Hacienda Hills The Lakes Renovation
 

Really sorry to report that the newly renovated Lakes 9 at Hacienda Hills is in awful shape. I am not sure what the reason is for the extremely poor conditions. Very sparse grass in the fairways and the greens are terrible. When you stand on the #1 green of The Lakes and look over to the #1 green of The Oaks (which connect to each other) you can actually see where the decent green of The Oaks ends and the terrible green of The Lakes begins. Today we played the Palms 9 first which was in nice shape, then to the awful renovated Lakes. I am not sure what the excuse will be but the summer weather has been fantastic for growing grass. With all the rain my yard and shrubs have flourished with very little watering on my part. Should be embarrassing to the Golf Division to call this a renovation. I hope their "renovation" of Orange Blossom Hills is superior to this.:shrug::shrug:

Patience is the key...sure it'd be nice if a new or renovated course was great upon opening, but just the fact that some folks who live here have little patience is why they open before they are truly ready.

Oddly I'm one of the few posters who put out reviews of courses when they're good. To many post of courses that are in not so prime condition without knowing why there is a problem and don't even try to find out why "before" posting a review.

Knowledge is a wonderful thing....

Why open before it is truly ready? The only reason I can think of is for revenue. Nothing else opens in The Villages before it is truly ready. They do such a fantastic job at having the highest standard for all other amenities, including golf shops and club restaurants, why can't the Golf Division do the same for the courses and their conditioning?

Why don't you call them and ask? Be sure to come back and share what you find out.

•Call Country Club Administration at 352-753-3396 for more information on membership enhancements or other golf/tennis issues.

I contacted The Golf Division and they were surprised to hear the negative comments regarding the Lakes nine. After exchanging emails it seems that there is a difference of opinion from our golf group and the powers to be at the Golf Division. I do appreciate their conversation regarding this issue, but I do disagree with their evaluation. Would like to hear from other players that have played the renovated Lakes nine to get their opinions.

I haven't played the Lakes since its reopening, but talked to my neighbor yesterday who has played it twice. He acknowledges that the fairways are not as lush as other TV championship courses, but he too was surprised that there are players that described its condition as "extremely poor".