I just checked tee times for tomorrow. I checked for a foursome on any executive between 9 and 4:30. There was one slot available.

You can get foursomes before 8 and there are singles available at various courses throughout the day.

Dst
 

How'd you get that "quote" to show up all smallerized like that??

This is our first year here so we're still learning how things vary through the year. Asian makes some fine points. Had to ponder it a bit, but I now see that, for us, the bigger issue for this time of year isn't so much the "busyness", but rather the decrease in the length of daylight time, as well as the temperature on many late afternoons being a bit too brisk for my outside functionability.

I think I can handle a couple of months of not being able to cart up to a starter's shack and "walk on" in the afternoons. The "free-ness" of the executives was not the *only* inviting aspect of moving here from our Pompano Beach condo. Not only had we tired of eating lobster (freely available for the taking within 100 yards of said condo starting at 11 feet of depth), but health issues ruined my other athletic hobby, as well.

Lived in a golf community for decades before our "first" retirement. Managed a pretty rapid drop in handicap for the first three years there, but then hit a wall. This sport is *way* more fun when you're improving, so finally gave it up for other hobbies, what with YouTube tips being unavailable at the time.

Anyway, you rarely hit it OB on par 3's ("long and wrong" syndrome), and if you're a bit off that day, nine holes of par threes is over with in a more acceptable amount of time. Sounded like it was worth a test. Seems to be working out pretty well, but still dealing with that same Bermuda rough. That stuff is just hateful. Oh, and the wifey is taking nicely to her new par three golf hobby, too!

Shall still be interested in seeing how the upcoming new executives might change things, though. The executives were definitely a huge draw for me. I wonder if the "pitch and putts", in addition to being what would "fit" in those areas, might also have been a bit of a "test". To me, they're also plenty interesting to play, but there's quite a difference between walking and playing with a cart. The "fun" aspect of carts is clearly also a huge draw for many here. I'm guessing that there won't be a lot more pitch and putts built.

Well said

While I agree with your point about grocery, retail, and restaurant, I disagree about Executive golf. When looking at available t times three days out (unless the forecast is for pouring rain or unusually cold weather) for my wife and I, there is nothing between about 8:00AM and 4:30PM. It’s not unreasonable to want to play at times other than first thing in the morning or during dinner time when you’re hard pressed to finish the round before dark. When we purchased our home in the Villages in 2015, we could typically find a t time during the next three days at one of the several courses relatively close to our home between around 10:00AM and 3:00PM. Over the last few years the explosion of homes, relative to Executive Golf holes, has made this increasingly difficult to the point where it’s currently close to impossible.

I just went online looking for a tee time for 4 at a Pitch n Putt for tomorrow-none available anywhere in TV between (approx) 9 AM and 4 PM. The answer is yes-lots of people use the short game courses-they are usually pretty busy in the winter.

Haven’t really had any issues since 07, but we like to travel to all areas of TV. Have only been shut out 4 times in all those years. But we use a wide play area.
Since there is an abundance of variety, one never gets bored. We play in all weather, and what we schedule we go to the course, just because it’s raining at home doesn’t mean rain 10 miles away.

I swim in the mornings my threshold temp is 49. We have played here with snowflakes floating, but then again spent so much time in below zero, 30s here is jacket weather. Don’t break out the warm stuff until the 20s.

Maybe you should check more than one day before you want to play. That's what the people who are playing did.

It’s been my experience that whenever I look at open tee times , the Pitch and Putts courses are generally wide open most of the day ….

Has it always been the case that you couldn’t get a foursome on any executive course if you checked the day before?

From talking to people who have been here for years, it appears to have been relatively easy to get last minute reservations years ago.

That is why so many people complain about the lack of executive courses.

I do tee times for two groups each week on the Executives. My impression is that it has become more difficult to obtain tee times via the request process during snowbird season each year for the last 5 years or so. I see a fair amount of tee time request denials. What I am typically requesting is a tee time for 12 players on the 23 or so Executives south of Lake Miona with a time window from about 8:30 to 12:30. If the time window was expanded up to 7:15AM and down to 4:00PM then I don't believe I would see any denials. Currently, a tee time request for a foursome with an average of 2.5 points, 23 courses south of Lake Miona, and a 9:30 to 12:30 time window on a weekday will most likely get a denial. Outside of snowbird season, it would be fine. Finding tee times after the request process is through is tough except for single spots or the first tee time or two of the day.

There are not a "lot of complainers" as much as there are complainers who do it often.

I haven't seen "easy to get last minute reservations" ever (for groups or foursomes), for the last 10+ years. Wouldn't expect to. That's why our groups put in requests early and have wide windows for times and courses. Also, we don't allow players with 2.1 points or more during the busy season. They've played plenty or were no-shows to get many points. Can count on one hand the number of times we didn't get a reservation, just not always when and where we would have preferred.

When you put in the request doesn't matter (as long as it is in by the deadline which is midnight 3 days in advance).

Right. As is "not the day before".

I have no idea what you mean by that. Requests are from 7 to 3 days in advance but when you put it in doesn't matter (which was what I was correcting in your post). Reservations (access to tee times not assigned via the request process) are from 3 days to the day before. You can call the starter shack the day of to try to find tee times still available because nobody grabbed them or there was a cancellation.