Conditions of Golf Courses ?
 

When we left in early May the drought had taken a toll on Exec courses. We are planning to return in Sept. Just wondering if there has been enough rain to get courses/fairways in good shape.

Heat and drought here in Illinois have been really bad.

Apparently there are no golfers who visit this site.........grrrrr....

Festus, the condition of the courses is a secret.

Au contraire, but they do. Anyway, mostly all of the executive courses are in decent shape. The championship courses, not so well. Due to the horrendous conditions, I personally avoid Cane Garden, Mallery Hill & Hacienda Hills all together. Havana, Bonifay, TDS & OBH are so-so. Palmer, Lopez & Glenview are now and have consistently been in very good condition.

Also, just this week the fall aerification has begun. Hope this helps.

its been a while since there has been any updates on the course's conditions ......can anybody tell us how the championship courses are looking and playing?

I am visiting shortly for a week and will play everyday whilst there.....I just want to make sure we play the courses in the best condition

Thanks:gc:

every course is now in the process of being over-seeded. so conditions vary a lot.

If you check golfthevillages.com, you will find a section that gives the schedule of aerification/overseeding, so you can see which courses have been done recently. It takes a few weeks after aerification/overseeding for them to cut the greens down lower, etc., and it will be rough only right after they do it as well.

I have checked the overseeding schedule and we should just miss all the restrictions as we arrive mid november.....I was in the villages around easter this year and the courses were a bit dry to say the least.....Bonifay was like playing on concrete......even Palmer looked burnt out....its the first time I have seen Palmer like that since it opened.....I hear you have had plenty of rain and with the overseeding here is hoping that they will be in good condition. I have been told that Evans Prairie will be open by the time we visit.....just too many courses and not enough time!:gc:

Yes, we do come on here.
However, in my case, I can not help you - I don't live there yet ! LOL

I can, however, tell you the conditions on a few courses in the Ft. Lauderdale area !!!!

I have no idea .... but
 

I just got here, will be playing OB and Tierra over the next few days..... and will report back if you interested in them.

That would be great, Tierra is one of my favourites, its a few years since I last played OBH........

Many Thanks

Golf course conditions
 

Disappointed with them. And prices just went up for the championships this week. I played Stone Creek in Ocala yesterday, and it was fantastic. And only $26 dollars after 11. I will go back.

a few people recommended that we play Juliette Falls in Ocala when we visit, we played Mission Inn last time (tough course....mind you I was playing badly) anybody played it? is it worth a visit?

anybody out there played any golf? how are the courses?
is Bonifay green yet?
any course reviews on Evans Prairie?

Orange Blossom CC
 

The greens are very very fuzzy....No mowing until Wednesday according to starter...Yipsters!...Your ball could get lost ON the green....

conditions
 

Execs are showing wear and tear. Greens have been very inconsistent.

Almost all courses I have played have since been overseeded or are in the process, so comments would not help. I try to play courses just before the overseed as the greens tend to be faster than normal which like.

I did play Malory (Vir-Amel) last week and thought the conditions were pretty good. The overseed is coming in nice. The greens were on the slow side, but playable. Today I am off to Havana which I hear is in good shape.

thanks for the great updates...keep them coming :bigbow:
I will be over there in 13 days (not that I am counting) so hopefully them mowers would have done their stuff

Played Evans Prairie today, Osprey to Killdeer, and was impressed with the layout. Course is in pretty good condition but it is beginning to get a lot of play so hopefully it does not get overplayed like Bonifay did last year. I particularly liked the Killdeer nine. Couple of challenging par 3's over water, from the blues, and a very interesting 8th hole. Great use of the wetlands around the course. Looking forward to going back to play there.

Thanks for that, I will stick it on my list to play......hopefully we will get a tee time for Evans when we are over there shortly:thumbup:

Juliette Falls is gorgeous and the price is right. The trip out there is a bit long - about a hour - but make the trip. You'll be glad you did. The course is long and the fairways are tight, but the waterfalls on the courses are beautiful. And the course is always in good shape. IMHO.

after the overseeding how are the courses looking & playing?

Are the greens at a good speed?

:highfive:

I really hope the build out get done soon --- if you look at the quality of the courses and club houses they go straight down hill. As the building goes on they get cheaper and cheaper. From the courses north of 466 (OB exception) - to the ones south of 466 - now south of 466A cow pasture with a dinner -- whats next

Since the overseed, I have just played these courses: Lopez, Havana, Hacienda and Mallory.

IMO they are all playable and in good shape. The green speeds in TV are always a bit dissapointing to me, but it is what it is.

As an exception to that I will say that Lopez (played Sunday 11th) greens felt 1-2 feet faster than the others I have played. It was very enjoyable :beer3:

Simple solution. Don't play here. Join an exclusive club that meets your definition of a golf course and clubhouse. I'm sorry that you didn't notice that our courses aren't up to your standards before your bought here. While course conditions vary with the seasons, the layouts have existed in their current form for years so it shouldn't have been a surprise.

