I guessed. Words have meanings.

And no I didn't guess based on a friend or two. None of my friends play golf. My neighbors all have their own golf carts and I live in walking distance to the nearest country club. I see the CC rental carts come down here, I've seen a few of them at Spanish Springs in the parking lots. I've seen people drive them off the CC course at Mallory Hill and drive up Odell, I saw one on the MMP near Brownwood. I've seen golfers using the rental carts to drive to the pool, from the course at Lopez, and park their golf cart there while they have pool-side lunch. That holds up that cart, making it unavailable for the cart guys to clean (and gas up, if necessary) for the next renter.

Considering that I see at least one every week somewhere OTHER than the country club golf course - I GUESSED that this might be the reason why rental fees are high here.