[Larry Wilson]

Never seen golf courses in such bad condition. I do think they all need more water. Why keep building bigger when you can't take care of what you have???
I know- the answer is the developer is making more money selling houses. I've lived here 8 years and I never thought I would see the golf courses look like this.

[katezbox]

Originally Posted by ajbrown

Looking forward to some 340 yard drives at Mallory on Friday. 240 in the air and 100 on the roll

This would be funny if it wasn't so sad.... I hit a 3 wood off the tea on Pelican yesterday and it went over 200 yards. Into the left $%&!!! green bunker...

[Taj44]

I know, its kind of fun. I've been getting on par 5's , or just up by the green, in two. Reality will set in later this summer when the courses are waterlogged from the rain.

Has anyone played Tierra lately? Just wondering about the conditions.

[schotzyb]

Originally Posted by Taj44

I know, its kind of fun. I've been getting on par 5's , or just up by the green, in two. Reality will set in later this summer when the courses are waterlogged from the rain.

Has anyone played Tierra lately? Just wondering about the conditions.

So the conditions are why I am hitting it so much further; thought it was those new high dollar golf balls I was using. Might as well go back to the old Top Flites.
Have not played Tierra lately but have had it on our request several times but no luck.

[rubicon]

Haven't been able to get on Yankee Clipper for a month and I only carry 3point per week. Now I find that my joy in getting a tee time Wednesday is downgraded as are the conditions. To add insult to injury Palmers reported in poor shape. Both reports match my play poor

[Bogie Shooter]

Nothing or nobody to blame other than the lack of rainwater.

[Fourpar]

Originally Posted by Bogie Shooter

Nothing or nobody to blame other than the lack of rainwater.

So, how come the off-campus courses are in such better shape? Think they get more water per course than TV?
Played Eagle Ridge, Reserve and Links lately and all are in much, much better shape than I have seen in TV.
Kind of hard to claim to be a super golf community with courses that resemble neglected municipal courses. IMHO

[schotzyb]

Originally Posted by Bogie Shooter

Nothing or nobody to blame other than the lack of rainwater.

Sorry, can't buy that explanation. Why is OBH in such good shape.? Did it rain more over it than Mallory or Cane? And as Fourpar stated, many of the off campus courses in close proximity of The Villages are in much better shape than the ones here. More to it than just lack of rain.

[Mikeod]

Originally Posted by schotzyb

Sorry, can't buy that explanation. Why is OBH in such good shape.? Did it rain more over it than Mallory or Cane? And as Fourpar stated, many of the off campus courses in close proximity of The Villages are in much better shape than the ones here. More to it than just lack of rain.

Think water allocation. It differs from place to place, with a lot depending on when they were built, even within TV. That's why Hacienda wasn't overseeded completely. In TV, with more and more homes being occupied, the drain on the reclaimed water supply is increasing. Home irrigation has priority over golf courses. Wanna bet some people are irrigating more than two times a week? Look at the zoysia lawns around TV. They are the closest to the bermuda used on the golf courses. Lots of brown. And they don't have golf carts running over them every day. To blame this on anything but the lack of rainfall presumes the people responsible for the golf courses don't care or don't know what they are doing. Their hands are tied by the water restrictions THEY have imposed on them. It's not fair to compare to courses outside TV which may have sources or allocations of water TV doesn't have. OBH is the oldest course in TV, with plenty of time for the roots to get deep so the grass can sustain drought conditions better than the newer courses. It is not a coincidence that the courses above 466, in general, have been in better condition (except Hacienda, for obvious reasons) than the newer courses south of 466.

I have met and spoken to people responsible for golf courses in TV and they are passionate about these courses. Talk to the pros at the courses and you will see the same concern about conditions, tempered by the reality of the unusual seasons we have experienced the last two years with temperature and rainfall.