:gc::agree:

i bought long before Havana and Bonifay were built. Maybe they are a step up from where some people are used to playing. sorry to have upset some people "enjoy"

I play "off campus" as often as i can --- if i lived off campus i would not bring 40-50 people to play some of the village courses. As far a getting a group of 40-50 people to play outside the villages I would not want to free up 40-50 tee times for the people who do not like to play "off campus" -- (i guess off campus means outside the villages) ------ sorry to have upset you ---- more kool-aid

I think what bothers is the characterization of the courses as cow pastures. Hyperbole is an accepted form of writing, but, in this discussion, it paints an erroneous picture of the courses and their condition. Personally, I think it is a misnomer to call most of these courses "country clubs". To me, only Glenview really fits that name, with practice facilities, lockers, tennis courts, and dining in addition to the courses. But I can't think of a different term that adequately describes them.

But you have to keep in mind the different usage that courses here get as compared to private courses. None of the private clubs that I belonged to or played were filled every day from the earliest tee time till dusk. All of them closed entirely for a day to allow maintenance crews unfettered access. When you design, construct, and run a course that will be used as heavily as these are, you must make compromises that allow the courses to withstand that traffic. I think if you put the kind of volume of players we have on any high end private club, you would see conditions rapidly deteriorate. That is why you will see greens that run slightly slower than at a lot of private clubs. Think about it. We have a population under 100K, have 11 regulation courses and 29 executives and they are all full of players. There is no city of similar population with that number of courses and that number of players.

People will say they played X, Y, or Z, and they were in better shape than TV's courses. Again, what is the volume of play. I subscribe to an internet tee time system for Florida, and I get options for foursomes to play on many courses with 24 hour availability at reasonable times. Try that in TV.

Then you have to consider the players. We have a lot of players that have played golf for years. But we also have people fairly new to the game. A course architect designing a course for TV has to keep that in mind. The way to do that is with length, not hazards. That is why you will see holes laid out in a straightforward manner with multiple tees. That is why you won't see heavy rough or narrow fairways.

The courses in TV are what they are. Considering the amount of play, and the type of players they are designed for, calling them cow pastures is unfair and inaccurate.

:bigbow::bigbow::bigbow::bigbow:

Everyone is entitled to their opinion. I can never understand why people who are unhappy with various parts of The Villages who express their opinion are maligned so. I wouldn't characterize the golf courses as cow pastures, but anyone who's played a lot of golf on decent courses has to admit the The Villages courses tend to be lacking. The conditions vary drastically. Generally speaking I'd classify them as just "okay", nothing to write home about. I've played golf for about 30 years and am an 11 handicap. I've heard the refrain "if you dont like it here you can leave' many times, and I just don't get why people take criticism of The Villages so personally. I've always advocated passing your complaints on to the right person, and maybe things will get improved. I think MikeOD is right, what we have as far as golf is probably as good as its going to get; but that doens't make the courses "good". I'd give our courses on average a C minus.

:bigbow::bigbow::bigbow::bigbow::bigbow::bigbow:

I think Village courses for the most part are pretty good. I do think that improvements can be made,that does not mean they are cow pastures.

Agree

Amen, and IMHO they have been going down hill a bit each of the 4 years I have been here. C- is about right now.

The Villages courses get a lot of play. My group prefers to play off campus

Funny how they jump the prices Oct 15th, then overseed. The courses are brought back too soon into the rotation with the greens uncut and with cart restrictions. That's why I prefer to go off campus between Oct 15th and Nov 15th. The outside course conditions are better and the rates are reasonable. Just remember to call ahead and ask about their overseeding schedules so you don't run into the same bad situation.

Your foursome may burn a little gas driving off campus, but at least your using their carts instead of yours when you get there. Plus, it's nice to have a change of scene playing courses outside the bubble.

But it all comes down to supply and demand to justify the price increases. Enough people here just grin and bear it and would never ever think of venturing outside The Villages, or God forbid, complain.

Exactly. Many people are complacent and just accept what is dished out to them, never thinking that perhaps their comments and suggestions for improvement could make a difference. Our group is going to start playing off campus more too. Easier to get tee times, and the same prices for better conditions. I used to drive 20 minutes to get to a golf course up north, so not a big deal to drive 20-30 minutes down here. I think its called being a good consumer.

C- minus is about right for most of the CC courses. The execs are not well maintained--IMHO

Both of the groups that I golf with, on championship courses, do the same thing during fall overseed. Interestingly I was chatting with a neighbor recently who works for golf admin here. She was telling me that there have been a number of complaints received about the price increases just before overseed. Personally I will not hold my breath hoping for a change in that price policy.

Good idea not to hold one's breath....:-)