[Russ_Boston]

Golfnut - I was not trying to brag about being a 10.1

In fact as we know there are many single digit golfers in TV (and many here on TOTV) and we all strive to become one if possible. I think macgolfnut, who IS a single digit golfer, summed up my feelings. Are TV courses representative of an expensive exclusive club? No they are not. But IMHO they are very nice for courses that costs about $30 - $40 in high season.

But this thread is about the $96 and while we all have the right to complain, the biggest impact you can make as a consumer is with your wallet. If, after complaining, they still have the fee you can then decide to pay it or not. It really is that simple.

[bsliny]

How is this fee to be paid Is it going to be part of the monthly amenties
Or do you pay only when you use it Sorry i should have read the previos posts

[Bubbalarry]

Nothing free or really good lasts forever. We got the deal for a year or so and
it spoiled us.

I for one never expected a free-bee from TV or comcast. However if there's anyone who we should complain to is our government that allows comcast to charge such a ridiculous fee for HD Cable TV/Hi-Speed internet and rental of the equipment that we need to for those services.

I pay higher prices back home in NJ, on 2 properties we own. One of which we rent out during the summer at the New Jersey shore compared to down here.

Thats why I keep talking about satellite dish and FTA (Free to air receivers) looking for a installer here in TV because it has No fees- NOT-TA, except the setup of the dish and receiver costs.

So when I read & hear people talk about $ 8.00 bucks, I for one have to laugh.

Your not gonna change it so just like everything else in life, we need to live with it.

Enjoy heaven on earth here in TV, before we head to the big heaven in the sky.

[hh6641]

This fee is not for the Teetime Reservation System. It is for subscribing to the Villages.Net, which if you don't know, is an ISP and email system. There has always been a charge except for Comcast Subscribers. I think it used to be $6 or $6.50. If you want to make a statement, then don't subscribe and use the telephone system if that's all you use it for. Otherwise you'll have to suck it up and pay the fee.

[gratton]

The fee is for the golf tee time system is just what it says, you can't use the site for searching or surfing for the fee, just golf tee times, Oh and yea a email address where you can get for free anyplace on the net, I can't understand why the fee went up except to make more money period, And if you think about it why shouldn't it be included in our amenities, They knew that the phone system would be cumbersome once they got more courses open, It was planed that way believe me, Think about it you get more customers and the price goes up, Seems strange to me.

[downeaster]

Originally Posted by gratton

The fee is for the golf tee time system is just what it says, you can't use the site for searching or surfing for the fee, just golf tee times, it you get more customers and the price goes up,

If I log on to thevillages.net (currently for free with Comcast) I am on the web, Internet or whatever. I can then surf the web. If I want to search I use Google. I assume it will be the same when the $8.00 fee kicks in.

thevillages.net is not my portal of choice.

BTW, I am not endorsing the fee but it is the only game in town as far as I am concerned.

[Russ_Boston]

Don't confuse the tee time reservation system with any sort of ISP availability. At the villages.net (accessible by anyone on the internet through any sort of connection) you can access the tee time system through a username and PW if you pay the $8 fee per month.

The Villages.net also has a dial-up ISP service that you can get with ($20) or without ($17) the tee time system. This could be used by people who have no other internet connection service and it provides access to the web. (think old AOL). This is the way that most people used to connect in the early 1990s when the net was in its infancy.

[rt]

The last POA bulletin has a great article about the Tee time charge. To charge the folks who only use the Tee time system at TheVillages.net and nothing else is a grand rip-off that you can thank the developer for. He stands to gross 1.9 million without lifting a finger!!! - and he knows it. Complain to the Gary Morse at the AAC, the VCCCD, Customer Service Center, the Morse Family and TheVillages.net. We've got nothing to lose.

[chuckster]

How did you arrive at 1.9 million rt?? Sounds like a stretch since not every household uses villages.net. The solution is easy. Don't buy/use it. You make a bigger impact by not spending your dollars. Personally I like the convenience and ease of .net for the t-time system and will continue to use it. Remember, there are choices.

[withease23]

For those of us who did not subscribe to Comcast Television, and who perhaps had Dish TV or Direct TV, we have been paying $6.00 per month for the Tee Time System for over 5 years. We always had the option to use the telephone system for free, but felt, for us the convenience was worth the $6.00. Now TV has raised the fee to $8.00. I'm sure there's a Cost Of Living raise in there somewhere, but we continue to feel the fee is worth the convenience.

[RCT]

Originally Posted by golfnut

You obviously don't play much golf. # 1, the courses here aren't that great. Cane Garden, Mallory and Havana have nice layouts, but the fairways this time of year are like concrete. Hopefully this rain will help some. Glenview, Tierra, Lopez, and Orange Blossom are generally in decent shape, as is Palmer which is very expensive to play.

