Course Review Oxford Hills Country Club

I had a lot of firsts while golfing at Oxford Hills Country Club on April 26th. The first is I have never played the course although I have driven by it quite a few times over the years. I have to admit that I should have stopped in a time or two and after this experience, I want to come out at least a time or two every golf season.

Why? Tim Kalohn is one reason. He is really nice guy and bent over backwards to make sure I had a great experience. He is helpful, made sure I had had a covered cart and bought my first coffee of the day. What more can a golfer ask for? I asked him to give me a few observations on the toughest holes on the course and what makes Oxford Hills a unique experience and he typed up his thoughts and I will share many with you throughout this review.

As for the course, I felt like Foghorn Leghorn as the fog was thick and lasted for nearly sixteen holes of golf. When you add this to the rain and sprinkles it made for an interesting golfing experience.

   I hit a nice tee shot on number one. Being that this is the first time I played the course, I had no idea that the scorecard that showed a dogleg left meant a long dog leg left that framed the hole. My second shot was less than my best and my third shot was just off the green and then a two put game me a bogey five to start off my day. Tim Kalohn, the Director of Golf shares his view of this hole.

What is the signature hole on your golf course? – #1 is a great starting hole, a dogleg left around Bailey Lake.  You can either hit a safe shot about 180 to 200 yards out to the dogleg and leave yourself 150 yard shot into the green or you can cut off all you can handle of the dogleg.  Some of the brave players even go for the green, 250 yards to carry the front of the break wall!  A great risk reward starting hole.  Tim is very right. I am glad that I did not see the risk/reward feature of the hole as in my younger days would have went for it. I would not have went for it today as I do not have command of my driver this early in the golf season. On my way home, the fog had lifted and I saw what a dandy of a golf hole this is.

The par three 5th hole is a test of golf that makes a golfer think about whether to hit a 5 wood, a hybrid or a three or four iron. While everyone hits it differently, a pond guards this hole down the right side and you do not want to putt from the back of the green as a three putt awaits you if you are not careful. Tim Kalohn said this about this hole.

What is the toughest par 3? – #5 is the toughest of four par 3’s playing at 208 yards from the tee it is important to carry the water in front of the green and to avoid hitting it right into another pond.  A shot to the left of the green will leave an impossible up and down.  The green also slopes severely from back to front so it is wise to leave your shot from the tee below the pin.

Another hole on the front nine where a good player will gain confidence is the 439 yard par 5. Yes, you read that right. This hole is shorter than two other par 4's at Oxford but is rated as a par five. Other than a creek that is in front of the tee, there is little trouble on the hole and a long hitter will hit a medium to short iron into the green. The ladies play this as a 339 yard par 5 so this is a place to pick up a shot on the field for our better half. Tim had this to say about this hole.

I will be the first one to tell you that I usually do not look at scorecards to see what the top handicapped holes are on a course as quite often, I play better on the tougher holes and sometimes let down a little on the easier holes. That was not the case here. I had no idea where the flag stick was on number 11. It was a 477 year par 4 and the fog was thick enough to not see where the landing areas where let alone the pin. I goofed this hole up and missed with my driver. Hit a tree with both my second and third shots and finally hit a fourth shot below the hole. It still took me seven shots on this hole before I got out my pencil. One worthy note is that I saw Sand Hill Cranes on this hole. For those of you that do not know, they are birds that are not usually found in Michigan. They look like storks and make a sound like a Taradactyl. This photo is poor but there were two walking around. The photo to the right shows what they look like with a good camera.

My favorite hole was the 12th. Why? A beautiful t-shot splitting the fairway of this 362 yard par four and a pitching wedge put me several feet from a birdie. My putt trickled just by the hole and I'm still looking for my first birdie this season.

I really enjoyed the 169 yard par three 13th. You are shooting across a valley and some water guarding the green. I thought for sure that my 6 iron tee shot was on the green but it hit the hill guarding the green and rolled to the bottom. I could not believe it and I hit a second ball that landed within several feet of the first ball. My five iron is in for repair so I took my lumps. I did par the hole as a chip was carved in about six feet from the hole and I actually made a putt. Well I made several but none with a green in regulation (GIR).

The 15th is another hole I enjoyed. Besides the golf on this 196 yard par three, (another par) there were four deer par grazing on the course in broad daylight. I will have video of me (in a later post) driving slowly by one young deer that would barely move. When I left the green, the deer that did go into the woods collected back on the fairway. For the first time today, the fog was starting to lift.

Finally, the par-5, 17th is 644 yards from the blues. Ordinarily I would have played it from there but could not figure out how the hole was laid out. I moved up to the whites and had a better idea but still was not sure and played it up the left side to take the woods out of play with a good shot. I hit a decent t-shot from the 467 yard white tee, and a second shot that was ok.  My third shot was a dandy and I put it just on the green. A two putt and I had a par on this hole and felt good about my day early in this season. Here is what Tim Kalohn had to say about 17. What is the toughest par 5? – #17 may be one of the longest holes in Oakland County if not the longest at 644 yards.  Not only is it long but slopes towards wetlands all down the right hand side of the hole.  A great drive and second shot are a must to have a chance to hit a long iron or fairway wood into a small raised green.  A bogie 6 here feels like a par.

I did ask Tim to expand on a couple of questions and here they are. 

Do you have a junior program at your course? – The Junior league at Oxford Hills runs for seven weeks during the summer and consists of 60 junior golfers between the ages of 10 and 15.  We also have a junior program headed by Oxford Varsity golf coach Terry Kelley, which runs from the end of June to the beginning of August.

What High school programs play at your golf course? – The Oxford Boy’s Junior Varsity and the Oxford Girl’s Varsity and Junior Varsity Teams play here.  We also host the Oxford Invitational Cross Country Meet every October, there are usually anywhere from 18 to 23 schools.

What makes your golf course special and different from other area golf courses? –Oxford Hills is a great course for leagues and outings, our dining room seats up to 150 people and overlooks scenic Bailey Lake.  The course is very player friendly for golfers of all skill levels.  The front and back side of the course offers two totally different 9’s.  The front side is narrow with creeks and ponds on almost every hole.  The back side is much more wide open, but plays much longer.  The course offers a lot of great wildlife scenery as well as some holes surrounding Bailey Lake.  Oxford Hills is also a great course to walk. 

I really enjoyed my day at Oxford Hills. I do have a couple of suggestions for golfers and the course.

Golfers, you should play this course from the blues. There is less than a 300 yard difference from the blue to white tees and on this day, it was more like 150 yards.  One thing I do like as a golfer is a well-marked course. I like markers at the 100, 150 and 200 yard marks and sprinkler heads to be marked when possible. Many courses do not and it is a suggestion for all courses to do this. Perhaps it is my pet peeve but I like appreciate it and this in my mind helps speed up play. 

Still, I enjoyed playing Oxford Hills and hope that you will make a tee time with the staff and book a foursome to play there as it is a fun place to play and you will pull out most of the clubs in your bag at least once. Tim was awesome and not all golf courses are lucky enough to have great staff and golfers can attest that those they encounter help people to want to come back. Tim, I would love to come back later this summer and play the course again. Golfers who play Oxford Hills, let me know what you think about the course. We would love to hear from you.

To book at tee time, call 248.628-2518 or http://www.oxfordhillsgolf.com/