Not enough golf courses
 

We have lived here 10 and have found it increasingly hard to get t times and we are priority. (not snowbirds) I don't think that is right of The Villages to keep purchasing land, both north and south and not add another championship course. First it was Fruitland Park, now 300 Villas upnorth and soon to be 1000 acres south of Brownwood. I don't think it is right to keep squeezing more people onto the courses. One little exec. south of Brownwood won't cut it. Greed at our expense. Just sayin....

and only 40 percent of villagers play golf ??

Have not had a problem getting even short notice times. Not a priority member

Have not had an issue with Tee times and am not priority. One needs to be flexible about time and course in my opinion

I agree.
I too have been here 10+years. Been both Priority and non Priority, playing twice a week on both exec's & Champ's. I can count on both hands the number of times a tee time was denied.
Too often people complain, when actually it's the way the request system is being used.

No problem here either.

You must remember this is not YOUR COUNTRY CLUB. If you want to be able to walk on any time join one. Just saying!

Do you like to play outside courses? If you do, you might try Pennbrooke Fairways on Hwy. 44 up the road from Brownwood. They have 3-nine hole courses. Par 30 and par 32 small courses, and The Sanctuary (par 35) is a full-length nine. They have a pro shop and grille, too. And the great thing, it isn't crowded and no rangers telling you to hurry up. They run specials every month. Here is a link to the specials. You have to scroll down and click on the individual specials. The Club at Pennbrooke Fairways

12 years and have never ever not gotten a t time on the morning or afternoon we wanted to play......busy or slow season didn't matter. Executive or championship.

The less flexible the request the more difficult to match your request.

I have friends who complain and moan about the t time system not being fair....they want, always to have one of the earliest times and usually want a specific course....because that is where they want to play.

That is not what TV had in mind when the implemented the system.

The other variable is someone in the foursome with too many points.

I thought the plan included 2 executive courses for the new Village south of the turnpike? If so, it would maintain the same ratio of homes to executive courses as we have now: one executive for every 1500 homes. I am not aware of any plans for a new Championship course.

I make tee times for a large group each week and occasionally we will be denied. For the executive courses during snowbird season, if the average points approach 3 you may have a problem getting a tee time for a large group. Outside of snowbird season I have never had a problem. Putting less popular courses in your list will help.

No problem getting a tee time on a Championship Course but we are flexible. However, only play Championship once and occasionally twice a week. Executives twice a week with no problem.

summerhill: Priority is strongest when all four players are priority.
then it loses its potency with 3 then 2 and lastly if you are the only player with priority of your foursome I question if it really mattered. If you are playing as a single it may alleviate some of this?

A priority guest has priority over a resident which never made sense to me.

So after 6 years of paying priority I gave it up.

Some residents will tell you that the championship courses are public, some will call them semi-private but I always wondered if a non-resident called a week ahead would the course tell them they had to wait to see the tee times list before committing to that request?

While I have played off campus again I wondered why I was traveling when the purpose for me moving here was to get into my cart and head to the village course of my choice.

for sure there is a built up demand for course play and the courses get played hard?

Cést la vie

If they are adding all these additional homes and not putting in another championship course, you are right. That's just not correct. Our group is all priority members, and we were shut out twice this winter, and we all had few points. We had 5 courses on the list, and an afternoon window. But honestly, given the condition of the courses in the Villages last year, we are seriously reconsidering the priority thing, and playing off campus more. We do that now, and like the courses with better conditions.

What are points?
 

I am new to TOTV. What are the points mentioned in a couple of the postings on this thread? My wife and I are coming for an extended "Lifestyle Experience Preview" by renting for the month of May. I enjoy golf; usually play at home two or three times per week. I will have to learn how to get tee times at executive courses and/or championship ones. Any pointers are welcome.

This will help you out:
Golf The Villages
http://www.golfthevillages.com/golf-...dGolfGuide.pdf
http://www.golfthevillages.com/golf-...heVillages.pdf
http://www.golfthevillages.com/golf-...GolfSchool.pdf
Enjoy!

Bet it will be a while before we hear from the OP again! :-). However, ?I agree. Went in this morning and made tee times for my upcoming guest at the time and course we wanted to play.

I have a group of 12 golfers. We play every week 2 exec courses and 1 championship. This entire year we have hit our target time within 20 minutes. Never once rejected. You need to learn how to put in a request that has a chance at being successful.

I hope we don't hear someone complain that when they post on TOTV, everyone "jumps" on them. Well this is an issue that I don't agree with the OP and do agree with the posters. RustyP said it very well.

Not enough golf courses
 

When I think of the Del Webb (and other) communities we looked at all over the country - with their single country club courses and one rec center - I now cringe.

Never really had a problem getting two tee times a week or showing up some evening a sliding into a cancelled slot.

Thanks for providing the information. I now understand the point system.

Since my wife and I will have resident ID cards for the month we are there, how does the system handle requests/reservations for a single golfer or a two-some? I imagine we are paired with others to make a foursome. Is it better for a single golfer to wait until 3 days prior and just add himself/herself to an opening if one exists? Or if I don't care where I play or who I am paired with, do I just make a request to play a week prior?

///

My observation (no statistics to prove it) is there are more active golfers in the newer villages (generally younger and golf more) and they tend to want to play the courses (both executive and championship) closer to their homes. If you live in a newer Village, try a tee time at Glenview, Lopez, Hacienda or Orange Blossom for Championship and Executive do the same.....you get the idea. By doing this, you will stay in the "bubble" and support our courses more often. Just a thought.