#2. Executive courses are free, but they are not "real" golf to people who golf a lot. They are short, and basically aimed at beginners or elderly people who can't play the longer courses for a variety of reasons. However, there are a number of golfers, myself included, that have started playing the 9 hole exec courses simply to help out with expenses. And they are not "free" they are subsidised by our amenity fees.

#3. I have been a member of various golf clubs over the years, including some high end private country clubs, and have never had to pay to make a tee time. That's utterly ridiculous. Your ability to make tee times is always included in your membership fee. I think if you're a priority member, that online ability should be included. When you're managing a group for example and checking out tee times for various days, or researching openings to see if women or men are playing, it would be tedious if not impossible to have to do that over the phone, so online access is necessary.

#4. As far as making a profit, I feel the Villages makes plenty of profits off of us. My original post stated that I have no problem with them making a profit, but at some point I think they've gone over the line.

You're entitled to your opinion, but we disagree.

As far as having 2 email addresses, and access to Villages events, who cares? We have our email with comcast and see the events listed in the rec center papers.

Obviously we'll pony up the $$; there is no alternative. But the system doesn't seem fair to me compared to how golf country clubs normally work. They're just taking advantage of people. Some Villagers will sit back and take it. Others, like myself, will question things. To each his own. Stay in the short grass....Rekop

Quotes above are from rekop, following are my responses, keep in mind these are just my opinions, you are entitled to yours.

#1 I play golf here everyday and also play courses outside TV and think our courses for the most part are superior, if you don't like the courses why would you play them?
#2 executive courses, first you say they are free then you say they are not free, is that your final answer? IMO they are free since everyone pays the same monthly fee. As far as being real golf , IMO they are very challenging and not aimed strictly at beginners or the elderly, however, since you have belonged to a high end country club I will have to defer to your opinion.
# 3 the online system here is different than anything I've seen before, but then I've never belonged to a high end country club, you might want to look at going back to your high end private country club to get your free tee time system, it's not an option here but I'd be curious to know what your yearly cost was at your high end country club.

IMHO you seem very disenchanted with the setup here and I am curious why you came here as opposed to all the other choices that are out there, if it sounds like I'm having a hard time understanding your responses, well I am....GN

Palmer VERY expensive to play??? Where did you come from, that 41 dollars for a priority member, in peak season is expensive?!?!?!?!?

[golfnut]

rt, like chuckster I'm looking for an explanation on the $1.9M, please lift your finger, inquiring minds want to know....GN

[iaudit]

Originally Posted by withease23

For those of us who did not subscribe to Comcast Television, and who perhaps had Dish TV or Direct TV, we have been paying $6.00 per month for the Tee Time System for over 5 years. We always had the option to use the telephone system for free, but felt, for us the convenience was worth the $6.00. Now TV has raised the fee to $8.00. I'm sure there's a Cost Of Living raise in there somewhere, but we continue to feel the fee is worth the convenience.

Who exactly is the "we" that you refer to? I also have been paying the $6 per month and I thought that was excessive from the get go. Increasing it to $8 per month is adding insult to injury. Do not lump me into those that feel the fee is worth the convenience.

In my opinion, the tee time system should be run by the central district, not by the developer, and the charge should be just enough to cover the cost of development and operation. It should NOT be supported by our amenity fee but an extra charge incurred by those that golf.

[Muncle]

Originally Posted by chuckster

How did you arrive at 1.9 million rt?? Sounds like a stretch since not every household uses villages.net. The solution is easy. Don't buy/use it. You make a bigger impact by not spending your dollars. Personally I like the convenience and ease of .net for the t-time system and will continue to use it. Remember, there are choices.

Chuck, here's the article from the POA bulletin. You may remember that I've never been a POA fan, but I get the impression they are changing a bit. As to the numbers, they may be swags, but they provide a good baseline. I tend to agree with their argument, but like you, I'll likely pay up and play/.


Golf Tee Time System
Comcast users are scheduled to pay $8.00
per month to use the developer’s Tee Time
System on computers starting June 1, 2009.
Out of about 30,000 homes, there probably
are close to 20,000 subscribers that use
the computer Tee Time System. This would
yield $160,000 a month to run the Tee Time
System at $8.00 per month per account, or
$1.9 million a year.
Something is funny here. A fee of $8.00 a
month and $1.9 million a year seems unusually
high just to make golf reservations. We
get the feeling that the developer is trying to
take advantage of the residents on this issue.
As an alternative, why not charge residents
$1.00 per month (billed annually) to
access the Villages.net system for only the
tee time system? This seems more reasonable
and would generate $240,000 annually
to pay for operating the system. Surely, the
developer can operate the system for less
than that.
We think the Amenity Authority Committee
should research the feasibility of having
our amenity fees pay for the Tee Time System.
If there are no funds for that, then
$240,000 a year is a reasonable compromise
that should be able to keep everybody happy.
We would ask the AAC to take the lead in
negotiating an arrangement. □

[OutsiderWithInterest]

Oh no, not again!