Southern Oaks
 

Played it twice in the last week.

Tee boxes need some TLC.

Fairways are thin like other Championship Courses.

Remember the deep roughs everyone was whining about?????.......they are gone.

Greens are still very good.

Hated to see the roughs disappear and the fairways so thin.

I always said Tierra Del Sol has the best greens in the Villages, but after playing Southern Oaks I can no longer say that. Besides the quality of the greens, there was nothing else I found to be anything special about SO. It’s not a bad course, but it’s low on my play list compared to just about every other Championship course in the Villages. It’s definitely not worthy of having the highest green fees of any Championship course. I do very much like that as an 18 hole course there are straight t times throughout the day. I like t times between 9:30 and noon, which aren’t available at the 27 hole courses. Also, as a 18 hole track you can play 18 after 2:00 for the price of 9 instead of having to wait until the PM wave finishes making the turn, so it’s got that going for it.

Rain, if we ever get some will help tremendously. Irrigation just can’t replace rain.

Agree.

I had high hopes and expectations for this course.

I think (& will probably lose my Morse Thanksgiving Invitation)......it's time to find a new designer for TV golf courses. The current guy has been around TOO LONG and we need fresh, current, designs for new courses.

I’m really looking forward to the three new championship courses south of the turnpike. Shallow Creek, the first to open, looks to have an interesting layout from what has been published so far. I think it has already been sprigged so we’ll see how fast it can grow in.

Agreed. The championship courses are boring as hell, so that's why I enjoy playing outside and paying less for more interesting layouts. In defense of the current designer, the developer just gives them leftover drainage area land to route holes around. Trees are removed, retention ponds are dug, and dirt is pushed around. All in favor to maximize golf course views for the real estate. The designer has done other courses in the area with more pleasing aesthetics. In The Villages, they just build holes on the land allotted to them. Boring golf at a high price.

If your Thanksgiving invite gets pulled we always have some extra food on the table. In fairness to the course designer, one can only do so much with a relatively small, flat, open piece of land adjacent to the turnpike. And the designers skills could have gone bad after being forced to design a bunch of pitch and putts and putting courses during the way too long stretch between Belle Glade and Southern Oaks. I do like the 3 each of par 3, 4, and 5’s on each 9 holes.

It's not just the course designer, it's the Villages model. Most golfers in TV, don't want much in the way of "challenge". Everyone wants to be able to spray their drives all over the planet and shoot 79 with a 15 handicap. In my opinion, the only golf course with any character, is Tierra Del Sol (perhaps Orange Blossom, but not character in a good way).

It's resort/retirement community golf.

I do like starting with a par 5............... more time to fix my warm-up shots.

Pensacola ........... starting with two par 4's over 400 yards is always exciting. :loco::loco:

New designer coming
 

If I am not mistaken, the three courses currently being built are the last three that Mr. Ezell Eid doing for TV. He is retiring once they are done.

All of our courses are some variety of Bermuda, As are most courses in the south. (Some have zoysia fairways).
Bermuda remains dormant until soil temperatures exceed 65 degrees at 4” deep.

U R correct, unfortunately.

If only the developers would divert all the water being used to water the medians and the sides of the roads to the golf courses everything would be fine.

Unfortunately, the courses get deprived of water when they need it most and then get dumped with excess water and become flood plains during heavy rain periods. It’s no wonder it’s difficult for the maintenance staff to keep the conditions consistent and good.

When are the courses deprived of water?