In The Villages, golf wave tee times are how tee times are grouped together on some courses.
Once you understand waves, booking tee times starts to make a lot more sense.
Where Waves Are Used
Waves are only used on 27-hole Championship courses.
These courses have three different nine-hole layouts.
18-hole Championship courses do not use waves at all.
They use “straight times”, where tee times run one after another throughout the day.
What a Wave Means
A wave is a block of tee times that are grouped together.
When you request a tee time, you are not picking one exact time. You are asking for a spot within that group.
The system then places you into a time within that wave.
Why Waves Exist
Waves help all three nine-hole courses start playing at the same time.
This keeps the flow of play smooth and helps use all 27 holes.
Wave Times
There are two main waves each day on 27-hole Championship courses:
- Morning Wave: 7:28 AM – 9:28 AM
- Afternoon Wave: 11:56 AM – 1:56 PM
There are no scheduled tee times between 9:28 AM and 11:56 AM.
Important: If you want to play between 9:28 AM and 11:56 AM, you must request a tee time on an 18-hole Championship course.
27-hole courses offer scheduled tee times from 7:28 AM – 9:28 AM and 11:56 AM – 1:56 PM.
Evening Wave
After the afternoon wave, play opens up again later in the day.
This is known as the evening wave.
Tee times are available during this time, but they are not grouped into a fixed block like the morning and afternoon waves.
If the afternoon wave finishes early, you may be able to get on earlier.
Simple Way to Think About It
Instead of thinking:
“I’m booking an 8:00 tee time.”
Think:
“I’m asking for a spot in the morning or afternoon wave.”
The system will then give you a time in that wave if one is available.