[tomwed]

Originally Posted by rustyp

Because the grass grows back and the felt does not ?

That's an excellent point.

[DeanFL]

On Xmas morn, we golfed with a neighborhood group at Evans Prairie - 2 4somes for 18, 6 for 9. Got there at 9am. Short wait (we were told at the shack it was very busy earlier). The 4 some ahead of us (in our neighb group) had 2 20's relatives in their group, novice, and took a long time shooting etc but left after 4 holes so we moved along. The Ambassador came around to alert us to play quicker before but nothing much we could do.
My feeling - the Starter Shack folks should at least have a etiquette list for newbies and point it out - especially for those with very novice/new golfers...and should have a 2 or 3 swing limit after misses... (!!!) AND point out BEST BALL for those groups.
It was a lot of fun - we completed 9 in 2:16, and was great to take big hits as we almost always play Exec. As for course conditions after Xmas, I can only imagine the damage done...

[CWGUY]

Originally Posted by rustyp

Because the grass grows back and the felt does not ?

And you DON'T own the grass. Someone else does and says it's O.K. rustyp, I'm afraid you are wasting your breath.

[CWGUY]

///

[rustyp]

Originally Posted by CWGUY

And you DON'T own the grass. Someone else does and says it's O.K. rustyp, I'm afraid you are wasting your breath.

I do believe you are absolutely right.

[tomwed]

That's true too. They own the courses. It's there's to do what they want. See you didn't waste your breath.

[ditka41]

We played Volusia today and can only describe it as a very sad experience due to the abuse it took on Christmas day! The greens were so trashed the damage must have been caused by irons or shovels. They were NOT ball marks. This course is generally in good condition and fun to play. Today, I put down more sand than ever along with working on gouges on the greens. Hard to believe the "free" thing is worth ruining a course for experienced golfers because somebody wants to be able to show kids or non-golfers what Gramps does down here. I can not believe real golfers did this damage. It felt like looking at an animal that has been seriously wounded. If respect for the course and others can not be enforced, I'd like to stop this annual "freebie". Naturally, the free-loaders will have another thing to bitch about, but so what?

[CWGUY]

Originally Posted by ditka41

We played Volusia today and can only describe it as a very sad experience due to the abuse it took on Christmas day! The greens were so trashed the damage must have been caused by irons or shovels. They were NOT ball marks. This course is generally in good condition and fun to play. Today, I put down more sand than ever along with working on gouges on the greens. Hard to believe the "free" thing is worth ruining a course for experienced golfers because somebody wants to be able to show kids or non-golfers what Gramps does down here. I can not believe real golfers did this damage. It felt like looking at an animal that has been seriously wounded. If respect for the course and others can not be enforced, I'd like to stop this annual "freebie". Naturally, the free-loaders will have another thing to bitch about, but so what?

Isn't Volusia an executive? It's free year round. Any resident can play it for free and bring a paying guest. CHRISTMAS HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH IT. PEOPLE EITHER HAVE RESPECT FOR THINGS OR NOT. I SEE ON THE COURSES ALL TIMES OF THE YEAR. JUST MORE OF THEM NOW.

[TomSpasm]

I thought it would be a disaster since the weather was so nice, but we went to Tierra del Sol around 9:15, got some free spice cake from the starter, teed off around 10:05, played in about 4 hours 25 minutes on a beautiful day, and didn't see anyone disrespecting the course. Had to rake some extra foot prints in the bunkers, but that was no big deal. Much better experience than I expected!

[tomwed]

I know the champs are owned by the family or corp I suppose. Who owns the execs?

[mdticket]

What do you think is the fairest way to have golfers line up and to start?

1. one person in the foursome shows up puts their name in and calls friends to join them after waiting maybe up to an hour and a half.

2. to secure your place in the line all four of your group needs to be there.

[CWGUY]

Amazing.....simply amazing!

[ditka41]

The "freebie" Christmas play on Volusia had EVERYTHING to do with the condition. During all other times we have regular golfers, some organization to the action, Ambassadors to monitor the flow, and discuss proper play with those ignorant of it. It was trashed by people who are totally uncaring because they don't play other times or just plain ignorant. There should always be Starters and Ambassadors present or make sure that access is totally closed. Even today, the 29th, I played another course that has a lot of recovering to go before it's back to normal.

[golfing eagles]

Surprisingly, I played Sandhill today and the condition was OK. Of course, I sucked so bad I wouldn't have noticed anyway.

[UpNorth]

Plenty of courses let you play "free golf" on Christmas day. However, they require you to walk the course. No carts. If this were the case in The Villages, I'm sure it would thin the crowd down to the "real golfers". I would be all for it.