[gmcneill]

My neighbor and I played Bonifay last Friday. The course conditions were stressed from play and no rain. Management imposed (rightly so, IMO) cart path only on odd holes, and cart path 90 degree on even holes.

The pro shop staff (Chris and Maureen were extremely pleasant, cordial, informative!!) told us that once the third course- Pensacola- opens up they will begin alternating closings of Destin and Ft Walton to allow for rest and rehab.

[schotzyb]

All the courses should see some improvement from this much needed rain.

[hedoman]

Originally Posted by schotzyb

All the courses should see some improvement from this much needed rain.

already look better

[asianthree]

The rain has got to help

[georgetruhart]

think a continuing discussion about contitions would be great....

[ajbrown]

Played OB yesterday. Although the greens are too slow IMO, they putt ok.

The first thing you notice is there is grass there!! It is pretty good shape. The down side to the conditions is that skulled drivers do not go 275 yards .

No cart restrictions

Before you play, go over to the practice green (10th tee) and drop a few balls just off the green. Of the three balls I dropped, two dissapeared. If you can chip from these lies you can chip anywhere.

Luckily the course was not quite as severe.

[LittleDog]

Just got back from a short trip to Atlanta. With all the rain lately have the restrictions about every other hole being rough only is still in effect for courses south of 466?

John

[ajbrown]

Originally Posted by jrheydt

Just got back from a short trip to Atlanta. With all the rain lately have the restrictions about every other hole being rough only is still in effect for courses south of 466?

John

I played Cane Garden last Thursday (5/31) and it still had the restictions.

[LittleDog]

Originally Posted by ajbrown

I played Cane Garden last Thursday (5/31) and it still had the restictions.

How much rain do they need to revert to no restrictions?

John

[hedoman]

Originally Posted by jrheydt

How much rain do they need to revert to no restrictions?

John

The water authorities won't even reconsider until June 30 the date they set on the last water restrictions. When they allow us to go back to normal water use at home that may be a signal that the restictions for golf may be eased

[PaPaLarry]

I played Cane yesterday also, and thought both fairways and greens were terrible. Hibiscus was closed. Also this thread is from year 2011, from first page, so check dates of posting, so we are talking about updates as of today. Iv'e experienced that courses north of 466 are better over all. Happy Golfing

[MrMark]

Originally Posted by PaPaLarry

I played Cane yesterday also, and thought both fairways and greens were terrible. Hibiscus was closed. Also this thread is from year 2011, from first page, so check dates of posting, so we are talking about updates as of today. Iv'e experienced that courses north of 466 are better over all. Happy Golfing

I played there on Monday. You neglected to comment that the rough has more bare spots than grass. Despite that, in many places the rough looks better than the fairway, assuming you can tell where one ends and the other begins. Hard to even play Winter rules when you can't determine where the fairway is.

Your comments fail to reflect that Cane Garden is A Villages Golf Course. Why would you expect it to be in any better condition. The maintenance on virtually all Villages Courses is typically far inferior to other area courses. Not sure how they continually get away with this while telling us that we live in paradise. I have played three outside courses in the past several months, Juliette Falls, Harbor Hills and Arlington Ridge. All three made the Villages courses seem more deplorable. With recent disclosure of over 2.5 billion net worth for the family Morse,might it not be reasonable that Villagers demand that perhaps a few hundred thousand of this be invested in making TV golf courses as great as their TV commercials suggest.

Actually I'm a content Villager, but isn't it about time that we start to protest the ****ty conditions us golfers are required to face each time we tee it up in our beloved Villages?

By the way, this is intended only for players who have a clue about what I'm talking about!

[Mikeod]

Originally Posted by MrMark

I played there on Monday. You neglected to comment that the rough has more bare spots than grass. Despite that, in many places the rough looks better than the fairway, assuming you can tell where one ends and the other begins. Hard to even play Winter rules when you can't determine where the fairway is.

