Executive golf courses etc.??
 

First of all, I'm not at TV yet....LOOKING...I still play at a reasonable level at handicap of 5,,,probably 9 or 10 there. Here are my questions: Exec courses......any par 4's on them? Are they competitive? I've always belonged to a Club....Not that expensive though. I know there are alot of things to do in TVs but if you golf alot,,why wouldn't someone join a non bundled or bundled club in Naples area as opossed to TVs.. We are in the Lifestyle plan for 10days Mar 1st . We stayed at the Waterfront Inn for 3 days last year and had a blast...Thats why we are coming back...doug

Yes, many of the exec. courses have par 4s. For a scratch golfer from the black tees it's pretty much REAL GOLF! Free if you walk, $3.50 to ride.
As a TV resident you will be a member at 10 clubs with good to very good championship courses. If you want, you can buy a priority membership to obtain discount rates and choice tee times. Or you can use the money to play one of about 20 good courses within 45 minutes of your house for reasonable rates. There ain't no better deal anywhere!

Exec courses are rted from 1 (easy) to 4 (difficult). Trust this 10 handicapper to tell you that the 4's will blow your mind! Long, difficult, target golf, lots of water you name it they got it. I was fortunate enough to be invited into 2 men's groups, one plays off campus courses only and another plays all the championship courses. I also paly in Men's days on the execs. It's not the country club feel I had at home as it is more of a hybrid between daily fee and a private club feeling, but it works. You find a group of guys and that's what I had bck at the old club. There is so much golf, so many choices, so many tees that it may take a second lifetime to play them all. Other communities have one or two courses, same ol' same ol'. Here you have thousands of new faces to play with and choices of venue to suit your desires.

info available online
 

Check out golfthevillages.com for lots of details for all golf info - most residents pay the annual trail fee - about $141/year right now for the entire household, if they play golf regularly on the executive courses. The trail fee info is on thevillages.net (bottom right). I couldn't find it on the golf site.

When we were just coming down for quick visits, I usually walked with my pull-cart. Once I paid the trail fee I got lazy and started riding. My trail fee just expired and I think I'm going to hold off for awhile on renewing and pay the $3.50 occasionally on the courses with the 1/4 mile walks between holes or if weather looks threatening. I apparently need that incentive to keep me walking!

We have friends who had a bundled package in Naples. I suspect they were paying more than we do, but its difficult to compare. It really depends on how much you play. We have so many choices here that I find I don't' play as much golf as I used to, so consequently my greens fees are lower. Our friends in Naples had to pay an initiation fee, plus a yearly fee, then they had to pay $15-$20 per couple as a cart fee each time they went out. I don't remember the exact number but I remember thinking, wow, that's pretty pricey just to play one golf course. I like it that here if they are plugging the greens on one course we still have other courses that are in nice shape to play. You have many more options. I do find the executive courses to be challenging, and try to play them once or twice a week for practice with my short game, if my elbow is up to it (tendinitis).

504 holes of golf!
 

The Villages has 504 holes of golf I would guess more than all of Naples. All within 20 minutes drive in your golf cart. The Villages is the golf capital of Florida! I have tried for 4 years now to have played every hole in the Villages I'm still working on it!

The newspaper quoted Nancy Lopez one day as saying that she was glad that she did not have to play Pelican (exec. course) when she was on tour. It is one of the Level 4 courses here and Amberwood has a par 5 (may be others). We have a friend here who is a scratch golfer and says some of the executive courses here are mini-championships. Any of the Level 4's should answer some of your questions.

Great
 

Thanks for ALL the replies. I will check them out when we get there. Keep the sun out....It's 14 below zero here in NW Iowa this morning !!!!!

What a refreshing thread to read! What you guys and gals are enjoying is a big sell for me. ( My wife doesn't golf). It seems to me that the executive courses are a great place to practice and if there are some real challenging holes all to the good!

Just hope my new buddies would prefer not eating pizza...:laugh:

As far as grooming the execs are mini-championship courses. In my opinion they are not as difficult as a championship course because they are built to keep traffic moving, and therefore not quite as much in the way of trouble. The ones I have played, including Amberwood (which has a par 5, but it is very eagle-able) are a nice test, a good short game excercise, and asthetically pleasing).

About half the time I play the exec courses, I just drop the ball on the tee and play it as if I were on the fairway of a par 4 hole. With some holes playing near 200 yds, it's a challenge for this short hitter. I get a lot of practice with my short game. The one aspect this doesn't duplicate is playing from rough. But it still is helpful and enjoyable.

Some courses have relatively flat greens and surrounds, while others have much more contour and are elevated from the surrounding land to make missing the green more challenging.

They are not pitch 'n' putt courses.

eweissenbach: Easy for you single digit handicappers to say. I mean with a high handicapper like me loving golf is like falling in love with the wrong woman. You know that ever time you approach her she is going to break your heart:icon_wink:

:bigbow::bigbow::bigbow:

Hah, I wish I were a single digit hadicapper (I am on a nine hole exec I guess)! I did not intend to imply that they are easy, but they simply don't have the level of trouble that you typically have on a championship course. I still manage to find plenty of trouble anyway. As I have said before, golf is an activity one has to be willing to be bad at.

I find I can get in just as much trouble on an executive course as I can on a championship course. The championship courses are just longer (and more expensive).