Mallory's Amelia & Not So Sweet Caroline were very good today. Grass growing well on the fairways and provided good lies although still pretty hard; rough is still hard pan. Greens were also in very good condition.

Played Hacienda Hills today. Course is in very good condition from tee boxes to the greens. The greens are in terrific condition.

Played Orange Blossom Wed and it is is not in the best of conditions. No grass in the rough , only hard ground. Fairways fair but several greens in bad shape; one in particular(can't remember which hole) is burnt brown in spots.

Played Nancy Lopez Thursday and found it to be in only fair conditions. Several greens with "large bad spots" Fairways were good and so were most greens but no rough.

wishing all were as good as Baseline..
 

I am sure there is a reason out there somewhere and no doubt it is $$$ related but if anyone has played that little old course just north of the Villages (Baseline) I am sure you are wondering like me......why cant the Villages courses be in that kind of shape??? I love the way no mater when you go the ball really stands up on the fairways and the greens are so plush.
But dont get me wrong...I love the Villages....Just an observation

There have been other good comments about Baseline. Sounds like something I should try.

Gracie
Thats not a putter , its a three wood .....

Fumar

I played Palmer on Friday it is in great shape. Fairways were like hitting off a carpet and greens were in very good shape. I had 2 guests that are good golfers one shot a 76 the other shot a 78. That was the first time they had played in The Villages as both live several hours South of here. They said the fairways at Palmer were the best they have played this season in FL.

We played Mallory on Saturday it is in nice shape but after playing Palmer we were spoiled.

I played Cane Garden today and I thought it was in a little better shape than Mallory was on Saturday.

Baseline (northeast side of Bellview) is a course that everyone should play at least once for the experience .....Its a Mini Augusta , with cart paths lined with palms and greens surrounded by flowers .......
It is owned by a man who has a large landscaping business and does a lot of work here in the Villages.....He knows how to make trees , grass, and flower's grow........the course has waterfalls , ponds and fountains and looks like cypress gardens with golf greens .......If you haven't played it , put it on your MUST list......The course is a little short but fun to play , take it from old fumar ,

FORE goodness sake , play it , Fumar ....:coolsmiley:

Baseline
 

I agree...Baseline golf course is wonderful. We take all of our company up there. Beautiful flowers & trees too. No tee time required, just wait in line

Mallory: Greens are getting better, just a few bad spots now, and rolling pretty fast. Still not happy with other things, rough is shorter than the fairways, and such bare tight lies around many greens, takes wedges for chipping out of most players hands. See most people putting or using hybrids instead of wedges.
Hacienda: In pretty good shape all around, very lush. Only complaint is in consistency of bunkers, too much sand in some, very fluffy, but, then again, a good way to combat that is to stay out of them!!
Palmer: In as good a shape as I have seen it since moving here. Just about perfect.
Havana: About the same as Mallory, with fairways still hard and faster than Mallory, though. Greens are better than they have been all winter.

Played Glenview today. As has been the case every time I have played there, it was in excellent shape from tee boxes to the greens.

I agree. Glenview is the best of all the courses, with the exception of Palmer. Have always enjoyed playing Glenview.

Played Havana today and was disappointed. The fairways are green but they are very hard, like concrete, and greens were not all that receptive. If you roll off the green, the ball will roll quite a ways and you are chipping off a really tight lie. Hacienda is lush on the fairways, but off the fairways you can get some really horrible lies. In some places just a foot or so off the fairways there is just dust, absolutely no grass. But the grass directly in front of the greens is nice to chip off of, and the greens at Hacienda are pretty speedy, but very consistent throughout the entire course.

Played Havana Monday. As previous posters stated, course was like playing on concrete. Playing partner hit a drive 301 yards where his normal drives are 240-250 yards. Impossible to stop a ball on the greens unless hit so high it "brought rain"

Played Cane Garden Wednesday and was pleasantly surprised. Other than tee boxes being very hard course was in good condition. Fairways were very green and plush and there was actually some "rough" though it was short,but better than bare ground. Greens were fast and fairly hard but it was possible to stay on them on your approach shots.

Played Palmer yesterday and found course to be in very good condition considering the lack of rain we have had The rough is actually green. There are some bare spots but all in all course is in very good shape. Greens very fast, at least for me they were.