Much like yesterday, I wasn’t all that interested in driving very far to golf. I shook things up a bit and decided to try to get on one of the championship courses at The Villages. There are something like 50 courses in The Villages, most of which are nine-hole courses. Until today I had only played a handful of the executive courses.

By most accounts, the Palmer Legends and the Nancy Lopez courses are the best of the championship courses at The Villages. Much of the fun when golfing in The Villages is driving your own golf cart (or a relative’s) to the course and then driving the same cart on the course. My dad rode along while I golfed and we drove from the house to the 1st tee, then from the 18th green directly back home. Actually, I played all 27 holes on the Palmer so we went directly from the 27th green back home.

The nines here are named Laurel Valley, Cherry Hill and Riley Grove. I played the gold tees which play between 6,500 and 6,700 yards with a rating of 72.2/72.3 and a slope of 131/132. As you can see, two of the nines are named after courses that were near and dear to Palmer.

We started on Laurel Valley which heads from the clubhouse out towards a main road through The Villages. The 5th, 6th and 7th holes parallel the road before the final two holes play around a wetlands area.

Laurel Valley has a variety of features that add interest to the round, including solid bunkering and a couple interesting green complexes. The best holes are the par-3’s, which are the 6th and the 8th. The 6th is short, with plenty of bunkering that adds to the look. There are even a couple links-looking bunkers guarding the front of the green. The 8th forces you to carry a natural hazard to find the green’s surface!

After playing Laurel Valley we headed over to Riley Grove, which turned out to be my favorite nine. I liked Riley Grove because of its setting, which gives golfers a look at Lake Sumter. The 6th, 7th and 8th holes at Riley Grove are the highlight of the course because they play next to the lake! You get the water views and you also get to see Lake Sumter Landing, a popular gathering area in The Villages for the residents.

I thought Riley Grove’s 7th hole was the course’s best hole. From the gold tees it is a 380 yard par-4 that plays on a little strip of land, along the lake. The green is wide and the left half of it sits maybe 10 yards into the lake, on a small peninsula. The 7th is interesting to play and has some nice views.

After playing Laurel Valley and Riley Grove I checked with the proshop about replaying on the Cherry Hill nine. At $30, it wasn’t any sort of deal but I still wanted to check it out. In comparison, my main round was about $60.

As it turns out, I found Cherry Hill to be the least interesting of the nines on Palmer. The 5th, an aesthetically pleasing par-3 with a rock-lined hazard and elaborate bunkering, is a great hole. Other than the 5th hole, Cherry Hill was light on the excitement, with its residential feel.

The conditions on Palmer were very nice. The greens were pure and quick. The fairways and tees were full and I always had good lies. The bunkers were soft and that led to multiple plugged lies for our group. The rough was thicker here than other courses in The Villages that I’ve played.

Overall, I enjoyed Palmer Legends and would recommend checking it out if you are a golfer that is spending some time in The Villages! Like most Palmer designs, the course is playable and has a good look it.

Course Pictures (click any picture to scroll through the gallery):