Your comments fail to reflect that Cane Garden is A Villages Golf Course. Why would you expect it to be in any better condition. The maintenance on virtually all Villages Courses is typically far inferior to other area courses. Not sure how they continually get away with this while telling us that we live in paradise. I have played three outside courses in the past several months, Juliette Falls, Harbor Hills and Arlington Ridge. All three made the Villages courses seem more deplorable. With recent disclosure of over 2.5 billion net worth for the family Morse,might it not be reasonable that Villagers demand that perhaps a few hundred thousand of this be invested in making TV golf courses as great as their TV commercials suggest.

Actually I'm a content Villager, but isn't it about time that we start to protest the ****ty conditions us golfers are required to face each time we tee it up in our beloved Villages?

By the way, this is intended only for players who have a clue about what I'm talking about!

OK, let's try it again.
#1 It's all about water. Without adequate water, it's hard to maintain turfgrass in pristine condition. Why are other courses in better condition when the drought covers the same area? Water allocations. Just as the historic side of TV has different water restrictions than the rest of TV, different golf courses have different water allocations. Older courses may have had their allocation computed when water was expected to be more plentiful and therefore have a more adequate supply. Now we are getting some rain, but it will take a while before the courses show the benefits of the water. Jeez, give it some time.

#2. Volume of play. With the population of TV growing, and the fact that the majority of residents play golf, our courses get much more play per day/week/month than most other courses. Couple that with the proliferation of Reasonable Access bands, the courses have far more cart traffic over far more area than other courses. This makes maintenance much more of a challenge.

#3. The championship courses have to be self-sustaining. Don't expect the developer to kick in thousands. And he can't buy water for the courses! But also don't believe he is any happier about this than you. I have been here six years, and the last two winters have been the worst in terms of weather. First we had a severely cold winter followed by a severely dry fall and winter. Those two seasons with all the additional rounds played due to seasonal residents and guests have wreaked havoc on the courses. True, the same weather affected the courses you named, but the sheer volume of rounds here makes it worse.

#4. I have the opportunity to meet with the leaders of golf administration on a quarterly basis regarding the executive courses and I have never felt they presented a "let them eat cake" attitude. Rather, they are passionate about all the courses and monitor maintenance on the courses. In fact, they don't hesitate to fire any maintenance company (Yes, maintenance is contracted out.) that fails to meet standards. And, as I said above, it all comes down to water.

[hedoman]

Originally Posted by MrMark

I played there on Monday. You neglected to comment that the rough has more bare spots than grass. Despite that, in many places the rough looks better than the fairway, assuming you can tell where one ends and the other begins. Hard to even play Winter rules when you can't determine where the fairway is.

Your comments fail to reflect that Cane Garden is A Villages Golf Course. Why would you expect it to be in any better condition. The maintenance on virtually all Villages Courses is typically far inferior to other area courses. Not sure how they continually get away with this while telling us that we live in paradise. I have played three outside courses in the past several months, Juliette Falls, Harbor Hills and Arlington Ridge. All three made the Villages courses seem more deplorable. With recent disclosure of over 2.5 billion net worth for the family Morse,might it not be reasonable that Villagers demand that perhaps a few hundred thousand of this be invested in making TV golf courses as great as their TV commercials suggest.

Actually I'm a content Villager, but isn't it about time that we start to protest the ****ty conditions us golfers are required to face each time we tee it up in our beloved Villages?

By the way, this is intended only for players who have a clue about what I'm talking about!

Recent Observations from personal play:
Lopez - Fabulous
Glenview Pretty Good
Bonifay- On the road to recovery and very playable but slow greens
Saddlebrook EC - very green and in good shape
OB - Probably the best of all

I can't agree with your "$#!tty" comment on conditions. Mikeod said it all in a great post

[chuckster]

Add my observations:

I agree Juliette Falls WAS excellent. However, greens aerated mon. 6/4
Harbor Hills greens poor condition (numerous large bare spots-no grass) sat. 5/26