Best exec course?
 

:gc: Hubby has delusions of playing the exec. courses when we come in Jan but I think he will end up on the Country club 18's more than the once a week he is planning. Which are your favorite 9 hole courses. Best for working on the short game? He breaks 80 once in awhile but says he needs to work on his short game. Do avid golfers play the 9's? Should he plan to play outside the bubble in Feb. because of the crowds?

I am just the research assistant. (I can't get him to go on the internet for anything but golf tournament scores

Thanks

I forget if it's Truman or Roosevelt that has the great elevation changes and that beautiful par 3 as soon as you cross the road.

I don't know why people think that playing par threes is any better for your short game then playing regulation courses. I haven't played any of the courses since I've been here, but I have looked at the layouts and for the most part, they are not pitch and putt courses. They are going to require the player to hit full shots from 100 yards to over 200 yards. The only part of the game that you don't need is driving. And some of the courses have a par four or two where you may want to hit your driver.
I think that sometimes people hear the term executive or par three course and think they are a bunch of 10-50 yard holes. They are not.
I've played par three courses that are very difficult. In fact, I used to play in a pro-am at a par three course in Massachusetts where anyone breaking par was given a bonus.

Trudy: Just wondering if you are going to make his Tee Times for him too?? If you play much golf, Village.net is the best way to get tee times IMHO. With all due respect, most of us old' guys were somewhat like your husband---just a bit intimidated by the computer (maybe we had an office admin.) until we retired and had time to "mess" with it. I got an I-pad and its easy to "mess" with! In south TV, Palmetto, Yankee Clipper and Roosevelt are my 3 favorite executive courses. These 3 have two par fours. I am not a priority member but don't have a problem making a tee time on the Championship Courses --you just need to be flexible sometimes with what time of day you play. I only go outside TV to play when I want to play a certain course----nothing to do with crowds. :gc:

Exec Courses are Great
 

The exec courses in The Villages are challenging par 3 courses with par 4's on some of them. Those south of Lake Sumter Landing are excellent, there are 14 of them, I play them regularly. The 2 most scenic are Heron and Pelican.

No I won't be making his T times for him.:laugh: He designs aircraft in 3 D on a computer (Boeing engineer) but doesn't surf the net. He will make T times on his surface but will I guess have to break his no T time habit. He currently always goes out early so he is there when the starter shack opens and puts his name in as a single, he likes playing with different people that way he meets different folks, plus our son and others he knows who golf won't get up that early. When we are in Hawaii he is at the Ala Wai at 5:30 every day.


I am trying to make sure the rental we are signing up for is well located for his play. Traffic drives him nuts so being near a good 9 hole if that is what he is going to play is important. And booking a rental falls into my jurisdiction.

It is Truman, and it is a very challenging course. Avid, and very good golfers play the execs, and he will be able to get on in January especially if he is willing to play early or late. My favorites are:

1. Becall
2. Roosevelt
3. Truman
4. Yankee Clipper
5. Bogart
6. Pelican
7. Southern Star
8. Redfish Run
9. Tarpon Boil
10. Heron

Rockland? If so:Been there, done that - great tourney. (Rockland prides itself on being the longest par 3 course in the country)

I agree with Dr. on this. The execs are no better for your short game but they are 'free' so why not.

My favs are: Pelican: bad shots are penalized severely. Yankee Clipper and Amberwood: longish holes so you get to use an occasional 4-5 iron or hybrid on the long par 3's. Truman: Best elevation changes Tarpon Boil: just like the layout.

I play a couple of times a week with the wife on the exec. courses. What I like to do is to experiment with some shots and clubs which I might not use on the championship courses.

John

So if I book in Hemingway I'm ok as Truman and Roosevelt are near.
That is what I needed to figure out.
Thanks

If there are that many good ones then I guess a lot of the areas would be ok. As usual I overthink everything.:laugh:

I wouldn't get too hung up on any particular courses. During prime time it's pretty hard to be that specific. I usually have a window of several hours and about 15-16 courses on my list. My foursomes usually get a tee time but not always. If your hubby plays as a single he'll probably get out without too much trouble but it's nice to play regularly with friends you make in TV.

If you want good location for a lot of execs try Buttonwood, Tamarand Grove, or St James area. Seven courses in 1 1/2 miles with 6 others a short ride away.

We stay in Hemingway and all the courses I listed are 15 minutes or less by cart. There are two of us getting tee times in Feb. and March, and we put those plus three others on our list and ask for as close to 8 am as possible and almost always get a tee time.

The question posted was best executive courses:

IMHO Palmetto, Yankee Clipper, Truman Tarpon Boil, Southern Star, pelican, ElDabalo come prime season anyone that I can get on

So if you are a single do you make a T time through the system?

I love Pelican and Heron. One extreme to another, but great wildlife!

All great! I miss them and can't wait to get back to play.

I do. It is much easier to get single tee times.

Trudy. I'm glad you asked that question. You mentioned earlier that your husband likes to walk up when the starter shack opens. That technique won't work during the high season. Most of the better courses are filled with reservations from opening to late in the PM. So, to answer your latest question, he definitely should make a tee time through the system and that can be done two different ways. He can submit a request through the system up to four days in advance (i.e., submit by Sunday for a Thursday time or Monday for a Friday time, etc.) for the day he wants to play and a preferred time along with a list of courses he is willing to play. And he can be a single golfer. He has as much chance of getting what he wants as a foursome has. Or he can look up open slots on the system after the requests are filled and look for opportunities to play. But, again, during the high season, there may not be many openings on the better executive courses.

Regarding short game practice, what I sometimes do is to take one or two less clubs for my tee shots which will leave me with a short pitch or chip to the green. Or aim at the sand traps so I can play out of those. As someone posted above, the executive courses are not pitch and putt courses. Some have holes as short as 100 yards from the middle tees, but most of the time they are much longer than that. They are challenging. The Palmetto course has a par 4 I could put on any championship course and it would be one of the tougher holes there.

when I take the little lady to An executive course, another thing I occasionally do is also tee off from the forward ts with her and practice my short iron and wedge shots. It's a great short iron workout and helps nail down yardage for those clubs.

Having played all but the three newest exec courses I chuckle when the one which I've found the most challenging, and therefore my choice for 'best', has only been mentioned once above. Heck, the Coach didn't even have it in his top ten! Literally thousands of Village golfers have never been there and don't really know where it is. Thank goodness that the well-kept secret means I can get on to play even in the winter.

Can you guess?

Sounds like Mira Mesa !!

That is a good one - agree. And it is available a lot.

Maybe El Diablo?

I have not played north of 466 in the last three years since staying in Hemingway. We have been able to get tee times without including courses north of 466 or south of 466a, and we don't include the Belmont trio. Nothing against those courses, but for convenience we like to stay within a 15 minute cart drive. By playing early in the morning we get our tee times on one of the thirteen corses we include virtually every time. A few years ago we played Amberwood and Saddlebrook, and really liked Amberwood. I prefer courses where I can use all my clubs at least once or twice.

Mira Mesa and El Diablo can't hold a candle to my 'best' exec course!