[golfing eagles]

Originally Posted by fdpaq0580

El Nino this year was not a surprise. It is a well known weather pattern that happens on a somewhat regular basis. Lawn fungus is well known here, and if identified early on can be dealt with before or runs rampant and is spread. There have been complaints about the courses since we moved here over 10 years ago and from what I've read over those ten years, each year has been worse then the year before. A Death Spiral if I may refer to it as such. It has been blamed on everything from snowbirds to El Nino. This has been a tough year on the grass, but we knew (or the ones in charge should have known) and taken PROactive measures to ensure the courses were well fed and protected. The lawn "specialists" should have been in the field weekly if not daily to look for signs of trouble and dealt with it immediately. The current situation could have been much better then what we have now.
No. I am not a master gardener or have any special expertise in golf course management or maintenance. But I am a fairly keen observer and a caring resident and golfer. Several of my neighbors who maintain their own yards have amazing lawns. El Nino hasn't been noticed and it is just a matter of looking with pride at what they have grown and addressing the first sign of a problem. It is called caring.

Neither am I, but I think we both have 20/20 hindsight

[wseward]

I thought the letter regarding the course conditions was very informational. They have heard the complaints and have a plan in place. When there is a problem like this communication is so important. Without information too many "experts" are uninformed and stir the pot. My take is that if the golf directors follow their plan we will see improved conditions over the next few years.

[fdpaq0580]

Originally Posted by golfing eagles

Neither am I, but I think we both have 20/20 hindsight

High Five that! 🙃😉

[fdpaq0580]

Originally Posted by wseward

I thought the letter regarding the course conditions was very informational. They have heard the complaints and have a plan in place. When there is a problem like this communication is so important. Without information too many "experts" are uninformed and stir the pot. My take is that if the golf directors follow their plan we will see improved conditions over the next few years.

It doesn't always take an expert to recognize when the expert has failed. My take is, if the plan is "business as usual " then the death spiral will continue. If it is a new plan and if they don't stay flexible and proactive then I have little confidence in any timely improvement. G W Bush once said those fateful words, "Stay the course"! Capt. Queeg followed that strategy and USS Caine cut its tow cable. Point is one needs to recognize a problem and "nip it in the bud" before it becomes a major problem. Despite the lip service, those in charge failed to do that. Can we believe that the ones who lead us here are the ones we can trust to fix things, or are we throwing good money after bad.

[BrianL99]

Originally Posted by golfing eagles

There is a link (below) from another thread on this subject, so I can't take credit. However, I encourage all the naysayers, the "greedy developer" crowd, the "they don't care as long as houses are selling" crowd, and all the other anti-Villages whiners to read. Then ask themselves how many millions of dollars are they pouring into this problem? It's not like "they" are unaware and not addressing it. I hope they do the same for the championship courses.

…..

OK, then try the thread "District weekly bulletin"

Clearly technical difficulties, it's almost like posting a link to the forbidden news site

The missing link: []404 - File or directory not found. [March 2024]

Originally Posted by fdpaq0580

It doesn't always take an expert to recognize when the expert has failed. My take is, if the plan is "business as usual " then the death spiral will continue. If it is a new plan and if they don't stay flexible and proactive then I have little confidence in any timely improvement. G W Bush once said those fateful words, "Stay the course"! Capt. Queeg followed that strategy and USS Caine cut its tow cable. Point is one needs to recognize a problem and "nip it in the bud" before it becomes a major problem. Despite the lip service, those in charge failed to do that. Can we believe that the ones who lead us here are the ones we can trust to fix things, or are we throwing good money after bad.

It was a very well written and thoughtful response by the District. I'm sure they paid a public relations firm a boat full of money for that bit of prose. if not, whoever they have in house is a great writer, with a terrific grasp of public relations.

I would like to call attention to the following (from the District's Weekly Bulletin):

"The department maintains an ongoing 15-year capital improvement plan, which contains a
master schedule for all major renovations, smaller projects and aesthetic enhancements. Each year the plan is reviewed and updated based on the newest technologies available and evolving needs of the courses. Two years ago, Executive Golf Maintenance announced that we need to renovate courses every 10-12 years to provide the quality golf experience that our residents desire and deserve. Our current plan is to fully renovate at least 4 to 5 courses every year. This takes time, as a full renovation can take from 9 to 12 months and pulling 4 to 5 courses out of service at a time means slightly reduced tee time availability."

Golf course generally don't need "renovation" every 10-12 years. They may need new bunkers every 20 years, new irrigation every 30 years and new greens every 40 years ... but they do not need renovation every 10 - 12 years .... UNLESS:

What that paragraphs says to me, is this.

Every 10-12 years, we're going to completely renovate our courses. We are going to use quality contractors to do it and we're going to do it right. Once those courses are finished, we're going to maintain them, as we always have. Don''t worry, after 10 years of low-budget maintenance, we'll re-build them again.

In the meantime, you the residents get about a year of 100% quality from your "newly renovated golf course". The next year, it will decline to 90% quality. After 5 years, conditions will be down to 50% and continue on the decline until the 10-12 year cycle for re-building is reached.


There is a contract out right now under discussion, to renovate 2 Executive Courses. The estimate was $1.9M and the lowest bidder is at $1.4M. (https://www.**************.com/2024/...-golf-courses/)

If we were to assume those golf courses are 10 years old, that's $70,000 per year, per golf course.

Simple question. Why would we not invest that $70,000/year/course, to maintain it in such a way, that it won't need to be re-built again, in 10 years? (& to put $70,000 into perspective, the average yearly cost to maintain an Executive Golf Course in very good condition, is likely in the $200,000-$250,000 range.


BTW, played Laurel to Riley, TDS & Fox Run, Tally Ho & Stirrup Cup over the last 4 days. All are markedly improved from last month. Even the bunkers at Glenview were power-raked today.

[Billy1]

Yes, get the word out to potential buyers and renters that golf is very limited in the Villages.

[Bogie Shooter]

Originally Posted by Billy1

Yes, get the word out to potential buyers and renters that golf is very limited in the Villages.

And the purpose……?

[fdpaq0580]

Originally Posted by Bogie Shooter

And the purpose……?

Public service announcement. You wouldn't want folks to shell out all that money and end up unhappy and cursing us for not warning them, would you?