Glenview
 

I played with some people last week and we were talking about the bad conditions of the courses in The Villages. One woman told me that Glenview is in perfect shape. So as Father's Day gift to myself, I played eighteen on Stirrup Cup and Tally Ho.

First of all, I arrived at the course an hour an fifteen minutes early to check in, chip and put and hit some balls at the range. I went down to the starter's booth ten minutes before my tee time and was told that my group was "long gone". I told the starter that I was one the putting green and that I was ten minutes early. He said that he called down to make an announcement to call me to the tee. I said that I never heard anything and repeated that I'm ten minutes early. He says to me, "Well, I'm running ten minutes ahead." This has happened to me before in The Villages and I don't know if it's policy or that some starters are just idiots. I worked in the golf business for 35 years. I hired starters and if one of them ever did that to someone I would have fired them.

So I get paired up with this nice guy who was only playing nine holes. I had to rush up the ninth in order to catch my original group for the back nine.

Needless to say, my Father's Day started off on a bad note.

The woman who told me that Glenview is in perfect shape has evidently never been on a golf course in good shape. First of all, I spent fifteen minutes on the practice green to get a feel for the speed. Unfortunately, and this seems to be of The Villages Golf Courses, the practice putting green was nothing like the greens on the golf course. I don't understand how this happens. You have 28 or 29 greens to take care of. They should all be the same. The greens on most of the courses that I've played are very different than the practice green on that course.

The greens were extremely slow and many had big bare patches. Most were very bumpy and some areas were not mowed. The bunkers had not been raked. On the first hole, I was in a bunker and was in a hole. At first, I thought it was a footprint but then I realized that it was simply that the bunker had not been raked properly or at all.

As I was walking into the bunker I noticed that the cape of grass protruding into it was basically all weeds.

The fairways were decent, but many of the tees were very sparse and some were dirt.

Another thing I was talking to a good player about is that The
Villages designed courses to look nice, but they don't care about how they play. Many courses have trees planted where they shouldn't be and many have bunkers that are completely out of play. Those bunkers are placed so that they look nice from the street or the squares.

There is no excuse for these conditions. All Florida courses get a lot of play in the winter. They charge high fees and don't give value for the money for your dollars. What surprising to me is that The Villages does everything else so well. The flowers planted everywhere, the squares are beautiful, the rec centers, pools, tennis courts and everything else are maintained to perfection. I don't know why they don't seem to care about golf which is a huge reason that a lot of people move here.

I'll be looking outside The Villages from now on when I want to play regulation ("championship" is not a proper term for these courses) golf courses.

Were they having speaker problems again? I've been over there practicing on the putting and chipping greens and intermittently the starter would have to go outside the shack and yell for tee time show ups if the speaker didn't work.

It sounds like you would be happier if you stayed on the executive courses...as at least they are free. :shrug:

Glenview
 

I've always assumed the Morse family doesn't play golf. Or, if they do, then not here.

Since 2011 I've played about 250 rounds on the championship courses and haven't run into that problem. What I normally do is immediately after paying and before putting and chipping, go to the starter shack and check in. They write down the cart color and usually I ask, if not told, who I'm playing with if it's not someone I arrived with. Normally the practice green is within eyesight of the starter shack, so it's easier to monitor the coming and going if you're only putting. Most times if you're a single, the starter will want to pair you up with someone in the group if you have three players.

If I were to use the driving range, I would finish up at least 30 minutes before start of play, you did good arriving an hour early. Usually after checking in, let's say it's a 12:44 time and it's now 12:20, the starter might say your behind that group there or something to that effect, or your third from the tee. You can also ask, what group are we following? The main thing is, within 15 minutes of your teetime, stay within eyesight of the starter.

The putting green at Glenview is not within site of the starter's booth of either Stirrup Cup or Tally Ho. It's another demonstration of how The Villages doesn't know what they're doing when it comes to golf.

