An additional $11 million in amenity money was steered toward executive golf courses in The Villages in 2024 after residents complained about atrocious conditions.
Early in the year, golfers began complaining about courses they found unplayable.
Residents were swift to document their unhappiness:
The Villages and its golf management team should be embarrassed
Advertisement of ‘free golf for life’ is a bunch of hooey
They are ruining the reasons people have chosen The Villages
When golf officials tried to blame poor course conditions on the El Nińo weather pattern, residents howled in disbelief. The last straw came when The Villages Daily Sun, at the height of the controversy, published a story touting the courses as “pristine.”
Feeling the heat from unhappy residents, the Amenity Authority Committee and the Project Wide Advisory Committee started ripping up budgets and began devoting millions of additional dollars toward the courses. A United States Golf Association agronomist was called in for an emergency consultation.
