Absolutely ZERO. The things that mattered most: High community standards. Unbelievable number of things to do or get involved in. I love golf and I'm blessed to play it fairly well, but it didn't drive my decision to move to TV at all.

Free?
 

.
Wait, free? Nothing is free. Included in amenity fees, trail fees, and $8.00/month for online access maybe. But it ain’t free.

Free Golf
 

It was a big part of our decision.

I rarely play the executive courses,I play championship courses, which are geared towards older golfers, which are less challenging than golf courses in New England
Weather was the main reason, if the villages was located in a cold weather income tax free state like Alaska, South Dakota would you move there? It’s the weather, everything else is a distant second

Do most people consider the amenities - golf, pickleball, tennis, the pools, the rec centers, the landscaping, etc. - to be free?

Or do people consider the amenities to be like the championship courses? Just something else that you pay for, the only difference between them is that the amenities are mandatory and championship golf is optional?

The subject under discussion is golfing INSIDE The Villages. You know...where a cart is extra if you don't have your own? Not bringing your own cart is like handing them an additional $14 profit per round. They must really love it to lease a fleet of carts for non golf cart owners to use. But if you enjoy that, it's ok.

Now, if you'd like to discuss your completely different subject of golfing outside The Villages and the economics thereof, perhaps you should start a new thread and I'd be happy to agree that loading a golf cart into the back of my SUV to golf at el Campeon is impractical.

It was a big part of our decision to buy here.

I don't play golf, so there's your answer! I would prefer not paying for a major activity I don't use, but TV is still totally worth it.

Golf was a major factor in deciding to move to The Villages. Let's remember that even Executive Golf isn't "FREE". Part of the Amenity Fees that we pay sustain the Executive Golf Courses. Also, we pay trail fees, etc.

It played a role for us along with many other reasons.
Even if you don't play golf, the thing I like about there being so many golf courses is that they break up the density of the homes and they create beautiful green space. It makes the place more scenic imo.

Btw, the amenity fee is a bargain for what we get. And the golf is pretty close to free.

Golf at Private Club
 

So, what side of $10,000 do you pay for 6 months of golf up north???:shrug:

Zero, do not golf

Don't care that much about golf. Play a few times a year but could care less about the cost. Love the green space golf courses create and the other amenities are great...green space and amenities other than golf are what brought us here.

Same here for us

Answer: zero. I was lucky to buy into a lifetime membership in 2000. I play 2 private country clubs as often as I want; my monthly statement is always $0.00.

Golf
 

Golf was a zero draw for us as we don't golf other than putting courses. The other 95percent of things to do is the reason and ...oh yeah.. Florida. No snow, ice, or cold weather.

Agree, came here for Championship courses. Would expect and gladly pay a fee for Executive Courses for Maintenance.

I don't play golf, so the free golf was irrelevant to me. Zero. Having access to the whole community via golf cart was a draw though, maybe a 6 or 7.

Absolutely none, even though I do play golf.

zero - it was the softball

Not Golfers, Initially
 

Free golf had no impact on our decision. We moved here in 2012. The concept of The Villages lifestyle, friendly people, well-kept common areas/landscaping, warm weather and no state income tax were the deciding factors. Lots of changes in TV since then for sure but we are still very happy living here. BTW, we both learned to play golf.

Lifetime Membership????
 

Thats a new one............what side of 30,000$ did that cost........unless your uncle owns the golf courses..............:shrug:

No golf car fees???? No caddy fees??? Very hard to believe? Where is this utopia?

I came here to get under the bubble...........all the amenities are a huge bonus.............and the golf is special too.........

Golf played a very minor role in my decision to relocate here, though I was impressed with the beauty of all the golf courses during my lifestyle visits. I never played golf until I moved here. I now play about once a week and enjoy it, but I think I would be equally happy here without it. Now if you were to take away my pickleball……

$50k back in 2000. But if I chose to leave, they resell it and I get back 40%. Break even was back in 2006. Yes, golf utopia for me - no dues, no cart fees, no range fees, no locker fees, no minimums. Listed as one of Golf Digest's 50 toughest courses in America a few years back. Recently added a second private club which I can play for only a cart fee. Taking the risk back then was one of the best decisions of my life.

Played a major part in our decision. Being Fl natives, we were well aware of what golf could cost us in our retirement. We realized that ONLY 9 hole executive courses were "free" (for the $189 monthly fee of course) , but predicted as time passed, we'd be playing 4 hour plus rounds less and less, so the choice of so many executive length courses was very appealing to us. "Probably" would not have decided on the V's if not for all the shorter courses to choose from.

Hope your request is answered, a LOT of us would like to know about those low cost championship courses too ! ! !

Up north
 

God bless you!!!

Agreed. I have no interest in golf. I can golf when I'm dead.

Of course, LOL ! Sometimes I do wonder if people realize rents do include property insurance costs of the owner, property taxes, lawn care and maintenance, periodic replacement of major appliances, etc.etc., and/or believe "renters" get by without paying for these things...LOL !

95%!

In the broadest sense, few things in life are free. (Although I think the squares are actually free.)

We pay for roads with our taxes. But I consider them to be free. I think there is a huge difference between I 95 and the Turnpike.

You can get great deals on the internet. Even in the winter. I felt like apologizing to my foursome if a round cost more than $30, including cart.

Time to explain
 

1. What course do you belong to up north and in what state?

2. Did you have to buy a multi-million dollar home to get that deal?

3. Isn't playing 30$ golf courses down here a huge drop in quality vs up north?

4. Can you break 85?

5. Did your course up north give away free tees?

Inquiring minds want to know if there is any beef in the stew!!! :undecided:

You can get a golf cart then finally. I recommend a diesel with no catalytic converter.

Perception of free golf. we are all paying for it like everything else:wave:

Yeah, great questions. :loco: I could care less what you need to know.

Obviously
 

Not fact.............but, entertaining...........:popcorn:

I was kind of shocked because back in ohio I lived in a private community that was protected by armed security and paid assessments over the years from 20.00 to 215.00 a month before I moved here and all the golf was free. I was surprised by the high costs the villages charged for golf plus the charges in the snowbird season. Because of the higher costs based on other nearby courses we choose to play 18 hole courses outside of the area.