The starters actually get a message from the golf shop when you check in and pay. They know that you are on the property. There's no need to go over and tell them that you're there. But it doesn't matter. There is no excuse for sending a group out ten minutes early when one of the players is not there. It happened to me one other time at an executive course. It's an absurd policy. Remember, I arrived at the first tee, ten minutes before my starting time. I'd have no problem if I had been late.

The other thing that's troubling is that there was very little play that day as is the case most of the summer months. There was no reason to send a group ten minutes early. And, if I arrived ten minutes early and my group was already on the first green, they went off at least fifteen, if not twenty minutes early.

It's a case of having a bad policy or starters making up their own rules. I played Mira Mesa last week and arrived 20 minutes before my starting time only to be told that they were running 20 minutes behind. I was then told that the starter was telling everyone to wait until the group in front had teed off on #2 before hitting. I asked the starter about this and he said that it was not policy, but he felt that if you hit once the group in front left the green you'd be waiting on every hole. I asked him if he realized that that was why he was twenty minutes behind. He said yes, but they need to make times 10 minutes apart as opposed to nine minutes apart.

The problem is not that the times are not spaced properly. The problem is that the ambassadors don't do the job of keeping play moving. They never speak to slow groups. There is also the issue of many inexperienced golfers that don't understand rules, etiquette or pace of play. IMHO, EVERYONE who wants to play golf should attend a Good Golf School before being allowed to play. I've been playing for over 50 years. I taught golf, I taught rules and have acted as a rule official for sectional PGA events. I'd be willing to go to the school if it was a requirement.

People need to be educated and ambassadors need to to their job as opposed to being simply water boys.

As I said, the golf courses in The Villages are poorly designed, poorly maintained and poorly managed. They are mostly for show.

I'm of the opinion all residents of the villages that play golf on villages courses should have the requirement of attending good golf school. If you are willing to play you should know the rules,etiquette and such.

I hadn't thought of it from that perspective...but I bet you're correct! :thumbup:

Doc, Thaanks for telling it like it is. The Morse family and all others concerned should be ashamed of the product they give us. For years the same excuses, and the same results, mediocre golf courses at best. And I don't want tohear about how cheap they are. Theses champ courses are not cheap. Priority members are getting ripped off.

It's ridiculous how slow some people are. Just crazy. I don't know why they don't try to move that along a bit.

The thing is that these courses should be money makers for The Villages. They should be much busier in the summertime than they are. I know a lot of residents who, when they want to play regulation courses, go outside The Villages. The courses are less expensive and in better shape.

But real estate developers don't see it that way. They see the big money is in selling houses. I knew a guy in Massachusetts who was a big-time developer. He'd buy a huge property, take the best land for houses and streets then build a golf course on what was left over. I asked him about the golf courses making money and he just said, "I give the golf courses away after I've sold all the houses." The cost of the golf course was built into the cost of the homes. Once they were all sold he gave the courses to the homeowners who had no idea how to run them.

What a bitchfest. News Flash....Lots of elderly around here. Many residents are slow in most things they do and like it that way. If you're in such a hurry most courses have plenty of tee times with minimal activity, ie afternoons. I often walk-on and play alone after viewing the online system the night before and find plenty of multiple 4-slots in succession wide open. I'll take my lumps for being an insensitive male BUT ya'll sound like a bunch of bitchy old ladies. Play off campus or move but for God's sake stop acting like your a Pro on Tour with an axe to grind.

:BigApplause:

:a040:

:read:Good article in today's "Daily Sun" by the director of Executive Golf Maintenance about the course conditions. It ends with "Feel free to contact me with any concerns or comments. I would think the same is true with GMS and the championship courses.

Anyone who doesn't want to spend 50 cents can go to St. Tim's recycling dumpster tomorrow and pick up a copy for free and not give another penny to ..........:1rotfl:

I emailed the director and he said that he'd like to meet with me to discuss my concerns. I contacted his secretary to set up a meeting and she never got back to me. I've called several times and no response.

