Fore!
 

Ever the silver lining person, I just surprised myself and spotted a dark cloud:

If they improve all the greens and fairways before I get back in April, I'll have to find another excuse.
:sigh:

Played Havana early this morning. Frost delay until 8:30 so greens were unable to be mowed which is understandable. All in all the greens were in good shape. Slow due to the longer grass but very few bare spots. Fairways were "spotty" at best.

Play a few courses outside the Villages and you will see what decent Greens should be like. With the Ammenity Fees we pay I can't imagine why we can't get better quality.

Have done just that and have have found some in good, not excellent condition and others that were not good bordering on poor in AND outside the villages. Incidentally amenity fees only cover Exec. courses, Green fees support Championship courses.

Been here for 6 years and this has been the worst year for weather conditions hostile to course conditions both in AND outside the villages. Soon (April/May) the weather changes for the better (warmer) and growing conditions will improve. Also more t-times available:beer3:.

Played Havana Sunday. Kilimanjaro to Kenya, I put it in the same category as Cane, 7 of 10, very playable....

The weather on the other hand I put at 5 of 10 for 'almost March' in FL. Does anyone have a number we can call to make sure someone is aware of the issue ;)?

Not sure of the number, but it's in the phone book under Punxsutawney Phil. His phone, hell. I'd like to ring his :censored: neck!

Orange Blossom
 

Played Orange Blossom on 2/28 and the greens were sparse and bumpy, fairways were thin. I think the cold weather has hurt the course

Played Tierra Del Sol today and all in all i was in fairly good condition(a 7 on a scale of 1-10) Greens were slow; had not been cut due to heavy rain.One thing worthy of mention is that #4 fairway was in terrible shape. Heavy blotches of what appeared to be diseased grass. Looked like massive divots.

Played Hacienda Hills today and found it in very good condition cosidering the weather we have been stuck with lately. Greens were as good as any I have played here in The Villages the last couple of months . On a negative note , I did think some of the pin placements were in some very precarious spots making even a two footer an adventure.

I agree about the conditions. I played the same rotation today with three gentlemen.

Played Mallory Hill(Caroline and Virginia) today and found the course to be in very good condition. The greens were the best I have seen in a month or so . Fairways were a little spotty but should fill in nicely when the weather improves

Try 1-800-God.

Hacienda today, Palms to Lakes. IMO the greens were better than Cane/Havana.

I still did not putt well, starting to think it might not be the greens ;)

Tierra greens better than others
 

Played Tierra yesterday. With the exception of number 10, they are the best greens I have played in TV recently. Have only played 4 times in past couple of weeks (Tierra, Hacienda, Havana, Cane). All courses very playable.

Played for the first time since last fall.
 

I played nine holes at Truman. Like hitting off a sidewalk. Very hard winter here. Not at all like last year.

Got lots of roll...........

Played Mallory Hill(Amelia and Caroline) today.The greens were not very good especially on Amelia. Lots of bares spots and ball bounced all over the place on putts. Caroline was a little better but still would only rate about a 5.

"Ad & Dis" Advantages of "Hard-top" Fairways
 

Agreed graciegirl, we played Truman (for 1st time) the other day and found same conditions plus a frigid wind chill.
Looking on the bright side of life; recently had my 1st ever 270+ yard drive with all that downhill rolling at De La Vista.

Tierra Del Sol still good
 

Old thread but as good a place as any to post this. I just looked back at posts from last spring and want to clear up one thing, I do not work for Tierra Del Sol :)

I played Tierra yesterday (Sunday) and found the greens to be very good. Had a good pace for greens in TV. They overseed starting Saturday, so if you have not been there for a bit you may wish to try it out before it changes. IMO, it was better than Cane (HIB/JAC) or Glenview (FR/SC)

PS. They also still have the yardage markers every 25 yards. I hope they keep them.

Oh sure. Take the O'Donnell defense.

You've hit on one of my minor frustrations. Over the summer, the bermuda greens get really good. They get them rolling smooth and fast just in time to overseed and they get slow and a little bumpy for a while. Then, when they get good again with the overseed, it's time to kill off the overseed and let the bermuda take over, so they get a little sparse and bumpy again. I've always felt the seasonal residents don't get to see the courses at their best because that occurs in the summer.

Don't misunderstand. The courses are very enjoyable year round, just better at some times than others.