Havana
 

Havana, played yesterday AWFUL

Give it a chance....it will get worse in a month or so.....:faint:

At least the CC is pretty good:bigbow:

Care to elaborate?

Perhaps the OP could be more specific. However, I played it last week and the greens were full of weeds---thousands of them, and they were at least 1/8-1/4 inch higher than the green surface. Very little excuse for that.

Maybe you should get lessons?

groundskeeping?

The courses are taken care of by several different companies. The one at Havana had previously been fired. Evidently the new one is no better. There’s no excuse for poor conditions. I don’t expect it to look like Augusta, but they could do a little better

22 of your last 25 posts are complaining about golfing conditions.............maybe you should redirect your comments to people who can make an impact.

:coolsmiley:

I've been playing like that for years now.
You stop worrying about it after a while!:icon_wink:

Played Havana this past weekend. Obvious they are no longer fertilizing the rough. Large spots that are turning back to sand. Noticed this on other courses as well. Just part of slow, steady decline of conditions since year they stopped overseeding.

Ditto for Mallory, Evans, Bonifay, & Belle Glade. Greens are patchy, long, full of foreign grass. Whoever maintains these courses should be fired. Embarrassment for guests.

I was gonna' suggest lessons... :1rotfl:

Played Havana on Saturday and the greens are terrible. Have never come across a course with weeds throughout the greens and at different heights than the grass.

Please note that it is winter time in the Villages. There hasn't been much rain although we have had many cloudy days. We just had a significant freeze. Lastly, the snowbirds have arrived. Therefore slot of stress has been put onto the golf courses. Remember if you were up North there would be no golf.

That's part of the reason you live in TV......golf in the winter. Other courses are fine. If they charge you full price then they should provide full service and conditions.

The Villages is not gonna spend any extra money on the courses to get them in primo condition. In fact just the opposite. Cutting way back on services such as overseeding. They know that people are flocking here by the hundreds and will continue to do so.
:popcorn::popcorn:

Who actually picks up the tab for maintenance of golf courses? Is it the CDD;s or developer?

I agree with STU

Thanks but even better would be an answer to my question.

The Developer retains ownership and maintains Championship Courses.
Amenity fees cover Execs.
I remember reading that on here.
So it must be true!

Great reply. Just because we couldn’t play up north........we should pay good money for poor conditions

to Mr.Wilson, We always go in and try to either say positive or negative comments to the Pro. As for seeing the people in charge we have had meetings with them. Nothing ever comes of them. Plain and simple the place is run on the cheap by companies that dont even know how to cut a cup or replace one(check out Bonifay where old cups are raised)Will add Hacienda to the list. Greens were in good shape rest of the course a disgrace. I do think we deserve better.

Which course did you play?
 

[eQUOTE=waynet;2058225]Havana, played yesterday AWFUL[/QUOTE]

Too bad.
 

Sorry you're Havana bad day.

I know. Not that clever. Gimme a break, I just got my firs cuppa

Interesting, conditions aren’t great either during the off season.

Price
 

I find it amazing that most every course within 10 miles of The Villages is able to maintain their course in fairly good condition for a little over half the price we charge. As a priority member, I pay more here than I would at all surrounding courses and they provide a cart. Non-priority Villagers are ask to pay about $70 to play here and they use their own cart. I've noticed that my priority group always gets the preferred time and course this year every time we play (3 times a week). Could it be that there are more and more villagers leaving for better and cheaper courses than any previous year?

played Glenview yesterday Excellent conditions. A pleasure to play.

Not every weed is bad

My 40’ putt on #7 bumped over a weed and then rolled straight in the hole

Loved it

Developer owns the championship courses.

CDDs own the exec courses

Old post
 

This post is months old. How about some new information

I don't play Villages courses in season. IMHO, they aren't worth the cost especially when the conditions are average at best.

You played awful or the course was awful?

`

Agree there is a lot of stress on golf courses, but it appears that TV management does not want to invest in keeping courses in good shape during the winter.

Played Spruce Creek last week for <$40($13 less than my priority member price) and included a cart. It was such a pleasure to play on green(rye over-seeded) grass and not grass that is water colored.

I wonder what cost is to over seed greens and fairways especially considering price we pay in the winter. Unfortunately there are too many Village golfers who can go elsewhere in protest of mediocrely maintained golf courses.

Yes, there is a lot of stress on the courses. Lots of play, and the winter season doesn't encourage fast growth and recuperation of grass.

However, it befuddles me how some courses can be in so much worse condition than others, all withing a few miles of each other. Glenview and Tierra's greens are always way better than Cane's, and Havana's are really bad. And it's that way every year.

We play "preferred lies" everywhere, and it's very common to not be able to find any grass to hold the ball up off the hardpan. Very challenging.

How true
 

The villages courses have become significantly worse within the last 10 years, I have played off site a few time and they make these courses look really bad, for the price of golf here and using your own cart it's really a shame however they know that it's convenient and people will play anyway.

I agree----although as I understand it, the courses south of 466 have water restrictions that do not apply to the most northern courses. Also, the USGA discourages "preferred lies", since it chews up the remaining good turf, as well as being contrary to the fundamental principle of "playing the ball as it lies". For those that are a big fan of overseeding, it is controversial. Many top rated courses in the southern states no longer overseed as it is thought to delay the re-emergence of the Bermuda grass in the spring and makes for very uneven greens when the transition is taking place. On the other hand, it makes for a better playing surface during the winter and looks better.

Interesting points: I'd not heard about the difference in water restrictions. Also never heard that about the USGA discouraging "preferred lies" due to the effect on remaining turf. I have to think about that. Off the cuff it seems to me that if you don't move the ball, you are just further destroying the crap that your ball is sitting on. Not sure why that would be preferable to moving the ball and giving that area a chance to heal. Sounds thin to me, but like I say, I'd have to think about that. What are your thoughts on that theory?

Of course I assumed they find it contrary to the fundamental principle of "playing it where it lies". Up north, in the summer, where the ball actually lies on (or in) grass, I'd prefer to play it as it lies. In The Villages, in winter, there is just so little grass under the ball,rather than hear everyone complain about it, and watch a steady succession of skulled shots, and unraked bunkers, we just move 'em and move along.
In many, if not most cases, you can't find any grass to put the ball on anyway.

I'm not as serious about the game as I once was. I barely play at all up north, in summer due to other interests. I play in winter in TV 2x/week on championship courses, and 1x/week on executive. It's nigh on impossible to practice off of the kind of turf one finds on the courses. Nearly all of the practice ranges are off mats. I find the less hitting I do off mats, the better I play on the courses. So, I'm less inclined to follow the dicta of the USGA than I once was. Most of those people who make up the rules are playing nicer courses than I'll ever see.

:coolsmiley:

No one in The Villages is good enough to be a stickler about USGA rules, play it as it lies. :shocked:

The Gold & Black tees on the championship courses are always in great shape.

No one is receiving a check at the end of the round.

Men's day was at Havana today. Compared with 4 weeks ago, the greens were greatly improved---better than Bonifay, Evans, Mallory and Belle Glade. A month ago there were thousands of weeds on every green, today almost none. They were much smoother today, almost as if.....dare I say it......they were rolled.