My neighbor that I play with every week is a 3 handicap who plays almost everyday if you let him. He said the best outside courses nearby are Misson Inn, southeast of here between Leesburg and Clermont and Juliette Falls that's west of Ocala. I just noticed on Juliette Falls website, after 12:00 18 holes with a cart is only $29.99.

Welcome to Mission Inn Resort & Club, Central Florida

Juliette Falls

If you pay attention about when you are up to the tee, its no big deal. Some people need their hand held all the time.
Bitching about course conditions on TOTV gets very little accomplished.
Those who think its better to play away from The Villages....have at it. Nobody is holding a gun to your head to play here.
Some bitch about bad conditions and then another says conditions are just fine...……...who to believe.

Take restaurant reviews and course reviews and discard...………..go find out for yourself.
I agree with Tim.

:ho:

I'm sorry. I thought this was a forum on which to discuss The Villages golf course conditions. Are we only supposed to give positive opinions?

Bitchfest? When I see good conditions, I write about it. Unfortunately, that's not very often in TV.

:wave:

I played Glenview three weeks ago and the greens were in the best condition I have ever played in the Villages. Played Palmer the next day and the greens were fine, but nowhere near as nice Glenview's. I don't know what it is about Glenview, but I can never post a good score on that course? Not a rip on Glenview, more on myself. Somehow the layout does not fit my game, maybe it's all the fairway sand traps? For whatever reason, if I want to have a good chance at posting a low score, I find either Bonifay or Hacienda Hills to be the ticket.

Played Glenview yesterday and the greens are the best I have played in the last couple of weeks.

I'm just trying to understand why some people seem to take it so personal, as if it were their own job performance being criticized...when anyone posts less than a glowing review of a course condition. :oops:

For those that constantly whine about people criticizing course conditions, try to remember...no one is forcing you to read or agree with them.

If you don't agree, post such...or just move on. :wave:

After all, if there were no issues/problems with course conditions and everything was always fine...why would this forum even need to exist? :ohdear:


:ho:

Oh yeah, I forgot to add that I played Glenview a week or so ago and thought the greens were overall...in very good shape. :thumbup:

Quite a bit slower than most middle to upper tier courses elsewhere...but about average for TV courses. :shrug:

Played Belle Glade recently and was disappointed that they are not making a final cut around the green next to the collar...so lots of 'fur strips' on the edges of the actual green. :oops:

The pro shop said they had others complaining also and that maintenance told them that..."they were trying to grow out the collars." :ohdear:

Made absolutely no sense to me, given that they could still instruct the greens mowers to make a last mowing pass around the green...just keep about 6 inches from the existing collar edge and the collar will grow out just fine.

The reason they do that periodically is just what you were told. When mowing a green the mower crosses the green edge to edge. If they run around the edge as you desire every time they mow, the edge of the green is subjected to the weight of the mower twice as much and eventually the grass suffers. So, they omit that last circuit around the edge on occasion.

So we would know where the restaurants are that serve slop...…………..no kidding I read that on here.
And also where the short pours are.

No sense to sense?

I'll have to respectfully disagree.

Most of the time the issues with the dead grass near the collars, are because the person doing the mowing...is turning too quickly near the green. That's a 'training' issue.

Sometimes this is because of bunkers right next to the green...but often it isn't.

Keep in mind, even when the blades are up and not cutting the mower is still putting "pressure" on the green near the collar. One more pass (as long as the mower is going completely off of the green to make their turns)...isn't that big of a deal. :shrug:

Here's a good article that explains the various issues (and some potential solutions)...for the problem.

Ring around the collar - Golf Course Industry

Boom! :boom: Spot on post. It's gotten to the point where when you open up TOTV, you're wondering which course is going to be the "whack a mole" for the day for a certain person. Blah, blah, blah Glenview; blah, blah, blah Orange Blossom. BLAH. BLAH. BLAH...……….. Learn how to play better and the courses will look better.

:a040:

Too good, can't agree more :icon_wink: