My first rounds in Florida on this trip were in The Villages. I know, good luck getting the song out of your head for the rest of the day! It was a rainy, windy and gloomy day, but I couldn’t resist the urge to play some golf!

Because I’d be so rusty this time of year I figured the poor weather wouldn’t hurt my game much! Plus, I wanted to get some swings in early in the trip. I knew no one would be out playing in the bad weather and could tinker as much as I wanted this way! So, I headed over to Roosevelt to play.

Actually, the weather wasn’t all that bad for my round on Roosevelt. It was about a club of wind and some mist, but nothing awful. I played the sister course (Truman) after Roosevelt and that is when the heavier rain started falling!

The starter hut for both nines sits at a high point, with Roosevelt heading down the hill one direction and Truman off in the other. Roosevelt is mostly a par-3 course, with just two par-4’s (the 6th and 7th). The course tops out at 1,751 yards with many 150 to 170 yard par-3’s. The back tees were closed, so I got a break and ended up with plenty of short and mid irons!

The main difficulty on Roosevelt is going to be the false edges around the greens, which lead to chipping areas. I missed one green a few feet off the front and my shot rolled 30 feet back, down a slope!

Roosevelt’s topography is going to be its main draw, as the land falls away from the proshop towards low areas. That leads to some nice, downhill par-3’s! The 4th and 5th holes are par-3s that both play about a club downhill. The 5th has a green that is guarded by a nasty-looking bunker to the left and water to the right.

The par-4 6th is another hole worth mentioning. It is a driveable par-4 with a narrow fairway, narrow green and some slope in the fairway. Ideally a straight shot or a draw would work best to keep it in play. If you stray over to the right you’ll end up in the oak trees and have to chip a shot under the limbs and onto the green!

Ultimately, Roosevelt turned out to be a solid short course because of the elevation change! It seemed to have a slightly different vibe compared to the “normal” executive course here in The Villages and I think that makes it worth checking out!

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