[Bogie Shooter]

Originally Posted by mikeod

Think water allocation. It differs from place to place, with a lot depending on when they were built, even within TV. That's why Hacienda wasn't overseeded completely. In TV, with more and more homes being occupied, the drain on the reclaimed water supply is increasing. Home irrigation has priority over golf courses. Wanna bet some people are irrigating more than two times a week? Look at the zoysia lawns around TV. They are the closest to the bermuda used on the golf courses. Lots of brown. And they don't have golf carts running over them every day. To blame this on anything but the lack of rainfall presumes the people responsible for the golf courses don't care or don't know what they are doing. Their hands are tied by the water restrictions THEY have imposed on them. It's not fair to compare to courses outside TV which may have sources or allocations of water TV doesn't have. OBH is the oldest course in TV, with plenty of time for the roots to get deep so the grass can sustain drought conditions better than the newer courses. It is not a coincidence that the courses above 466, in general, have been in better condition (except Hacienda, for obvious reasons) than the newer courses south of 466.

I have met and spoken to people responsible for golf courses in TV and they are passionate about these courses. Talk to the pros at the courses and you will see the same concern about conditions, tempered by the reality of the unusual seasons we have experienced the last two years with temperature and rainfall.

This makes far too much sense and most likley will not be accepted by the folks who would rather blame the golf course staffs.

[rubicon]

That would ignore the off season, the reduction in fees and the fact that the courses have a steady income stream???????

[schotzyb]

Originally Posted by mikeod

Think water allocation. It differs from place to place, with a lot depending on when they were built, even within TV. That's why Hacienda wasn't overseeded completely. In TV, with more and more homes being occupied, the drain on the reclaimed water supply is increasing. Home irrigation has priority over golf courses. Wanna bet some people are irrigating more than two times a week? Look at the zoysia lawns around TV. They are the closest to the bermuda used on the golf courses. Lots of brown. And they don't have golf carts running over them every day. To blame this on anything but the lack of rainfall presumes the people responsible for the golf courses don't care or don't know what they are doing. Their hands are tied by the water restrictions THEY have imposed on them. It's not fair to compare to courses outside TV which may have sources or allocations of water TV doesn't have. OBH is the oldest course in TV, with plenty of time for the roots to get deep so the grass can sustain drought conditions better than the newer courses. It is not a coincidence that the courses above 466, in general, have been in better condition (except Hacienda, for obvious reasons) than the newer courses south of 466.

I have met and spoken to people responsible for golf courses in TV and they are passionate about these courses. Talk to the pros at the courses and you will see the same concern about conditions, tempered by the reality of the unusual seasons we have experienced the last two years with temperature and rainfall.

If what you are saying here is true with the growth of The Villages then the current conditions are what we can expect from now on. Nobody can promise our weather patterns will change and we will receive more rain in each coming year. As you state more and more homes are being built with the knowledge that we are incapable of supplying the current golf courses with sufficient water. In other words we are at the mercy of the weather. Not a very good scenario if you ask me.

[katezbox]

Originally Posted by Bogie Shooter

This makes far too much sense and most likley will not be accepted by the folks who would rather blame the golf course staffs.

Yep....

[katezbox]

Originally Posted by rubicon

That would ignore the off season, the reduction in fees and the fact that the courses have a steady income stream???????

Rubicon,

What would do this? I'm lost. If you don't click the quote button when you comments on a post, it is hard to follow who you are agreeing or disagreeing with.

[Taj44]

The problem is, what we are seeing as far as conditions, doesn't compute with age of courses as far as turf depth. For example, Havana has been in pretty good shape compared to Mallory and Cane, and its much newer. Palmer and Lopez have been in good shape, and they're newer than Hacienda. We all know there are water restrictions, but it is not entirely clear why some courses are consistently in better shape, have more water to put on, than other courses; Palmer, Lopez, and Havana being chief examples. I watched them water Havana and Palmer almost every day a couple months ago, while Mallory was getting almost no water.