Yes, wait until 3 days if you're a single or even a twosome. I've lived here for 5 years and have not ever put in for a reservation request. I belong to the teetime system ($8 a month) but I don't play executives, so that eliminates that problem. Free golf during snow bird seasion will make it almost impossible to play any executive without a reservation.

As far as championship 27 hole layouts, which are 9 of the 12 courses, if you're not set on playing a certain course then getting a teetime for a single, twosome or maybe even a foursome can be done 3 days in advance or less.

My first six months here I didn't know any other golfers, I did play with a few neighbors but they either were just taking up golf, or getting back into the game or didn't want to play championship courses. So to experince the championship courses I usually would put in for myself on one of the open teetimes and met a lot of nice people. It will even tell you the sex of other players, so if you believe playing with 2 woman would hurt your game, choose another time.

Finally about six months after I arrived I found a neighbor who liked to play championship and at least twice a week. We simply go to the online teetime system and pick an afternoon starting time. I usually have other things to do in the mornings, so afternoon golf was perfect. Then when May 1st gets here, we get a discounted rate to play after 11am. This year I just noticed it went from $21 to $23 at championship courses after 11am.

During the winter we usually don't pay for 18, those same $21 courses are $52 from Jan 1st to April 30th, they don't offer a discount for afternoon play. Last Wednesday my friend and I went online and chose the first evening teetime, 4:20 was available at Evans Praire. We got there and paid $26 for nine holes and no one was in front of us. As soon as the last group crossed over, the starter let us tee off at 4:05. We finished the front nine on Egret at 5:20 then we crossed over to Killdeer and finished 18 holes at 6:50, it's amazing what a twosome can do when there is no one in front of you. It also makes you wonder why are the prices so high if many aren't willing to play.

I've had a bad back so I have played much this winter, I didn't play in Jan, then played 18 holes on Feb 3rd and hurt my back, I didn't play again until March 23rd at Lopez and shot an 83 from the blue tees. This past Wednesday from the blue tees I shot 87 at EP, I could of been closer or below 80 except the greens had been aerated making them extremely bumpy and very fast since they had not put any sand down.

Easy to play anywhere.

Courses must vary in demand
 

I am not a golfer, but we live on a championship course. There are days I wonder if anyone is playing the course. I can look down the fairway, and it's more unusual to see golfers than to see it wide open.

I was just going to say the same thing. I haven't played down here, but I might try an executive course once in a while. As I drive around it seems that many of the courses are empty. Is it just that people want specific times.

I do have to say that even though I don't play, I was a bit disappointed to learn that "Free Golf For Life" is nine holes on a par three course. But, that's what it is. They must figure that once you hit 55 you're no longer capable of playing a real golf course.

Also, the four courses in the Pine Ridge area at constantly filled from 7 to 6 everyday. The pace of play is painfully slow and the "Ambassadors" don't do anything to enforce The Villages' documented requirement to enforce pace of play as taught in the Good Golf classes. And, they are building another 821 homes in Pine Ridge......The Villages executives should spend one day trying to enjoy a round of golf at a snail's pace.

Amenities
 

I have a friend who grumps that Free Golf for Life isn't really true because the golfing is paid for in the amenities fee.

My response is that I don't play golf but amenity fees are not reduced for non-golfers, so it all depends on your attitude.

In my more mobile days I did play shuffleboard and bocce ball, as well as availing myself of the swimming pools and attending events in the recreation centers, so I consider you others fortunate that I'm not cluttering up the golf courses.

AND, I think you will find the amenities fees very reasonable when compared to other retirement communities which provide much less for higher fees.

Personally, I think all else pales in view of the fact that you can go anywhere in The Villages via golf cart if you choose.......and are patient. For me, golf cart driving is recreation.

The exec courses have four levels of difficulty. Some have more hazards, challenging terrain, and par 4 holes.

Free golf on the championship courses would simply be impractical...no...totally impossible financially.

And while executive courses are lots smaller and somewhat designed to accommodate beginner/lesser skilled golfers, they are definitely real golf courses, just not full-scale championship courses. The greens, traps, hazards, etc. are basically the same. Fewer drives and longer shot are required of course. But every shot you hit on an exec course is a shot that you will be required to hit many times on a champ course. Even for skilled golfers, it's a great way to practice the short game...because it is real golf.

I agree...................the executives continue to kick my butt when I'm not watching.

We want a set of shuffleboard courts, so we can have tournaments and play on courts that people haven't damaged.
TV see's shuffleboard as something to keep the kids busy when they are here.

You're talking April. Try February and March. Very difficult to get a teetime for a twosome unless you play at a time no one else wants, like 7:00 in the morning when there is a frost delay and everyone gets cancelled anyways, or 4:00 in the afternoon. Or you end up playing at one of the courses golfers are avoiding because it is in poor condition.

If people are looking for some unbiased comments on golf course conditions made by golfers who tend to golf a lot and are serious and knowledgeable about the course and conditions, check out the Golf Course conditions posts located in TOTV under Recreation in The Villages. The other online Villages news source also has some recent comments about the Villages course conditions, and they are not complimentary.

oic

I do a tee time each week for 16. We normally get a tee time between 9:00 and 10:00; typically within 30 minutes of what I request. We were denied once this year when the average points of the group was about 2.5. If you have a lot of points you may see some issues with tee times during snowbird season.

In the nine years I have been here I never once had a ranger say anything about the pace of play.

Do they keep coming back to the courses they do not enjoy? If so, why do they do that?

That has also been my experience.
Flexibility of courses and requested windows of time, both are important.
Tee time request rarely denied for our group unless point count is very high.