Golf course discussion for week of May 11, 2020
 

I play the Championship Golf Courses three times a week. I am going to discuss the course condition on a weekly basis. For the week of May 11th:

Played Tierra Del Sol Monday. The course is in terrible condition. Recently punched with large holes and lots of sand still on the greens. The greens were very bumpy. Same for the tee boxes which had very little to no grass on them. I have been playing golf for over 50 years in the state of Florida, and I have never seen this bad a job done.

Played Havana Tuesday. Course was in very good good condition just coming off of aerification. Good grass on the greens and fairways, although the par 3 tee boxes, (white tees), need more grass. The new style cups were cut mostly correct. There were a few that were not cut deep enough.

Played Cane Thursday: Course was in very good good condition just coming off of aerification. Good grass on the greens and fairways, although the par 3 tee boxes, (white tees), need more grass. The cups on the Jacaranda holes were ALL cut incorrectly, that is not cut deep enough. Some of the holes had the new plastic cup only a 1/4 inch deep.

Conclusions. If Tierra Del Sol was a real Country Club its members would have the ground crew and greenkeeper fired. Whoever did the aerification has no clue how to do the job correctly. Or worse, they don't care.

The golf course admin teams needs to get grass on the tee boxes, and teach someone how to change the tees on a regular basis, especially the par 3's.

The golf course admin teams needs to teach the cup cutters how to cut a holle correctly and teach them were no to put cups.

I don't think it is to much to ask for grass on the course and cups cut correctly. This is a management problem and needs to be corrected by management.

Country Club Administration 352-753-3396 1030 Lake Sumter Landing 32162

Be sure to send your observations to those who are in a position to do something about it.
Those who play already know.

:1rotfl:

The Villages should invest in these. Charge every on on the champ courses 50 cents extra for one week and they would be paid for.

Golf Ball E-Z Lyft

:icon_wink: Aren't you the guy that last month said "It is what it is, we all have choices."

https://www.talkofthevillages.com/fo...37/index2.html Post # 23 :popcorn: Won't that apply here too?

I agree with some of the others. Reporting course conditions as a way to help others choose a course is a kind thing to do. But the commentary at the end will get old fast. Maybe the OP could drop the commentary on his TOTV posts, and include it in his emails to the golf administration.

if ya don't speak up, management will think that everything is hunky dory...go for it

For the most part, The Villages golf courses are not maintained very well. On one hand, many players do not fill their divots, fix their ball marks and even before Covid-19, they didn't rake the sand traps. If an ambassador says something, a complaint is filed and they lose the job. On the other hand, the courses are treated as a money making operation where costs are cut to the bone and prices increase every year, about 18% this year. IMHO The premium prices simply aren't worth it due to substandard course conditions. That's why I play later in the day or outside of the bubble. Sooner or later, it won't be worth the expense to live here.

OP, thanks for the report on the Championship courses. You obviously care about course conditions and I assume you will send your report to the proper managers. Although I don’t play the championship courses as often as I use to, your report is appreciated.

It is what it is, we all have choices.
 

Yes I am and it is still valid, but that has nothing to do with what I reported. Just the facts mam.

Good to know. I played Evan's Prairie on Thursday. Greens were "fair" and fairways were awful. Lopez yesterday. Greens were magnificent but a tad firm. Fairways and tee boxes were very poor. According to David Williams, Director of Golf, the mowers are set to cut fairways at 5/8" but that is a joke. More like 1/8". I realize it has been dry but they are watering everyday and we have been blessed with cool nights and warm days - ideal grass growing conditions. They should just quit mowing altogether for a couple of weeks and let the grass grow.

Cups
 

Have the raised cups been replaced by normal, in the ground cups? This from a Snowbird that left April 29.

They can water everyday and it won’t make much difference on the fairways with the grass cut way to short. These fairways are meant not to pool water, so unless the fairway has been properly aerated the some but not all water will be absorbed. Taking a proper divot when hitting on the fairways around here puts you at risk of bone joint damage 😎. The greens IMO are another story. On most courses they’re not consistent from hole to hole. Some are like rolling ball on a carpet and in the same course others are like rolling a ball on cement. I would be happy if they spent more time watering and cutting the greens properly but they don’t.

Our group played off-site yesterday at Spruce Creek South. Talk about a golf course not in good shape. Fairways were all brown. It was like hitting off hardpan. Every green had some sand on it. Putting was like being on pavement.

I don't think that any of The Villages courses are as bad.

But as I say not many of us are PRO GOLFERS. Our time has come and gone. Why are we concerned about a great score. Although we do feel good when we do have one.

I say being able to play golf anytime we want (or do anything else) BEATS THE ALTERNATIVE. Lets all be happy we have a place like The Villages.