[Polar Bear]

I have some friends coming down and will likely play golf two or three days from the 20th to the 26th (April). These are pretty good golfers...college golf team level. (One's son is trying to break in to the pro tour.)

Which championship courses do you feel are in the best condition at this time?

Thanks.

[JGVillages]

Unfortunately the majority of the Championship courses are not in great shape. Havana would be one that is OK. You may want to take them off campus to some very exceptional Championship Courses within an hour. I suggest:
Juliet Falls / Ocala
Mission Inn~El Campeion / Howey-in-the-Hills
Worlds Woods ~ either Pine Barron's or Rolling Oaks / Brooksville>Homosassa
Red Tail / Sorrento

[Mleeja]

Originally Posted by JGVillages

Unfortunately the majority of the Championship courses are not in great shape. Havana would be one that is OK. You may want to take them off campus to some very exceptional Championship Courses within an hour. I suggest:
Juliet Falls / Ocala
Mission Inn~El Campeion / Howey-in-the-Hills
Worlds Woods ~ either Pine Barron's or Rolling Oaks / Brooksville>Homosassa
Red Tail / Sorrento

Interesting comment. Which courses do you consider not in great shape and why?

[JP]

Arnold Palmer---Riley.

[waynet]

I totally agree with JG. Take them to the courses he suggested. A little more expensive but worth it. As for conditions Palmer and Lopez are in poor shape. The best in the villages right now is Mallory but as many of us know whats good this week could be awful next week.

[JoMar]

I also agree that you will find courses in better shape off site. TV courses get played heavily, many divots not sanded, bunkers not raked and ball marks all over the greens. The courses listed off site should be in better shape. Now that the snowbirds have flown north our courses should improve. One of my favorites here is Glenview.

[ajbrown]

I cannot speak to off campus. I know that my go-tos like Palmer are not very good.

One option, but risky (as it is different) is Tierra. It is an older style course, greens were pretty good last weekend, albeit slow. It is a pretty tough track from the tips for any level player.

I have a buddy visiting for the afternoon of the 18th, so going though the same process myself.

good luck.

[waynet]

and who do we blame for the pathetic condition of the Mallory putting green,the snowbirds? It's not the snowbirds that are responsible for the course conditions being bad.

[Villager Dude]

Evans Prairie
Belle Glade
Havana
Palmer , Riley
Mallory ?
Ocala Golden
Jewett Falls

[rubicon]

Black Bear, Eustis

[rjn5656]

World Woods is #1, followed byRed Tail, then Juliet Falls

3top notch courses and they will negotiate on price

[Polar Bear]

I appreciate all the input. But we are going to play TV courses. They will be playing off-site courses before and after their visit to TV.

So continued input regarding local conditions is appreciated.

[ajbrown]

Here is my recent plays and opinions if it helps. I judge a course’s condition based heavily on the greens. Are they true? Bonus for speed…
Things can change so fast, I am not sure I would trust anything I saw in March.

No greens are fast right now that I played, by fast I mean Villages fast, say 9 or 10 (I need to make a stimp meter)

From Best to worst in my list: Mallory and Tierra, Glenview, Evans(this could move up), Lopez, Palmer, Bonifay

4/10 Lopez, Ashley to Torri

Playable, greens are just OK, Torri worse than Ashley, hats off to ‘hole setter’ for avoiding putting cups in bad sections.

4/8 Mallory, Virginia to Amelia

Consistently better than others this year, I felt they were getting a bit crusty (which I loved as they were faster), but hope it is not a warning

4/3 Tierra

Consistently better than others this year

4/1 Evans Prarie, Killdeer to Osprey

They looked ok, but hard to judge as the staff had proactively small hole aerated and sanded, would be interested how they are now

3/28 Palmer, Laurel to Riley

Worst year I can recall for Palmer. Hopefully they figure it out.

3/25 Glenview, Stirrup to Talley

Playable. Looked like Augusta after Bonifay

3/23 Bonifay, Destin to Ft Walton

Worst in TV. Almost un-puttable, looks like they tried the poke and sand method but it failed? Hopeful this has changed as I like their greens.

I have a guest coming next Monday. May be time for a road trip to sneak a peak at some random greens around dusk. I know, I know, trespassing

[Dr Winston O Boogie jr]

When they're going to off campus golf courses, they shouldn't miss Black Diamond Ranch in Lecanto. There's nothing like it in Florida. It amy be the best golf course in the state.

They have a stay and play, one night, two rounds of golf for $425. Last time I was there was over 25 years ago. If it's still like that, it's worth every penny.

[Mikeod]

Unfortunately, the time period for your guests' visit is during the transition period from overseed to base bermuda, so conditions will vary. I would suggest waiting until closer to the time they will be here to determine what course would be best as far as conditions are concerned.