To the Editor:
Golfers in The Villages should be embarrassed by their actions at the championship and executive golf courses. The superintendents and management of the golf courses have done a great job this year getting the courses in superior condition. With all their projects and the annual maintenance, the courses were looking better than ever. Yesterday, while working on the course, the tees and greens were looking terrible, not because of poor maintenance or lack of effort from the golf staff, but because of all the ball marks and divots that were not fixed or improperly repaired.
The observations below are from my last nine months working at the golf courses in The Villages.
At least 80 percent of all golfers that frequent the golf courses inside the Villages
Do Not:
• Repair (fill) their divots on the tee boxes or even try to fix them. Approximately 50 percent don’t or improperly fix divots in the fairways.
• Repair their ball marks on the green.
• Replace the rake in the bunkers properly.
Common etiquette for golf is “simple” – leave the course better than you found it.
The procedure for correcting each of these issues is located at each course and online so there is no excuse for not doing it. Maybe the answer is everyone playing golf needs to pass a basic assessment test before playing on any Village Golf Course.
There is a requirement to pass a test before playing pickleball in The Villages. Why not golf?
Joseph Capone
Village of Ashland
