How Much Does it Really Cost to Play Golf?
 

Hubby loves golf and 18 hole courses. So that is one big attraction with the Villages. I read that it is free but also certain fees.

I would appreciate knowing what to expect when it comes to golf fees - what is free and what is not. And what are the trail fees about?

Let's try again..

golfthevillages.com

http://golfthevillages.com/tee-times/golfrate.asp

Golf is free if....
You walk and play the executive courses only. That's it! I gotta tell you though many of the executive courses are very challenging.

Other than that there is a small fee to play the championship courses.

If he loves golf, he must play quite a lot now. I still live in VA and play on average twice a week. The Villages cost me less then one forth to play that much. If he is an avid golfer he will want a priority membership to the championship courses. Cost around $900 a year. This is a family membership to all 12 courses and also provides access to the Country Club pools, plus includes the trail fee for your golf cart on all courses. Then each time he plays the green fees will be from $12 to $50. Depending on the course and time of year. Figure an average of $25. So twice a week is $50 times 52 weeks is $2600 plus the $900 or $3500 a year. Executive course once or twice a week for practice which is free. Again less then 1/4 what I pay to play in VA. So in my opinion golf in The Villages is very cheap.

referer strikes again.....
 

If you are re-posting because the links do not seem to work, you are running into an old issue where URLs embedded in posts to *thevillages.com web sites do not work. There is an old thread which explains it here:

https://www.talkofthevillages.com/fo...riosity-26137/

Post #10 has a workaround if you wish to try it.

Or readers of your post just have to copy and paste the links you provided instead of clicking on them.

Thanks all. Just what I needed to know. Thanks @12ridehd for the breakdown.

Are many of the players GOOD players are or there a lot of newbies etc. that slow the game on the championship courses?

Hubby plays about 12 times a month. 4 championship and the rest executive. That is what we have budgeted. Golf can be a very social thing here especially couples golf. I highly recommend it to expand your social life. I had never played golf before we moved here and once I learned it opened us up to tons of new friends. We play couples golf both Saturday and Sundays.

Define Small Fee
 

Not sure I would defne $30- $45.00 a small fee

True. In the Winter months, you might pay this just to play 9 holes on the Championship courses. During the Summer, twilight deals are pretty good. Many of the serious golfers tend to go "off campus", where deals (and sometimes playing conditions) are better. All courses are pretty crowded in the Winter, but scheduling and pace-of-play are usually pretty good. Most of the golfers I get paired with are terrible, but know their limits and don't slow down the pace of play one bit.

Originally Posted by jflynn1
Not sure I would defne $30- $45.00 a small fee


Not really. Highest rate this past winter for 18 holes was Palmer at $57, next highest was $50.

Here's the scoop (and BTW, it is all published openly in a brochure and on TV's website. Just call one of the country clubs and they will fill you in on everything.)
The executive courses are free for life. If you dont want to walk and then you wish to take a golf cart, you have to pay to rent for the cart. I think its $7. If you have your own golf cart, you can use that and pay annual trail useage fee. (This is to cover use of paths and maintenance and repair to grouds that is causedby cart useage.) It is common charge at every golf course everywhere. The trail fee for exec courses is around $143 a year.
For the 18 hole courses (they are nice ones here) you are already a member of the clubs but you pay-as-you-go on these "championship" courses. BTW, several of these are really quite nice! The fees change with the seasons and with the course and depends upon whether you are a resident, a premium member, a guest or a non-resident. There is a published chart of all these fees on TheVillages.com.
My wife and I belong to a golf club here in central Maryland. We did some calculations and determined that even with priority memebers, we can play more golf between March 15 and December 31 at TV for less than our CC at home. Meaning that the courses at TV are relatively inexpensive when considering the quality of the courses. We have plyed several and were never dissappointed. (Note the dates - we don't play in the winter in Maryland.) In Florida, winter golf is more expensive. To amiliorate cost, many residents go in outside TV in and play local courses. Some are very inexpensive.
Have fun! And learn to golf, you will not regret it.
Again, check the website and call one of the Country clubs.

About half the year you can play golf really "cheap" in The Villages. The other six month its not real "cheap" but still relative "cheap". I kept track of it for two years and spent less than 3,500 and played all the golf I wanted. The term "good golfers" is really tough to define in TV. Most players on the Championship Courses are your better golfers----some are single digit handicap and very good----most are bogey golfers 15-20 handicap. The beginners are usually on the Executive Courses. Fore!

I play one championshipship course a week and 5 executive courses a week. I figure I pay about $45 on average for the championship courses for a total of $2340 per year, and I pay the yearly trail fee of $143 for a total yearly cost of $2483. I think it's a great deal considering I get to golf 6 days a week. Although, if my wife reads this post I may have to cut down!

Still a lot cheaper than the golf costs we used to have, right Barry?