I agree Silver Lake should be updated rather than converted to a pitch and putt. There are only 2 executive courses on the historic side and conversion would leave only one. I can’t see enough value in a pitch and putt to make it worth more than double updating the existing course.

Where is the new rec center going? I’m a little out of touch.

Silver Lake
 

Yes there is a petition on tee box #6 and a very important meeting at the Savannah Center June 10th 9am to meet with the committee planning.
you would like to make your wishes known. The person representing our area is Lowell Barker. The Chairmans name is Ann Forrester and the Vice Chairman is John Wilcox.

Ann Forrester (District 2) Chair ann.forrester@districtgov.org 352-259-3339

John Wilcox (District 3) Vice Chair john.wilcox@districtgov.org 352-259-1716

IV Chandler (VCCDD) iv.chandler@districtgov.org 352-753-6790

Carl Bell (District 1) carl.bell@districtgov.org 352-750-1251

Don Deakin (District 4) don.deakin@districtgov.org 352-750-5395

Lowell Barker (Lady Lake/Lake County) lowell.barker@districtgov.org 352-205-8140

Agree....and add a bathroom facility at a half way point

I personally would love to see Silver Lake become a pitch and putt. Putting is my favorite part of golfing, and I think a lot of people on this thread are underestimating the usefulness of putting practice.

Put me down for a refurb!

I can see why they would consider Silver Lake for a pitch and putt, it has the acreage for 18 short holes. For beginners the lack of sand is a plus, the length is a minus.

Even our household is divided on this one. I like Silver Lake as an executive course, my husband would love to walk it as a pitch and putt. He loves playing Marshview but doesn’t like the drive.

I’m wondering if a pitch and putt on the north side will be any more popular than Marshview. It seems to be the last course to fill up.

The new First Responders Recreation Center is getting an 18 hole Putt and Play, not a Pitch and Putt. Putters only, no pitching or chipping.

Survey of the residents coming up
 

I was at the Amenity Authority Committee where this was first raised. As the oldest executive course, it is (over)due for a renovation. Options presented to the committee were for a renovation as an executive course (around $500K), conversion to a pitch and play (a little under a million), or a conversion to a pitch and play plus adding a putt and play (something over a million).
Members of the committee were sensitive to the fact that there is only one other executive course on the historic side and it is taxed. The did not want to even consider anything other than a renovation without some sort of survey of the residents in the area. I don't recall what the nature of the survey would be. In any event, there will be further discussion at the next AAC meeting (second Wednesday in June, 9 AM, at the Savannah Center).
Note that given the current condition of the course at a minimum a reno will happen. Any of the options will require the course to be closed for (as recall them saying) 4 months.

Silver Lake does have a bathroom adjacent to holes 4 and 5. I've seldom had to go in the bushes.:duck:

Thanks for the information:coolsmiley:

Thanks for posting this information, I can’t be at the meeting, but I am going to send an e-mail to the contacts listed urging them to keep Silver Lake an executive course.

I'd like to see the whole thing buried and a new 9 hole executive course built.
Silver Lake is horribly designed and never is decent condition. I will say that at times the greens at Silver Lake have been some of the best in The Village. However, the rest of the golf course is deplorable.

Instead of whoever the inside person is that designs these courses, The Villages should hire a good golf course architect to design a nice exec course on that site.

It's not just the routing that is a problem, which it is. A course designed by a professional architect will be easier to maintain.

Most people don't realize that about 70% of a golf course is underground. That is the part that allows it to be in god condition. Irrigation, drainage and soil composition are very important to a golf course. That is one of the reasons that some many of the older courses are in terrible condition. They simply were not built correctly.

The Villages just spent a lot of money redoing the second fairway at Silver Lake and it is still horrendous. It needs to be torn up and rebuilt from two feet down. The same with the ninth green at Hilltop. The hole is not only poorly designed from a playing standpoint, but tens of thousands of dollars have been spent over the year resurfacing that green. The problem is not with the surface. It's what below.

What is surprising to me is that The Villages does such a wonderful job with everything else. The beautiful flowers everywhere, the town squares are immaculate, most of the road and golf cart paths are beautiful, and the grass everywhere looks perfect. But it is incompetent at building and maintaining golf courses. You would think that a company that advertises "Free Golf for Life" it would be more interested in maintaining those courses like it maintains everything else.

Upgrade? A pitch and put would be an upgrade, I think not!

And will all be a show and a waste of time.

When they redid the Silver Lake Rec center petitions were passed around, letters were written, a meeting was held and they did just the opposite of what the majority wanted.

These people have their own ideas and don't care about input from the residents.