[Vermilion Villager]

We play weekly in a group with 24 players (six foursomes). We put in most every course when we make our reservations. I don't know if it's because there are more courses up north, or there are less people playing them but it seems that 90% of the courses we qualify for are up north.... Way up north.

[kansasr]

Originally Posted by tophcfa

Somebody must, they are actually including pitch and puts in the weekly hole in one’s published in the Daily Sun sports section. Talk about discrediting the accomplishment, next thing ya know they will be including hole on one’s at the putting courses.

Ad compared to one from the front tees at Pimlico # 7 (64 yards)?????

[UpNorth]

Pitch & Putt, Putting courses, coming next - miniature golf!

[MrChip72]

Originally Posted by Vermilion Villager

We play weekly in a group with 24 players (six foursomes). We put in most every course when we make our reservations. I don't know if it's because there are more courses up north, or there are less people playing them but it seems that 90% of the courses we qualify for are up north.... Way up north.

I would guess that at least some golfers in the northern sections are golfing less or not at all once they reach a certain age which might explain more slots becoming available there.

South of 44 it's the opposite issue. The average age is certainly under 60 and many of the golfers are golfing the Executives almost every day which makes getting tee off times on courses like Lowlands very challenging.

[Keither]

Originally Posted by Rainger99

I have been trying to find out when the executive courses were opened for play. I believe the following information is accurate.

From 1987 until 2019, the biggest gap between opening a new executive course was three years - which was between 1990 and 1993. There were several two year gaps between openings. As things now stand, the Villages has not opened an executive (with the exception of two Pitch & Putts) since 2019 which is a five year gap. The fewest courses built in a five year period was three courses - and the most that were built in any five year period was thirteen courses. I am aware that more courses are being built near Eastport but that doesn't explain the five year gap.

Silver Lake 1987
Hill Top 1988
Chula Vista 1990
Mira Mesa 1993
De La Vista 1995
El Diablo 1997
El Santiago 1998
Hawkes Bay 1999
Saddlebrook 1999
Briarwood 2001
Walnut Grove 2001
Churchill 2003
Oakleigh 2003
Pimlico 2003
Belmont 2004
Heron 2004
Pelican 2004
Amberwood 2005
Bacall 2005
Bogart 2005
Roosevelt 2007
Sandhill 2007
Truman 2007
Turtle Mound 2007
Bonita Pass 2009
Redfish Run 2009
Yankee Clipper 2009
Tarpon Boil 2010
Southern Star 2011
Palmetto 2012
Mangrove 2013
Sweetgum 2013
Escambia 2015
Okeechobee 2015
Sarasota 2015
Volusia 2015
Gray Fox 2017
Red Fox 2017
Loblolly 2018
Longleaf 2018
Lowlands 2019

The developers are way behind the demand curve for golf courses!!! It’s nearly impossible to get desirable tee times.

[GizmoWhiskers]

Originally Posted by Keither

The developers are way behind the demand curve for golf courses!!! It’s nearly impossible to get desirable tee times.

That was my previous point, it would seem they want paying golf customers.

Clermont is building a huge sports related housing development. Soon T V will be even closer to Clermont. "If you build it they will come" type of philosophy. Why put in 9 short holes for free use by residents when you can at least attempt to have outsiders come and pay for 18?

Yes, I wonder what generation of family members the T V developers are on now? It would seem the business model is changing relative to free executive golf courses. So yep, tee times are up north where all the old people are. Have to laugh at that comment...

Buy where the lifestyle best suits your "dream". I'm under 60 and decided to sell my house S of 44 because I like "up north" better.

[ernpertuc]

Originally Posted by Topspinmo

IMO villages has plenty of golf, what happens when you advertise for free some expect to be able to play from daylight to dark everyday. When they can’t they whine.

I agree. The real problem is that I doubt you can build enough golf courses to keep up with the number of houses being built. My wife and I are looking at outside-the-villages for 18 because of the doubling of the green fees for snow birds. It is the price of progress. The executives are still a good deal if you want to use your irons and play a quick 9. You just have to be able to go with what you can get with the lottery.

[Marathon Man]

Originally Posted by Keither

The developers are way behind the demand curve for golf courses!!! It’s nearly impossible to get desirable tee times.

That is the key. If restaurants are full between 5pm and 7pm, does that mean that we need more restaurants? Just to let then sit empty at 4pm and 8pm?

[asianthree]

Originally Posted by Marathon Man

That is the key. If restaurants are full between 5pm and 7pm, does that mean that we need more restaurants? Just to let then sit empty at 4pm and 8pm?

So you found out the secret mentality of some Residents

“NOT” enough…grocery..retail..restaurants, and FREE Golf courses.
Their thinking is “Anything I Want to Do needs to Be Available when I Choose”

I Shouldn’t Have to Wait in lines in grocery or retailers.
Wait for a table in a restaurant and waitstaff for only my needs
Any Executive (FREE) needs to be available When I Want to play.

Everyone else should stay at home so MY needs are met.

My guess is some didn’t share well with others, as a child or came from a privileged life

today plenty of prime tee time available..but I forgot the few also want perfect weather.

[dewilson58]

Originally Posted by asianthree

So you found out the secret mentality of some Residents

“NOT” enough…grocery..retail..restaurants, and FREE Golf courses.
Their thinking is “Anything I Want to Do needs to Be Available when I Choose”

I Shouldn’t Have to Wait in lines in grocery or retailers.
Wait for a table in a restaurant and waitstaff for only my needs
Any Executive (FREE) needs to be available When I Want to play.

Everyone else should stay at home so MY needs are met.

My guess is some didn’t share well with others, as a child or came from a privileged life

today plenty of prime tee time available..but I forgot the few also want perfect weather.

[Rainger99]

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.

[mntlblok]

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.

[Marathon Man]

Originally Posted by asianthree

So you found out the secret mentality of some Residents

“NOT” enough…grocery..retail..restaurants, and FREE Golf courses.
Their thinking is “Anything I Want to Do needs to Be Available when I Choose”

I Shouldn’t Have to Wait in lines in grocery or retailers.
Wait for a table in a restaurant and waitstaff for only my needs
Any Executive (FREE) needs to be available When I Want to play.

Everyone else should stay at home so MY needs are met.

My guess is some didn’t share well with others, as a child or came from a privileged life

today plenty of prime tee time available..but I forgot the few also want perfect weather.

Well said

[tophcfa]

Originally Posted by asianthree

So you found out the secret mentality of some Residents

“NOT” enough…grocery..retail..restaurants, and FREE Golf courses.
Their thinking is “Anything I Want to Do needs to Be Available when I Choose”

I Shouldn’t Have to Wait in lines in grocery or retailers.
Wait for a table in a restaurant and waitstaff for only my needs
Any Executive (FREE) needs to be available When I Want to play.

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.

[pokeefe45@aol.com]

Originally Posted by FosterMomma

Does anyone actually use the Pitch and Putts?

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.