Mainly for Those who play The Villages Championship Courses
 

The Golf Administration has made a change to the number of ambassadors on the Championship courses. They are decreasing the number of ambassador's to make more money, that is the only reason I was told by other ambassadors. Now with the hotter summer months coming when we used to see the ambassador 2 (two) times while playing 9 holes and getting cold water each time we saw them. Well now you will be lucky to see the ambassador 1 (one) time in 18 holes. Well there goes the "Florida"s Friendliest Hometown" Golf out the window. Here is why: (1.) The pace of play is recommended around 4 hours and 15 minutes, give or take a few minutes either way. Now with the ambassador being stretched out can't check on the pace-of-play, we may be seeing 5 hour plus rounds..and that's no fun! (2.) Fresh cold water for the golfers..forget this, the ambassador will not have time to make water runs and help the golfers...now we have to be careful! (3.) Golf course conditions, the ambassadors used to check each teeing area and fill any divots with sand. The would also check the sand traps and place the rakes where the belong. The may also ask golfers to rake the sand trap after hitting out of them. Golfers know that they need to rake the traps after hitting out of them, the non-golfers don't know this. It's not fun playing from and un-raked sand trap, and that's the condition of most sand traps in The Villages! I think they should delete the number of Pro's here, maybe one Pro for three championship courses along with two or three executive courses. And bring back the ambassadors for at least 1 (one) for each 9 (nine) holes. If this bothers you, call golf administration and encourage them to have one ambassador for every nine. Golf Administration phone number is (352) 753-3396. Let's make golf fun again in The Villages!

Wow.
You appear really upset.

With or without Amb's, people will or will not rake traps.
If you hit into a trap & it's not raked......rake it & replace Ur ball........it's not a PGA Tourney.

There is water on the course.......tastes fresh to me & it's always cold.
(there's always discussions about if you should even drink provided water)

In ten (10) years an Amb has never impacted my round of golf.

My last four rounds of golf (maybe more, old with limited memory) have been sub-4 hours.

Stop by Walgreens and get a chill pill.

As much as I dislike agreeing with 88 he's spot on. As a former Ambassador I can tell you the water on the course and in the Amb cart are filtered and from the same source. The ice makers they use also use the filter the water.

Since almost all golf carts come with a small cooler why not fill it with ice and your beverage of choice. Don't need more Amb. Need golfers with more common sense and courtesy/etiquette.

I've played with whiners a few times....I remember them and avoid playing with them at all costs.

Bunkers...I rake my area and another close by....quite similar to fixing your pitch mark and one or two others. So if we are losing ground in being "the friendliest hometown" it's due more to whiners and those with complete lack of common sense..or "do unto others as you would have them do unto you" school of upbringing than a lack of Amb.

You seem to equate good business/capitalism and greed. I find that a common mistake in many from the upper east coast who feel they deserve respect in lieu of earning it. Quite sad really.

I think the increased minimum wage is part of the reason for cutting back on staff as well. The change probably won't make much difference in my game, except I may not get as many "good golfer" coupons since no one will see me rake, fix divots and put my trash in the appropriate receptacle. Now, if they raise the price of drinks at the starter shack, we'll know the real motive. The price of a pitcher of beer is already up to a point where I may order water with lemon. That'll teach 'em.:boxing2:

Well said!

So. You are repeating gossip?

Well said. VERY WELL SAID.

It doesn't bother me and I won't be calling.

1) Play will slow? Not really. Many golfers have complained for years that the ambassadors have little to no control over slow play.

2) No water? Really? They didn't provide water for several months. What did you do then?

3) Course conditions will deteriorate? Maybe. Perhaps you can help educate those beginner who do not understand what is expected of them.

No one to complain too Just may play a round

So, you believe that when the ambassadors were let go, they were told it was so the course could make more money. That's what someone says when they are unhappy to lose their job. The job that gave them discounts on golf.

Is there a place on TOTV or other for a new to the area person to understand how the golf works in The Villages? From afar it seems there is a lot to understand how one even gets a tee time. It would be my expectation to spend most of the time on the Executive courses. Thanks in advance for the help.

You can start here...click on "Golfing in The Villages"


Golf The Villages

good golf
 

you can take the good golf class. it should be required so everyone will at least be aware that there are rules and etiquette for playing golf.

What about beverage carts? That would be a money maker for them. Personally I bring my own water.

