[Shbullet]

Originally Posted by anothersteve

Thank you!
Steve

Its no sillier than hearing that when paying customers go home for the summer everything will be better.

[Shbullet]

Originally Posted by coach

I played Mallory today. Greens were in wonderful condition.

Good to hear

[Moderator]

This thread has devolved from discussing the condition of the executive courses to discussing the posters themselves. Please return to the topic of the course conditions. Posts directed at members will be deleted.

Moderator

[Shbullet]

Golfed at water oaks today, just off 466 and 27. Greens, fairways and teeboxes were in excellent shape. Some of the fairways were over 200 yds of rich , green grass. They were actually watering them as we played them. What a awesome experience, I just cant help but wonder why many of the executives, championships in the villages lack this attention. Hope this doesn't offend anyone but I was truly impressed by this course.

[Love2Swim]

I agree with the original poster. Many of the people I golf with have expressed dissatisfaction with the general condition of the "championship" golf courses. There always seems to be 2 or 3 that are in good condition, some that are in horrible condition, and the rest are fair to mediocre. I spoke with one of the golf course managers and he blamed it on the maintenance companies. Some are better than others, and if you have a contract with a company that does a poor job, it takes awhile to fire the company, get a new one, then get on the right track to improving the conditions again. Its too bad The Villages doesn't have their own maintenance company that could keep the courses up to good standards. In the long run, it would probably be cheaper than hiring it out to third parties. If you are considering moving to the Villages, be forewarned that many of the people who post on TOTV will bash anyone who expresses an opinion that The Villages needs improvement in any way. They seem to take it personally if you don't like the way the Villages does things, or you comment about the poor conditions of the golf courses, overcrowding at aerobic classes, parking problems at Fenney, or whatever. Nothing in life is ever perfect, and there is always room for improvement, including The Villages.

[Fourpar]

I play championship courses 3+ times a week, and I have been here since 2007. I have never seen the courses in worse shape tee to green. When I bought here the courses were maintained quite well, and in the winter they over seeded tee to green. Bunkers were maintained daily, and the courses really enjoyable to play. This winter (and last) they by and large resemble a $25Muni. Its a shame and not in keeping with the whole "Villages Persona".

[Buckeye Bob]

Hacienda Hills is in great shape.

[Best2bgolfing]

I play mostly Exec courses but in the past three years I can see both Exec and Champ courses being in stressed. I think the fairway grass is cut to often and to short. I can rarely use my wedge around the green. Most of the time I putt from 5 or more yards off the green.
I do remember when rye grass was put down in the fairway for the winter months. Now only Tee boxes. Was there a $$ reason for stopping the winter rye process. Please give the fairway at least 1 1/2 inches at cut height.

[Garwood1]

I only will say that we pay a premium price to play the championship courses and the conditions do not match the price in most cases , and we provide our own carts

[Lynnesail]

Well-stated! Slow down the growth and maintain what we have.

[dewilson58]

Originally Posted by Garwood1

I only will say that we pay a premium price to play the championship courses and the conditions do not match the price in most cases , and we provide our own carts

[CharlesNT]

My wife and I had the same opinion, in general most courses were in mediocre shape at best, with some exceptions (the courses at Havana, Churchill Greens come to mind). In the end we were playing 50/50 Villages and off campus. Most of the people we were paired up with had similar comments about the conditions.

We have been coming for short visits for 12 years and don't remember the conditions being as bad ever. This was our first long term stay and were looking forward to it, but were disappointed with the conditions and plan to look at other communities before making a decision on where to put down our retirement roots.

One of our friends who is a year round Villager did mention his understanding is there are multiple companies hired to maintain the courses, and a new one was brought in this year. Could this explain why the conditions vary so widely at different courses?

[Bay Kid]

Originally Posted by Garwood1

I only will say that we pay a premium price to play the championship courses and the conditions do not match the price in most cases , and we provide our own carts

Do they charge extra to use their carts after paying +$60. for a round?

[ColdNoMore]

Originally Posted by Bay Kid

Do they charge extra to use their carts after paying +$60. for a round?

Only if you rent one of the course's carts.

It's been a while since I've had to do that (I once decided a cart ride to Orange Blossom wasn't worth it, so rented one of theirs)...but I believe it was only like $10 if you're a resident.

If a quick shower comes through though, there are no sunbrella's/enclosures on them...so you're gonna get pretty wet.

If you're using your own cart, you aren't charged less...than the regular greens fee cost.

If I were to guess, I would say about 95%+ of players on the championship courses...use their own carts.

[gcanonge]

Totally agree!