Volusia - SHAME ON YOU THE VILLAGES CALLING THIS A GOLF COURSE
 

Really, temporary greens of short fairway grass for holes 2 and 3. Meanwhile, looking at their closed greens with multiple bare spots exposing sand. Maybe patch in some real grass? other greens in crap shape as well.
We deserve way better.
I would be ashamed to bring a guest on this course.

And they keep calling this the effects of el nino. Would think more competent golf course management would do a better job.

Should be closed, but about 25% of the Executives already are and t times are getting squeezed so they can’t keep closing courses. It’s unbelievable what’s happening to the conditions of the courses this year. Heads need to roll as there are no legitimate excuses.

class action needed?
 

I for one would be happy to join a class action on this.

El nino, that was the old reason. Simple, many courses will complete re sodding and/or rest. Slower play now and now in growing season

Why not take the lead??

Close the course in bad shape, play the good ones...
 

As of Monday, there were 14 executive and 1 pitch & putt closed. Tuesday we played Mira Mesa - tee boxes were a bit rough but the greens were in good shape. Played Sweetgum yesterday - good shape all around. We're playing Hill Top today - course was in great shape 2 months ago, we'll see about it today. Tomorrow we've got Heron at our targeted request time (mid afternoon) and I would expect it to be pristine after roughly 2 years being closed. Saturday we've got 3 foursomes going out on Sarasota - tee time is within 30 minutes of the requested time. Next week we'll go back to playing Longleaf and Loblolly, the courses across the street from us...

Tee times and good courses are available, if you're willing to travel. Trail fees, at roughly $3 per week, is 60¢ per round, can't find that anywhere else...

Any consequences or reasons to expect better next year?
 

Is it known if any heads have rolled over this?

amenity fees monies for golf maintenance
 

Well, approximately 75,000 homes

lets say $100? from each homes ammenity fee goes toward course maintenance monthly

100 x 75000 = 7.5 million monthly
7.5m x 12 months = 90 million annually

this is a big number

any way to find out the actual fees breakout and distribution numbers?

Limit people to 3 times per week until conditions improve. Over use is the big factor in these courses being in terrible shape.

Go play a different course, it’s not like you don’t have a few choices.

I believe the big factor is not over use but just poor maintenance practices.

Join the party.

Terrible shape
 

The idea of this post was , not to have to go hunt and find playable golf, the point was that golf management allowing these courses to get in the conditions that they are now in.

Tarpon Boil had some temporary greens with the par 4 being the biggie. Don't know if they still do.

It would seem to me that if the El Nino was a legitimate excuse, then most all the golf courses here and in the surrounding area would have the same problems. Obviously some are better than others at golf course maintenance. I hope they get it worked out soon. It's an embarrassing standard on some of these courses.

You’ve got to be kidding. Life is sure tough in this Disney land of a place.

Golfers Should Purchase Pre-Owned Homes in North & Central Villages
 

Golfers shopping for homes in The Villages should NOT purchase a New Home in the Southern Areas, which lack enough Executive Golf Courses. Rather, they should buy a pre-owned home in the Middle or Northern areas which have plenty of Executive golf courses nearby. Also, the Bond is usually paid off on homes in the North and Middle areas, plus you are MUCH CLOSER to Shopping & Restaurants.

Overuse wasn’t a problem several years ago before the ratio of golf holes per rooftop plummeted. The solution isn’t to limit play, it’s to bring the ratio of holes per rooftops back to where it was about 8 years ago.

Very sadly not as far as I know. The solution seems to be like when you get a bad hand playing cards, reshuffle the deck and hope the next hand turns out better. In this game excuses trump results and responsibility.

Would help if golfers showed more respect for the courses. I have a view of Pimlico and Belmont and consistently watch groups of 4 roll each of their 4 carts over the fairway and aprons of these executive cart only courses, with no CAP card displayed and no evident sign of being handicapped. It would also help if ambassadors enforced cart only restrictions.

Grass
 

Have played Tarpon Boil a couple of times recently as well as once back when it was amazingly icky. One early round temporary green remains. Most of the greens are now basically fine, but where there had been a patchwork of fuzzy green grass interspersed with bare ground, the previously bare parts appear to now be mostly filled with putt-able and nicely mown grass of a much different color. You can make out some areas with large-ish rectangular patches with this darker color, but my sense is that much of the formerly bare spots seem to have somehow "grown back" in with this same, darker colored grass. Re-seeded?? The overall putting surfaces seemed to me to be massively improved and could be putted "just fine". I admittedly ain't too sophisticated in such determinations. :-)

How hard would it be to let folks know what has actually been done there? Have the causes of the original problems been determined? Are there reasons to keep it secret?

Championship courses
 

Reading all the responses I get the feeling a lot of people play only executive courses. When I learned how to play golf it was on par 72 courses. I still play real golf courses. It’s nice to be able to play an executive course and get a 1 1/2-2 hours of golf in on some days but 5-6 times because it is free is a little much. I guess we know the difference between the executive and championship courses, so you have deal with the situation and the economics. That doesn’t address the condition of the courses but it is certainly a factor in why they get that way.

Muchness
 

Trying to understand the point of view that 5-6 times (presumably per week) is being "a little much". Should avid pickleballers be similarly limited due to its "freeness"?

I don't recall seeing in any of the promotional literature prior to our move any references to limits of either. I *was* blown away by the number of executive courses *and* their "freeness". My study of the maps of the course locations was the primary factor in choosing where we ended up buying.

I admittedly failed to research the reservation/request system as well as I might have, but I've now come to mostly understand it *and* appreciate how well thought out it seems to be. I *was* familiar with how things change in Florida come cold weather, but was not prepared to see so many executive courses closed along with that.

I can work around (and expect) the less than ideal conditions on executive courses, and understand and appreciate the differences and limitations with the "pitch and putts", which we've also come to enjoy. I even enjoy repairing ball marks. :-)

I lived on golf courses for 36 years in a former life and am aware that problems can arise with them - and be solved. What happened to many of the greens here this past winter - and apparently limited to only one general area - is to me, mind boggling. Equally mind boggling is the lack of information from whomever is in charge and responsible. I don't have that good a feel for the governing system here (and don't really care to), but I do wonder why we aren't hearing more from them about the situation. More interested in seeing things get "fixed" than whether heads roll.

The things that ran me out of the game of golf 25 years ago are largely missing from executive course play. Circumstances led to playing lots of executive course rounds as being one of my now few desirable hobby options. I admittedly "over-do" my hobbies. If that option is not going to be viable, then it would have been better to have known about it before buying and moving here.

Follow the money.....this is done on purpose.....it's impossible to neglect the courses like this if you were competent and serious about maintaining them.....it's all about $$$$$$

I disagree. The condition is not from overplay. Up North and down south the courses are in good shape. A fungus hit these courses and was not caught in time and the result is what you see. More care must be exercised in oversight to keep on top of these problems. Hopefully the Mgt has learned their lesson and will be more observant in the future.

Fungus
 

So, what is known about this fungus?

Yes, a detailed budget is public record. Go online and look it up. Also, the AAC is having a budget review meeting on Wednesday. Attend the meeting and see how your amenity fees are being spent. I don’t know when the next PWAC is scheduled. I would guess next week.

Is it free? Free like college tuition free? That’s what I thought!

A pretty good chunk (can't remember the exact amount quoted by Goldwingnut, perhaps around 30%) of the amenities budget is actually spent paying off the purchase of the amenities from The Developer.