The Golf Club At Oxford Greens

For a course that charges $89/pp on the weekends, I really don't understand why they don't have a starter or a ranger. We arrived 30 minutes before our tee time and were told our group would be teeing off on #10. We were a twosome. We heard the group going off ahead of us on #10 chatting on the putting green and watched them head out. We gave them a few minutes and arrived at the #10 tee box 8 minutes ahead of our tee time. The other twosome that was supposed to be paired with us had not shown up by 5 minutes after our tee time, so we played and left. The foursome in front of us was super slow. Not what you expect from a group teeing off before 7am. We skipped ahead of them after the first 4 holes took over an hour. We had clear sailing for the next 3 holes until we suddenly caught up with another twosome - the group that was supposed to go off with us, but had decided to go out on their own ahead of the first group off the back. This is not the first time I've experienced issues on this course caused by the lack of a starter or a ranger to keep slow groups from ruining the pace of play. Not what you would expect from a course that charges prime $.

Course is a hassle to play,walked back and forth to the cart 3 times on hole 3 and many other holes..I was charged an extra $10 for a single cart which I never knew about when making my reservation and was curtly told by the pro that it was stated online.I made the reservation thru golf now and they never mentioned it.I’m 74 yrs old and high risk for covid and you don’t have the decency to protect older golfers.I paid a total of $62 as did 3 of my friends so it wasn’t such a hot deal.

Horrible experience overall. No starter, no Marshall, no practice balls available 60 min before the round, 6 hour round, 30 minute wait alone on second tee, three groups on the hole. NOT WORTH THE MONEY

Started off with unfriendly proshop staff who appeared to have no interest in working then combined with unreasonably slow pace game play with no rangers in site.

We like the course layout and find that each hole has each character and challenges but with this type of no management, we don't see ourselves returning.

For some reason, management setup tee times way to close to a tournament that took up the entire course. Had to wait for exactly one hour past my time to tee off. Very poorly run facility.

Although the weather was very misty and humid, the course was in good shape. The biggest problem is that when it's wet, it's cart paths only and this course is not set up well for that with steep climbs and descents from the paths to the fairways.

Played course probably 25 times this year hoping that maybe management would address the slow play issue because I do love the course. What’s the saying “fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice shame on me”. Well, shame on me then. Very rarely do you see a ranger out on the course in the afternoon and obviously not addressing slow play if they are out on course. Seems like management doesn’t care about anyone who tees off after 1pm(no ranger or beverage cart to be seen after 3pm). Since when did five hour round become accepted?! The final straw was I asked for additional cart due to Covid-19 and was told it would be extra $10. Will look for new course to call home course next year.

Oxford Greens is not a radical golf course. It lacks big, bold-looking water hazards scattered throughout its holes. It doesn’t have absurdly plunging drop-offs—the type you’ll often see situated around several or more greens of the typical ‘hard’ golf course. There is no sense that the bunkering is extreme or excessive, or that it strangles any of the greens. The fairways are often distinctly pitched, but they are also wide enough to compensate for it, never feeling too tight. Only a couple of holes on the front—three and nine—are genuinely daunting. Yet this course manages to play as tough as nails, its stroke rating from the back tees an imposing 74.5 against par of 72, its slope at 135. Credit architect Mark Mugeam with achieving this tricky balance, and with fashioning a layout that is, despite all this, a sheer delight to play (some might say ‘player-friendly’).

Oxford Greens does feature a number of elevated tees, plateau greens, and extensively bunkered fairways, all of which place it a cut above standard fare on most public courses. But what really shines are the brilliant green complexes, all well-situated in the landscape for both protection and most of them generously or strategically bunkered for added challenge. Playing on and around these sculpted beauties, you’ll see why Mark Mungeam was selected to renovate and restore the 2003 U.S. Open Course, Olympia Fields in Illinois (it was also the site of the BMW Championship, won this week by Jon Rahm at minus-4).

Mungeam’s command of both variety and setting shines through on every hole. It hardly seems accidental that he expands his repertoire by the inclusion of five “template” holes, including a Biarritz, a Punchbowl, and a Redan, along with his own take on St. Andrews’ Road Hole—so subtle that is may escape notice—around the first green. No need, though, to hit over a hotel on your opening drive.

