Hill Top
Hill Top "Gun"
Par 28 - Level 2 - 80 Slope Rating
Plays from 1,165 – 1,347 yards
Hill Top Gun
Yes, I’ve changed the name - for good reason.
While waiting at the white line to approach the first tee, a fellow golfer rolled into the parking lot with music blasting from his sound system: Danger Zone, by Kenny Loggins!
🎶 Headin' into twilight / Spreadin' out her wings tonight… 🎶
The iconic Top Gun intro song. From that moment on, the movie was stuck in my head for the rest of the round.
The film centers on a Naval Flight School where the best of the best Navy fighter pilots train, and I’m always struck by how often I’m randomly paired with Villagers who’ve served - from every branch. It’s an honor I never take for granted. My dad served four years in WWII aboard the aircraft carriers Intrepid and Monterrey, witnessing thousands of landings and liftoffs and fully understanding the courage of those pilots.
On the drive to Hill Top that day, I stopped at Veterans Memorial Park near Spanish Springs. It’s a beautiful reminder of the service so many in The Villages gave to our country. With all that on my mind, hearing Danger Zone next to the first tee felt perfectly timed.
No surprise, then, that the adrenaline was pumping and my first shot of the day sailed well over the green and into the water below. Splash one.
As I hunted for my ball along the water’s edge, an idea hit me: why not name the rest of Hill Top’s holes after Top Gun call signs? After “Danger Zone” on #1, here’s the rest of the flight crew......
#2 - Goose
You thought the first hole was a tough shot? The 2nd hole will require Great Balls of Fire to reach the green. Talk to me Goose!
It plays much longer than the 123-yard marker suggests, and the elevated green sheds anything that comes in low. Club down and goose it up that hill.
#3 – Sundown
This is one of the tallest tee boxes in town.
Play it late in the day and you’ll get a true sundown view over the lake, fountain, Paradise Rec Center, and the rooftops of Spanish Springs. Stunning. Club down again and trust the same approach you used on #1.
#4 – Iceman
This short shot demands ice in your veins and all the swagger of Val Kilmer’s antagonist. It’s the toughest hole on the course and one of the 18 hardest in The Villages. Water and a front bunker stare you down — but there’s a surprise. Much like Ice and Maverick becoming Wingman Forever, this hole has a hidden enemy: a sand trap lurking behind the green that you can’t see from the tee >>>>
#5 – Chipper
It’s the shortest shot you’ll play today. Not even a full wedge.
#6 – Charlie
It’s a pretty view back through huge oaks to the fountain on the lake – a real stunner!
#7 – Jester
This hole is nothing special - just a joke to me.
^^^ The green is unseen in this picture - it's around that left corner oak. Lay up or make a "Slider" shot but don't ditch it in the waste!
#8 – Slider
Hill Top Gun’s only par four. Why is it that when we see a par four, we immediately feel the need for speed and pull the driver? Why can’t we just be smart? This dogleg left has a tight landing zone, an oak guarding the corner, and a massive waste bunker lurking just past the white 150 stake. Unless you can draw a true slider around the tree, driver is risky. Honestly — it’s just plain stupid. The smart play is a layup to the marker. But as we know, our egos keep writing checks our bodies can’t cash.
#9 – Maverick
There’s no one like Maverick - unconventional, cocky, and always a little risky (you could even say Risky Business). The 9th hole is just as unique: the only hole in The Villages with this setup. You can’t “buzz the tower” here -the tee box won’t allow a direct shot at the flag. Trees on the left hang over like a rough morning after a night at the Hard Deck. I went with a low-running 5-iron up the hill. A true Maverick hot shot.
Hill Top is not a typical Level 2 course. It’s a dogfight — harder, quirkier, and far more irregular. But landing a fighter jet on an aircraft carrier isn’t normal either. Yes, the course is a little worn around the edges… but who isn’t at our age? It earns points for nostalgia, views, and its unconventional liftoffs and landings.
It’s one of the original courses in The Villages — and it has certainly not lost that lovin feeling!
Come play this iconic course and kick it into overdrive!
Toughest to Easiest
4, 1, 9, 8, 2, 3, 6, 7, 5 Toughest Green - 9
Here's a cool website that gives more background on the Top Gun Movie Call Signs, even ranking them! Click here.
And if you need some adrenaline pumping music to get your round going, click here for a full compliment of both soundtracks. Click here
And here's the 10 best quotes you should try to use while playing Hill Top! Click here
From the blacks!
Hill Top only uses two sets of tees - gold and green. The Gold will give you enough lift anyway.
Go Green!
The total difference in yardage, from green to gold on Hill Top, is 182 yards. A carrier's flight deck is just 166 yards. Think about that! So you'll get a little more than one carrier's worth of advantage by playing from the forward gold tee box. You might as well play from golds and get the full Top Gun experience!
What's Nearby?
The Villages Veterans Memorial Park. It's located near the golf cart bridge that crosses 27/441 by Spanish Springs. It's a beautiful reminder of the service that many of our Villagers and family members have given our nation. You can join hundreds that have honored Veterans with a customized brick placed at the Memorial Park. Click here for more info.
Also nearby is new Paradise Rec Center (Under Construction) that can be seen from hill tops. The old one had a cool library with thousands of books on the shelves, called the Mark Twain Library. Not sure if the new one will bring those books back. Here's a nice article about it though: Daily Sun
My impressions are based on playing from the Gold tee boxes. The Black and the Green tee boxes pose different challenges or benefits described as well. The rankings of the toughest to easiest holes are just my opinions - yours will be far different, as will your favorite courses and most difficult and attractive holes. I welcome your opinions or thoughts on any of this - click to leave a comment.
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