Is Villages GPS App Accurate?
 

Currently house-hunting in TV and we are looking at villas close to Lake Sumter Landing or Brownwood Paddock.

We want to be "golf cart close" to one (or both) of these town squares, but The Villages GPS is giving what seems to be outrageously long golf cart times from the neighborhoods to the squares. For example, last month we were able to take a golf cart ride from Clifford Ct. to Lake Sumter Landing in about 25 minutes, yet Villages GPS is now saying that is a 39-minute trip. The cart was a rental and maxed out at 12 MPH. I don't understand! Is Villages GPS accurate?

Follow-up question. For anyone living in a centrally located neighborhood such as Duval, how long does it take you to drive your golf cart to Lake Sumter or to Brownwood Paddock? Would they both be comfortable rides from Duval? I really appreciate any advice you can offer!!

EDIT:
Thank you all for your helpful answers!! We look forward to joining you soon!

Mine is fairly accurate. Did you check that you were going by golf cart vs car or bicycle?

Oh, sorry. Bicycle is not an option.

Yes, I checked the "by car" option, but that also seemed to be longer. Just wondering if this is a glitch or something. I want to buy a house that is within 15-20 minutes of a major town square, driving a 19 MPH golf cart.

Hmm. Well, that’s all I’ve got.

Anyone?

Try using GoogleMaps with the "bike" setting and see if you get the same times.

kathy

Good idea, Kathy. So if I deduct 1/3 from the bike time, I guess that should be pretty accurate for a cart. Whatcha think?

We live in St. James, just north of CR 466A off of Buena Vista and about halfway between Lake Sumter and Brownwood squares. I'm estimating 15-20 minutes to either one, Lake Sumter is a bit closer due to crossing CR 466A. Anywhere between those two squares and you'll probably be a reasonable ride to one or both.

From St. Charles
 

We are in St. Charles, next to St. James and directly across Buena Vista from Duval, and we figure 15 minutes max to Sumter and 20 minutes max to Brownwood by golf cart. Both very easy drives.

Found this on a web site:

"Google Maps calculates you’re riding at 10 miles/hour."

If that is accurate than you would cut the estimated time in half, assuming your cart goes the max 20 MPH. (I read the same "10 MPH for bikes" thing on another web site a while back, so it is probably accurate.)

k.

I'm going to go out on a limb here and guess that you crossed 466 with your golf cart. I'm guessing this, because the google directions for bicycles is only 29 minutes, and bicycles can legally cross 466.

Golf carts cannot. There's no way to get from Clifford Ct. to Sumter Landing -legally- in only 25 minutes.

The google maps times for bicycles seems pretty close to what I experience in my golf cart. From what I can see on my screen, these directions follow the golf cart paths.

Google maps shows a Hillsborough to Brownwood time of 11 minutes and a Hillsborough to Lake Sumter time of 38 minutes. I haven't timed my golf cart trips but that seems pretty close to me.

Google maps shows a Clifford Ct to Lake Sumter time of 29 minutes which is close to what you experienced. And, as I mentioned above, looking closely at the route shows it is following the MMP.

I have no idea why the Villages GPS is giving you odd readings. It is working for me in my house right now but I don't know how to set a different starting point to compare my app to what you are seeing.

As others have said, The Villages GPS app is not even close on golf cart drive times. As others have also said, Google Maps is a very good option, both on PC and on your phone. It gives times for automobiles, carts, bicycles and walking. I find that about halfway between the times given for bike riding and autos is a pretty good estimate for carts.

We get to Lake Sumter landing from near Mallory Hill Country Club in a bit under 10 minutes.

My wife and I love where we live. But sometimes we think about buying a different house in TV for various reasons. But we know that any house we consider buying will be "golf cart close" to a town square, as you said. :)

Because you can't legally cross 466 in a golf cart. The Google Maps bike directions from Clifford Ct, Fruitland Park, to Lake Sumter, has the bicycle crossing 466.

My Villages GPS app is very accurate and a wonderful thing to use to find golf courses.

Dan

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