Course aesthetics are pleasing here as well. More than half of the holes have the surrounding development homes for company, yet many have a basically secluded feel. A few of Oxford’s holes lay relatively flat on the ground with only some ground movement, but the vast majority are pitched or plunging, rolling or heaving across this forest landscape. One word sums up this layout for me: fantastic.

One Intelligent young player I ran across today also summed up Oxford Greens when he said, “You know, I get that this is an aesthetically beautiful course and appreciate it for that, but man, this is hard to play!” As Smokey Robinson penned in his famous song, “I second that emotion.”

The course’s only flaw may be its relative dearth of strategic holes. You play for position, it’s true, on most of them, but it is primarily the par-5’s here which supply genuine options off the tee. Still, the second shots on a few of the par-4’s (such as fifteen) demand some strategy—as well as some course knowledge.

Conditioning was very good here today, and, considering the very dry summer we’ve had, rates ‘excellent’ when compared to the bulk of the competition. No doubt fairways and greens are watered regularly. That said, this falls a wee bit shy of the best I’ve played. The bunkers are all-new and look beautiful.

Although the most celebrated hole here is the monstrous, uphill, 630-yard third—and it is a great one—I think four of the more subtle holes at Oxford are the finest among these eighteen:

Two: Not the most muscular par-3 at OG (nine is quite a bit tougher), but still a very hard par. Water-guarded leftward/behind and bunkered elsewhere around its periphery, the green is certainly protected. Nonetheless, a broad opening in front makes this long hole fair enough. The real challenge comes at the green, however: it’s a classic Biarritz with a pronounced longitudinal swale that may give you fits with your ball on the front shelf, pin on the back. Arguably the best hole on the course.

Five: At first glance a straightaway hole, this longish par-4 features a well-protected landing zone. The green, large and rolling, looks inviting, but because it sits perched somewhat above its surrounds, your approach must be precise—and doubly precise to get near the hole.

Twelve: The tee shot appears wide open from the tee, but that’s an illusion: aim right and realize that your ball is likely to bounce hard-left, where a trio of big, hungry bunkers awaits misses. Two more challenges lie beyond: a daunting uphill approach to a hilltop green; then putting this oversized, three-tiered goliath. Unless you’re near the hole on this surface, three-putting is always a distinct possibility. And chipping to this green can be nightmarish.

Eighteen: A classic finishing hole to a well-bunkered fairway landing zone. I enjoyed catching sight of the blinking airport lights just above the tree line today at dusk. The hole, a picturesque thrill ride from tee-to green, moves fairly level on the tee shot to a wide landing zone, but links-style fairway bunkers are scattered about to make you think carefully about a landing spot. On the approach, the fairway plunges downhill to a long green, open in front. As you might guess, a good second shot is key here.

The beauty of playing here, though, is to enjoy not just four standouts but eighteen first-rate golf holes. Mark Mugeam used great savvy to fashion this masterpiece at Oxford Greens, keeping most of course’s tougher features on a tight leash while designing the most diverse set of holes in the state. OG demands both precision play and solid shotmaking. Few courses in Connecticut rival this one.

Ive play this couse 2 times and never again for long time first time 6 hour round and a dead battery in cart 2. 5 and half hours on thursday its crazy and flat tire on our cart

The average pace of play is 4:45 minutes. Never seen a ranger that enforces pace of play. The “cart girl” is done by 3:00. Carts are not in good shape! I have played 6 hour rounds there! The guy at the register is pretentious and could care less about anybody. I’m done with public courses that don’t care about the customer!

Course would be so much better if someone knew how place the flag in proper locations. Locations are ridiculous and must be chosen by someone who knows nothing about golf. Please have the Pro mark the green for fair hole settings.

First time here. Its a challenging course. Being cart path only was even a bigger challenge. The pace was slow.the course is beautiful and the fairways and greens were excellent. I would call next time and make sure it doesn't have cart path only. I still see at least a 4 hr and 40 minute round at best . Thats what the sign at the starter post reads.so realistically plan for at least 5 hours

Awful condition! The tees are beat up the greens have deep ball marks all over them and are in poor shape. This course used to be my favorite. I won’t go back!