[N44125]

Played Sweetgum today, horrible Conditins. The greens are horrible. The Ambassador said they will be closing it soon for extended maintenance. On a positive note, Volusia has re-opened.

[ddharrold]

Extended maintenance on a course that's been open about 18 months. That doesn't sound good. Thanks for letting us know.

[Darlene Lansing]

I played Sweetgum today also //// glad they are closing the course , needs rejuvenating !

[Mikeod]

All four courses, Volusia, Palmetto, Sweetgum, and Mangrove, were opened prematurely, IMO, to accommodate the demand for courses below 466A. As a result, the Bermuda greens never had a chance to get established. They relied on the overseed to make them playable before their time. Palmetto suffered for over a year as the Bermuda tried to establish itself despite the traffic. Sweetgum and Mangrove are now in the same spot. At least with Volusia, they closed it down quickly to give the greens some time to fill in better. I hope conditions there avoid the problems of the other three.

I suspect the "maintenance" is simply letting the course grow in better.

[LittleDog]

I played Volusia 3 times before they closed it down. I thought that for a new course the conditions were very good. I really don't know why they closed it down. To my untrained eye I thought the course was in great shape.

John

Sweetgum has never been in good shape. Love the layout but it does need to be closed to hopefully allow the grasses to mature!!

[mtdjed]

I was gone for most of May. I understand it was dry and my view of Lake Sumter confirms that as it is down two feet since I left. Have played three executive courses since returning (Hawkes Bay, Belmont, and Bacall). Greens not very good. Aeration, sand, dead grass, no grass etc.

[justjim]

We played Sweetgum 3 weeks ago and it should have been closed then! No grass on the greens.

[Challenger]

Originally Posted by justjim

We played Sweetgum 3 weeks ago and it should have been closed then! No grass on the greens.

Same two days ago- never played on greens that bad ever

[buzzy]

Originally Posted by justjim

We played Sweetgum 3 weeks ago and it should have been closed then! No grass on the greens.

Had to repair green marks on my ball.

[Mikeod]

Originally Posted by LittleDog

I played Volusia 3 times before they closed it down. I thought that for a new course the conditions were very good. I really don't know why they closed it down. To my untrained eye I thought the course was in great shape.

John

They opened Volusia after spreading an incredible amount of overseed so the course looked great and was playable. But the main grass for the course had not grown in sufficiently. When the overseed started to die off, they had to close it to give the Bermuda a chance to fill and develop at least a minimal base.

[jnieman]

I called the starter shack to ask about Sweetgum closing as we have a tee time for Thurs at Sweetgum. He said Sweetgum closes every Tuesday for maintenance. Other than that it is open.

[bagboy]

Originally Posted by Mikeod

They opened Volusia after spreading an incredible amount of overseed so the course looked great and was playable. But the main grass for the course had not grown in sufficiently. When the overseed started to die off, they had to close it to give the Bermuda a chance to fill and develop at least a minimal base.

This is a very reasonable observation.

[Thnonne]

I played sweetgum on Sat 6/13. It was the in the worst condition of any golf course I have ever played. The cup on #1 was in sideways and the lip was all torn away, some of the other cups the lips were also torn up. The course was disgraceful and an embarassment to The Villages. This is the first time in the 9 years that I have lived in The Villages that anything was allowed the become so shabby, very un-villages like, I'm sure the developer would not be pleased.

[waynet]

I really do not think the developer knows at least I hope he doesn't.