Thanks to Johnny for getting this course added! This was round #2 on my trip to Florida. I stayed with family in The Villages and didn't want to venture too far from town. Harbor Hills is nearby in La... Continue »

Thanks to Johnny for getting this course added! This was round #2 on my trip to Florida. I stayed with family in The Villages and didn't want to venture too far from town. Harbor Hills is nearby in Lady Lake and about 15-20 minutes away from town.

Oddly, Harbor Hills was the first of multiple Clifton, Ezell and Clifton Golf Design Group (CEC) courses that I played on the trip. Funny too, because they have done just about all the work for The Villages courses and many other Central Florida designs. There is a good article out there that details some of their design strategy, but the short of it is that they seem to put together no-frill, playable courses. Maybe a few too many bunkers for my liking if I'm nitpicking. Reminds me of the older Ed Ault courses here in the Mid-Atlantic.

I know people who would scoff at playing a course like this and I'm not going to try to convince you that Harbor Hills is a great course, because it isn't. I also won't say the homes don't take away from the golfing experience, because they do. But at least they are set back a bit.

While playing the course I pictured families being able to golf together and Harbor Hills struck me as a great members course. Many courses are designed for high level amateur play but you won't find that here. The fairways are wide, mature trees line many of the holes, there is some elevation change, and very little pressure of having to hit a great shot. The biggest challenge is going to be some greens with ski slopes on them!

There is some rolling terrain which is best displayed on the back nine. The 10th is a 447 yard par 4 (from the tips) which is the longest par 4 on the course. It drops a couple stories from the tee down to the fairway and offers a nice view of Lake Griffin off in the distance.

Conditions were fair. The fairways and greens seemed to get most of the upkeep and that's fine by me. Fairways were being overseeded and we had to keep carts off them, but I had plenty of nice bermuda lies in the fairways with the ball sitting up. The greens were a pleasure to putt, true and quick. The rough was thin, sandy, and had plenty of loose twigs. For $24 it was worth checking out to play a new to me course!

I'd say this is worth a drive if you live in The Villages. However, there are better options if you are just passing through.

Date played: 11/25/17
Tees played: Blue at 71.0/127/6389