[jandbrare]

Visualize, two old friends, one of which lives in nearby Stonecrest, asking me, Jerry, if I could get a tee time for us on a TV course. I'd just enjoyed a friendly, relaxing day playing the Stonecrest course with him and the other friend who lives in Virginia and a fourth, also a non-Stonecrest resident.

So, as it was short notice, I went to the available-tee-time section of the golfing web site and found a tee time on Palmer for 1:13, or thereabouts. I put my wife and I and two guest in. Good, all set.

When we show up to play, my guests are asked, "Do you have a guest pass?" Whoops! I'm thinking that guest passes are only required to use the amenity-fee-supported facilities. Wrong. You gotta have them to play the Owner's golf courses, too. But, even if I had had time to apply for guest passes, my friend from nearby Stonecrest couldn't have gotten one. Not eligible. Lives in the tri-county area. (So, what's the logic, here. One can. One can't.)

But, the desk guy at the club says to my guests, "Okay. Can I see your identification, please. So, my friends dig out their drivers licenses. "Uh-oh, you are from Marion County," he says to the Stonecrest friend. [This is the friend who couldn't have gotten a guest pass had I had time to apply.] The desk attendant was accommodating , however, and proceeds to process the deal, which comes to over $200 for the four of us. (The friend from Stonecrest's green fee is $70, because he is an "Non-resident Guest.") Okay, my friend from Virginia insists on paying it all, which is what I expected he would do, or I wouldn't be playing Palmer in prime season. He's a very generous guy.

Okay, so we get past the ordeal at the club house, and go to the starter's shack. Same thing: "May I see your ID's?" My wife and I show our TV ID's. Our 'guests' have to pull out their drivers licenses, again. How embarrassing!

Folks, we are over regulated. The day at Stonecrest was in stark contrast. The golf course people knew my friend and called him by name. I didn't have to show any ID at the clubhouse or at the tee, although a guest. The beer lady on the course was friendly and knew my friend by name.

By contrast, I bring my friends to The Villages and am completely embarrassed. (My friend from Stonecrest probably enjoyed it all, as he is always promoting Stonecrest over TV to my friend from Virginia.)

We old folks bring this on ourselves. We are constantly asking for more rules and regulations: guest regulations, golf cart speed limits, limited-access streets, etc. Why must we demand regulation? Live a little, while you can.

Jerry

[Bogie Shooter]

Do a search on guest passes, and all of your questions will be answered!

[zcaveman]

You always have to show ID (Village ID or DL) at the starter shacks. If the guest has a guest pass you have already vouched for the guest and he has to show the guest pass. I am not sure but I think he still has to show his DL to prove he is the one with the guest pass.

It is a method of keeping the sneaks from invading the courses.

It is not a problem for me.

[784caroline]

NO probem for me either...tee times are at a premium for both championship and executive courses. The problem is yours for not knowing rules ... and I am surprised that they allowed a non-guest on at AP without a guest pass who lived in Marion County.

BTW all guests are required to show a guest pass at a form of ID at the starter shack! When checking in at a starter shack, I cannot check my wife in...she has to show her ID card herself. As long as it is equally enforced, I have no problem with this either!

[OpusX1]

The Country clubs are private owned public courses. Anyone may play them. They do not need to to be a guest or accompanied by a resident. They will be charged a much higher rate . Resident guest pays $66 at Palmer while non-resident pays $76. The only reason they check for guest passes is to charge the correct amount. Non relative residents of the 3 counties may not be guests and may not get guest passes. With out the passes these people may not use any amenities of TV. Makes sense to me.

[Russ_Boston]

Just wondering why, since the two friends paid public prices, did they need to show a driver's license to the STARTER? Since the courses are public couldn't the starter just look at the receipt to see that he only need to see two resident ID's since the other two paid the full amount?

Isn't the point to make sure that if the person got a discount (resident, guest) that they were who they said? In fact the onus of looking at ID's should be on the pro shop where payment is made. The starters should only care that they have a proper receipt.

Residents should know the rules but why the double check by the starter?

[Indy-Guy]

Lets take a look at this whole thing that you are calling over regulated. Most things are done for a reason and lets take a look at it.

First most people that purchase at Stonecrest and other places close to The Villages state that they get more home for their money (which they do) and don’t want to pay for The Villages lifestyle. So The Villages has regulations that will insure that they don’t come in and use the amenities that are The Villages lifestyle that they didn’t feel was worth paying for.

If you live (have a drivers license or ID) in the surrounding counties you are not able to get a guest pass. This does several things. It keeps The Villages amenities for the people and guest of those who live here and not for the people who live in the surrounding communities. Example for the last several years the executive courses were unattended after 5:30PM so during the Spring, Summer and Fall during daylight savings time you could play up to sundown on a first come first serve basis. Well this last Spring they kept the Ambassadors on the courses till sundown. I asked why are you guys still here and they said that there was a problem with people coming in from neighboring communities and playing our courses. Why were they doing this because there was no one there to check them or charge them. I remember seeing a guy pull up to Heron and saw his Stonecrest plate on the front of his car he got out pulled out his pull cart and walked on like he owned the place.