Sadly, many (but not all) Ambassadors have taken advantage of tge job. Gone are the days when they would stop by every group, refill your sand bottles, get you a cup of water and write up a commendation card if they see you filling multiple divots or fixing multiple ballmarks or raking traps. Now they sit in tge shade, reading a book and drive right past without even checking. One of the Ambassadors on tge Riley Grove (Palmer) nine was the best. He filled divots on tee boxes, raked traps and fixed ballmarks. It is little wonder TV is cutting back. A great many of the Ambassadors have become worthless and we can bring our own coolers and refill our sand at tge turns. Works for me.

No problem with this change. This happens when the minimum wage goes up.

Wait, they have pitchers of beer at the starter shacks?

Why am I always the last to know these things??? ;)

I always bring my own water or other beverage. Not real interested drinking from a cooler. Rake your traps and repair divots.
Then try to enjoy life!

Not quite the responses OP was looking for.

With all due respect to sa “there goes Florida’s friendliest hometown and there goes golf” because they cut down on an ambassador is a bit exaggerated. By the way most championship courses outside the villages are run the same way

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“Need golfers with more common sense and courtesy/etiquette”

Spot on here. Ambassadors haven't carried water for over a year and will probably not do so ever again. It appears that the golfers will (should) be filling their OWN divots instead of using their sand bottles for cart decorations. Etiquette dictates golfers rake the traps before exiting and replace the rake INSIDE the trap. There is a thing that looks like a two-pronged fork used to fix ball marks on the greens (just in case you never heard of one). I could go on, but….. The ambassadors are working as hard as they can but have yet to master being in two places at once. We need your help here. Stop whining and start helping us out.

Ambassadors were NOT let go. There is a hiring freeze and anyone who leaves voluntarily is not being replaced.

Friday, another round of golf under four hours.

Useless?? Worthless??? How nice to be appreciated. I’m playing Riley Grove today and tomorrow. I will report back at a later date.

Highly doubt.............everyone has their own cooler on their golf carts.

Dear whinners don't come down to Fenney, we are having a good time.

U R safe..................no championship courses.

Great comment , wish I had posted it. “Mortal 1”

Same ol, same ol. Build more houses to get more revenue & cut expenses. How many more hundreds of millions of dollars does the Morse family need?
You can hardly get on the exec courses any more in the winter. Exec courses cost money -- increase revenue, decrease expenses.

Exactly! Making a profit appears to be a bad thing these days. Common courtesy also seems to be waining. We all know the summer conditions prepare accordingly. We all use the courses here frequently, we can help keep them up, repair ball marks, divots, & rake the beach when we go there.

Nope
 

Wouldn’t be a “money maker”....why would people buy a “beverage” from a cart, pay a tip, etc....when they can bring their own. Except for the OP who seems to not understand he can bring his own cold water in his cooler!

:blahblahblah:
Yes it's terrible, a real estate development company continuing to develop land and doing it profitably. Just terrible.

We haven't had issues getting tee times last winter. The majority place a narrow request, and choose to only play certain courses. Then we get to play points, many that complain have penalty points added to their play points for canceling tee times or not showing up. Making a profit isn't greed. Any business that doesn't reinvent itself and move forward stagnates and begins to fail. The ratio of homes to golf courses is about the same as it has always been. The announcement last week about the additional courses (championship & executive) below 44 continues to support the developers commitment to amenities and golf.

No
 

This is not true either. Many jobs are posted now.

Agree - except for grouping of all of us from the Northeast. Says lots - right there.

We never had problems getting tee times at any point in the past year. The problem we have is getting courses south of 466 no matter how many we request and time frame. We never have guests, never cancel or never show. It's like we've been walled in.

The ambassadors haven't carried water for over a year now! The on course water jugs are filled with water, so, you can refill your water bottles. Also, there are water fountains at the restrooms. The message is "be prepared"!

Currently The Villages assigns one Ambassador to cover El Santiago, El Diablo, Hawks Bay and Saddlebrook. It is somewhat obvious to me that the days of having ambassadors on the golf courses is on its way to oblivion, probably due to the upcoming hike in minimum wage. It always comes down to economics, folks. Without getting into the politics of the minimum wage, any economist (other than those that write for the New York Times) will tell you that raising the minimum wage will have an impact the balance of supply and demand in the labor force. It's a law of nature.

Ohiobuckeye
 

Ambassadors are needed but NOT to offend TV but Yes we need ambassadors but 2 at the most is all each Championship Course needs because when there ie a problem with other players the ambassadors might say something to these problem players but it might be just a dirty look because to many times they won’t warn them or else because they wouldn’t want hurt their feelings & these problem players will make a big issue about it start rumors about how bad the TV are. TV is a dream come true place to live but they are some bad apples in the basket!