[Warren Kiefer]

I had a friend and avid golfer make a statement about the golf fees here in the Villages. Do you agree??
He said that he has noticed empty tee times at the championship courses while the executive courses are usually 100% full. He further stated it was his opinion that the fees being charged on the championship courses have gone over the top in comparison to outside courses and hundreds of golfers are now playing on the outside....

[Fredman]

Your friend is correct

[drcar]

Lol, this has been a ongoing debate. If the price is to high don't play there. The market determines the price.

[golfing eagles]

Originally Posted by drcar

Lol, this has been a ongoing debate. If the price is to high don't play there. The market determines the price.

Yes. Go play TPC Sawgrass or Bay Hill instead

[fred53]

Then your friend can't identify quality of the grass/putting greens or layout. I've played from Japan to Scotland. The championships here match up with most of them at half the cost. Add to that really good restaurants and you have many fine courses to play and plenty of drinks afterwards.

Of course if a person isn't very good then the type of course won't matter as much as the cost. There are ridiculously priced courses....ie: Pebble Beach @ $500/18 at the extreme. Many more come in at $90+ and >. Even though I play to about 5 my budget is better spent on other things. I take advantage of the after 4pm in late spring(pay for 9 and play as much as you can)and the summer special at about $7 after 5pm for all you can play. Since I used to live in Maine I still play as many 18 hole rounds here in spring and summer than in Maine for less $$$$.

[kcrazorbackfan]

Originally Posted by Warren Kiefer

I had a friend and avid golfer make a statement about the golf fees here in the Villages. Do you agree??
He said that he has noticed empty tee times at the championship courses while the executive courses are usually 100% full. He further stated it was his opinion that the fees being charged on the championship courses have gone over the top in comparison to outside courses and hundreds of golfers are now playing on the outside....

What point are you trying to make? It's not rocket science to figure out the reason for 100% full execs is that they are FREE. Are you wanting GMS to lower the fees of the championship courses to the point where maintenance is cut to the point they start looking like Miona Lakes Golf Course? I only play the execs if I can go out first thing in the mornings so I don't have to observe the carnage that FREE brings. I see very few tee times open (on the championships) every day and those are usually from the 1:00pm to 1:30pm time frame; they usually fill up before the start of the 2nd wave. Stop playing the championships; more tees times for us that do live in The Villages and do play our championship courses.

[Polar Bear]

Originally Posted by fred53

..I take advantage of the after 4pm in late spring(pay for 9 and play as much as you can)and the summer special at about $7 after 5pm for all you can play...

I'm with you, Fred. That's the majority of my champ play. Can't beat it.

Plus...I think the wave system can sometimes make it look like there are more unused tee times than there actually are.

[rjn5656]

Villages don't compare to TPC or Sawgrass.

[golfing eagles]

Originally Posted by rjn5656

Villages don't compare to TPC or Sawgrass.

Neither do the greens fees, which was the point of the thread if I read correctly

[John_W]

Go to villages.net teetime system and look at the open reservations from 12:30 to 1:30, you can play anywhere at any of those times with just a day or two ahead. Look at 1:30 to the end of the day for an open time, probably won't find any, not even 3 days out except for Orange Blossom and maybe Lopez. That's because if you're only playing 9 holes, you can't tee off until 1:30. That tells me that they are willing to pay $27.50, but not $57.00 to play an 18 hole round, that's my reason and many others I know.

I would like a flat rate after 11am, just like in the summer, of maybe $38 for 18 holes. Winter, spring, summer, $38 anytime after 11am. The amount of rounds would more than make up for the lower rate and in the summer they're collecting $15 more than the usual $23. I played 7 courses outside of Baltimore all as nice as ours, including some real hills, and paid anywhere from $32 to $39 year round on weekdays. They even had no revenue from November to March in most years due to cold and snow.

[Dr Winston O Boogie jr]

Warren, do you have a reminder on your calendar to make this post on the same day every year? Do you just copy and paste the post from the previous time.

Golf course fees are going to be what the market will bear. As long as people are coming the fees will be what they are. If more people come than the course will handle, fees will go up. If people stop coming, fees will go down.

Usually as fees go down, the quality of the courses will also go down and vice versa. Golf courses have a budget just like everything else and a certain amount of income is needed to make that budget. When revenues go down, cuts to the budget must be made.

Of course the executive courses are full. We are all prepaid. Also, the executive courses are more suitable for the caliber of the majority of the players in The Villages.

[collie1228]

I agree that the cost of championship golf in The Villages is generally higher than other courses in the area. But I've played many local courses and have found The Villages courses to be in equal or better condition, but outside courses give you golf and a cart for less cost than The Villages gets for golf without cart. That being said, I find the convenience of using my own cart to be well worth the difference. I'm very happy with golf here and love the diversity of golf available.

[spring_chicken]

Originally Posted by Dr Winston O Boogie jr

Warren, do you have a reminder on your calendar to make this post on the same day every year? Do you just copy and paste the post from the previous time.

Golf course fees are going to be what the market will bear. As long as people are coming the fees will be what they are. If more people come than the course will handle, fees will go up. If people stop coming, fees will go down.

Usually as fees go down, the quality of the courses will also go down and vice versa. Golf courses have a budget just like everything else and a certain amount of income is needed to make that budget. When revenues go down, cuts to the budget must be made.

Of course the executive courses are full. We are all prepaid. Also, the executive courses are more suitable for the caliber of the majority of the players in The Villages.

LOL! I actually thought someone had revived an old thread! There's also a nearly identical post about restaurants from January:
Restaurant Prices Hit New Highs
Within just the past week I have heard comments from other Villagers commenting about a marked increase price in menu prices. I hadn't noticed it myself because we don't visit the local restaurants very often. But yesterday, after playing gold we decided to stop for a light lunch. With only water to drink, two sandwiches, and including tip, my bill for myself and my wife was
$31.24...Now that I consider my friends comments, this does seem a little expensive. A Cuban sandwich at $13.50 and my hamburger at $10.50. The sandwiches did come with a few chips and slaw.

[daveczo]

Played the Links yesterday. Excellent conditions, $35.00. All 8 of us agreed that it was by far a better value than paying in the $50's for pretty much the same conditions. Won't play championship here again until April.

[Rapscallion St Croix]

OP has taken a condition (greens fees) and attempted to make it the cause for an effect that is fabricated. I just drove Buena Vista from Hwy 44 all the way to Nancy Lopez, and even in these high wind conditions, there were groups on every Championship Course hole I could see from the car. Yesterday, we spent 4 hours riding around in our cart and saw the same. Every hole we saw on Lopez, Palmer, and Glenview had one or two foursomes playing. Hacienda Hills was the only course we saw open holes on.