I played golf with a foursome a couple of months ago and one of the guys said he lives at Del Webb. I asked him what kind of shape their course was in his answer was he didn’t know he always plays down here with his buddy. Now you are asking me how he gets on here. I didn’t have to ask he was a snowbird and his drivers license shows his address and state up North. If the flood gates were open and they didn’t have the regulations then it would be even harder to get a tee time this time of the year or any time of the year.

Yes the program is that you show you Villages ID and guest pass with drivers license when you check in at the pro shop then you show them again at the starters shack. This is done because some time ago people would come over with their buddy and go into the golf shop show their Villages ID pay for the round of golf walk out the door and hand the starter slip to their buddy who lives near by and then he would go to the starter shack and play a round and the resident would go home since he wasn’t play golf. So this is the way that they know the same person who checks in at the pro shop is the same person who enters the golf course.

Lets address the cost of play. You state that your Stonecrest friend had to pay $70.00 and your Virginia friend payed less. Your Virginia friend paid $10.00 less than your Stonecrest friend. Oh sorry that’s right you stated that your Virginia friend paid for it all or you wouldn’t have played Palmer this time of the year since it was prime season. Perhaps that is part of the problem the more you play the courses then the better you know the system.

You state that at Stonecrest they know your friend by name at the club house. Of course they do they only have one golf course and if you play several times a week then they should know your name. My guess is that if I played only at Cane Garden the 2-3 times a week that I play they would know me by name. I play the 7 different championship courses that I can get to within a 15 min. golf cart ride from my home. Most of the people who check me in know me by face and call me by name when I give them my Villages ID. I don’t expect them to know me when I walk in the door as I know they have many people who come through there daily. If my wife is with me I don’t want them to know me by name as she would think I play way to much golf.

I have no problem with people who have chosen to purchase at Del Webb, Storecrest, Spruce Creek and others. They come to The Villages and use the town squares, restaurants and shopping areas. The more money they spend in The Villages the more new things we will get. It’s a win win situation. Good for them and good for The Villages.

I have to admit that till you know the system many things seem to not make sense. After one is here for a while and uses the amenities then the knowledge of the program will increase and you will just walk up and go with the flow. I for one understand that these regulations are in place for reasons. These regulations are in place because people have taken advantage of the system and sought out the loop holes. If people have a question about the regulations simply walk into the pro shop and ask. Don’t go between 7:30 AM and 9:30 AM or between 11:30 AM to 1:30 PM because that is when they are busy checking in golfers for the wave tee times. The rest of the time they will have plenty of time to answer your questions. Also go to your recreation center and talk with the people there they will all be happy to answer your questions about regulations.

[Russ_Boston]

INDY - I agree 100% and it is one of the reasons for moving to TV.

That doesn't answer the starter question though. Why would a guest (or public in this case) need to be asked by the starter for an ID since they already have a paid receipt to show that they paid by the rules?

[villages07]

Actually, JandD, the country club cut you some slack.... normally, at this time of year, you can't reserve ahead of time for 'general public' tee time slots on Champ courses. The public can only snatch open tee times the day of play by calling the club. So, when you made the 3-day-out reservation for you, your wife, and 2 guests (but one was actually a public non-guest) you grabbed a tee time you ended up not being entitled to. I know... rules rules... but tee times this time of year are scarce and limiting 'public' slots to day of play is one way TV tries to prioritize and accommodate resident and guest golf demand.

Otherwise, I agree with Indy's assessment of the situation.

[rshoffer]

Originally Posted by OpusX1

The Country clubs are private owned public courses. Anyone may play them. They do not need to to be a guest or accompanied by a resident. They will be charged a much higher rate . Resident guest pays $66 at Palmer while non-resident pays $76. The only reason they check for guest passes is to charge the correct amount. Non relative residents of the 3 counties may not be guests and may not get guest passes. With out the passes these people may not use any amenities of TV. Makes sense to me.

May non relative residents of the 3 counties call any country club and request a t time ? If the answer is yes , other than paying a higher fee , what is expected at the starters shack when the non resident arrives? I played last week with a resident from Spruce Creek... the guy in the Starters shack berated him because he "didn't have a guest pass". I was totally confused since I thought the courses were open to non Villagers except at a higher fee. I'm lost

[RCT]

You are embarrassed? Why? Because rules are rules? I for one am very happy for these rules. If Stonecrest sounds like it fits your idea of how things should be, then, as we all say, this is a free country, you can choose to live there instead. All i know is, that in so many ads for these other communities, the advertisement says "close to the Villages". I wonder why????

[Pookirgirl]

OK..so now I am really confused. I am NOT a Villager yet but would like to know the answer to this question. If I become a resident of TV and have friends at my home and we would like to play a game of golf with them, we CAN or CANNOT play with them IF they come from the tri-county area? That's kind of weird if you can't. There is no way possible to take someone from Stonecrest to our golf courses as a guest? Please clarify this.

[graciegirl]

I agree with Indy. These rules keep our courses from just being another public course.

[Russ_Boston]

As always a little confusion. Page 20 of the guide published by the golf course management says it all.

http://www.golfthevillages.com/golf-...dgolfguide.pdf


Different rules for the championship courses vs. the execs which makes sense since the execs are supported by Villager amenity fees.

[Fourpar]

Good summary, Indy.
As with most thins in The Villages, the rules have a reason, and most of the time they make sense.