The Golf Club At Oxford Greens

This used to be one of my favorite courses to play. When we showed up on Sunday, we were able to tee off seven minutes early. There was nobody in front of us, and nobody behind us. Within three holes we caught up to the group in front of us and they had no one in front of them. This slowed the pace of play to an unbelievably slow round of golf, and we didn’t see a Ranger all day to fix the issue. This course used to be in fantastic shape, which is why I recommended it to my out-of-state friends, and I wouldn’t mind paying a few extra dollars to play here. The round cost us $100 each, and of course was in mediocre shape at best. At least three of the par 4/5 tee boxes were complete dirt. There were several patches of the fairways and greens where there was just no grass, during a year where there has been more than average rainfall, and other courses are flourishing. On most of the greens, it look like there was no divot repair, and chunks of grass and dirt covered several areas (not due to aeration). The fairways were hit and miss at best. If the round we’re between $50 and $60, this would’ve been acceptable. I will not recommend this course until the conditions drastically improve.

Teed off at 11:30, left course at 3:45 after playing 14 holes. Rangers were out but could not move groups along, especially on the back 9. Waited on every shot, two groups on each tee box. Threw in the towel and left course early. Never again on a weekend.

Awesome amenities. Staff was tremendous. Love the putting green and driving range. Just great stuff. Fairways were luscious. Tee boxes need a ton of work as do the greens. Ball marks that haven’t been fixed are on every green everywhere. Tee boxes look like no one uses the fill in for their divots. Can’t blame the course for all of that as the people playing should have the etiquette to fix all of those. Looks like really bad weather came through recently and washed away all the traps as well. When it’s in better condition I will absolutely be back. The layout is beautiful

I’ve played Oxford over a dozen times in the last six or seven years and I’m not sure why I go back. Bunkers were still eroded and mud covered a week after the last rain. Greens are hard as a rock, shots ricochet over, course leans left so right handers prepare to play every shot above your feet, including tee shots. Divots and ball marks are not repaired, and bunkers that had just been serviced were hard-packed and uneven, dragging with a three wheeler is no way to rake a bunker. The place is a swamp so bring your Off, mosquitoe netting might be more appropriate. Thursday morning round took nearly five hours, no marshals, no water. We did have plenty of time to find balls, my bag is full, but they have big balls charging $60 for this poor excuse for a goat pasture.

Course still in good condition. Some traps were muddy, but that’s to be expected.

- Beat up tee boxes

- Greens that look like the moon with divots

- Greens slower than slow. Ball would stop on a decline

Especially when its a beautiful weekday with no one in front or behind us.

Great weather and beautifully cared for track. There were heavy rains a day or two before and the course was lush. Only a few spots where it was swampy, but nothing out of the ordinary.

Staff are always nice and courteous. Started on the back 9 on our own, without a starter present. Didn't see anyone other than the grounds crew taking lunch in the shade on 15.

The Fairways and Greens where in great shape.

Nothing really bad to report, other than some undisciplined hacks who think cart trash can be thrown anywhere, including a cigar butt in a bunker. Obviously, lots of class out there.

Overall, this is a great course to play. Easily accessible to I-84, great prices, nice pro-shop and grounds. Been here a dozen times and I'm always looking forward to playing it again.

Give it a go, you wont be disappointed!

Very nice mixture of holes. Course in great condition. Too many players & I thought too expensive but I'm cheap. Nice selection of draft beer which made my round great!

Decent size range for iron and wedge work max distance was like 200 I think. Green were solid with tough pin placements. Some scalding on the tees but nothing crazy and the divot fillers were stocked. As a lefty with a slicing issue this course played in my favor with a lot of dog leg lefts. Was able to play solo and work on clubs within 150 yards without slowing pace or hitting into the 4 some in-front of me. Very enjoyable will recommend to my group.

This course is decent value at $75-80, not the insane $105 they charge in the mornings. There is no water to drink on the course, some areas of the fairways are in dreadful condition and some bunkers have weeds growing out of the edges. It’s a long course, EVERYTHING slopes left.

Its a great place to play, the pace of play was good.

How much do they care after they get your money? No water on the course during a heat wave. No port a potties making you to walk into poison ivy to relieve yourself. Even better for the women. Carts were dirty with cigarette butts.

The fairways at Oxford Greens are wide enough to be fair to nearly all golfers. What it is, then, that makes this a preeminent test of golf for even the most accomplished players are the hills and dales, the rugged slopes, the bunkers, and the tilting, undulating greens. The course is tough on most holes–for example, the template (Biarritz) par-3 second with a lateral swale in the green and protected by water to the left and back. Oxford Greens also requires, off the tee, careful judgment of what are mainly right-to-left fairway slopes and will punish–perhaps a bit too harshly–golfers prone to hitting hooks instead of controlled draws. Not only must you drive the ball well, and preferably long, to score well; the greens are tricky throughout, most notably at holes like three, nine, twelve, thirteen and fourteen. The layout also sports a nice closing stretch of four varied and strong holes, topped off by the pair of fine tee-to-green tests that are seventeen and eighteen. Both holes have fairway bunkers galore, meaning you’ll have to strategize carefully on each to pick your best route to the green.

What more could you want for challenge? Well, there’s what I would consider the brutally hard, par-5 third hole, traveling some 630 yards from the deep tees to the green, yet, from any tee, a genuine three-shotter that requires both positioning and finesse if you hope to make a par. Bolstered by a double fairway and capped by a green perched atop the long hill, three is an astonishing, one-of-a-kind golf hole.

High slope numbers (128–135) and stroke ratings from almost every set of tees suggest that this is a difficult test, to be sure, but I’ll still argue that there are no genuinely unfair holes.

Course architect Mark Mungeam took pains to make the settings for each hole separate and attractive–they are threaded through forestland, around ponds, and among a housing development that is distanced well enough from the course itself.

Course Conditions:

Excellent. The only weakness was too many divots on some of the tees. Smooth and well-tended greens and especially greenside areas (including bunkers), consistent fairways, good roughs.

Service and Playing Experience:

Service was outstanding: from the front counter at check-in, from the ranger, and from a young lady riding the roving refreshment cart (we played at mid-day, so this was important). I liked the way the ranger–in conjunction with the front desk–was communicating on a possible slow-play issue on the front nine over radio. When we played, not surprisingly then, pace of play was very good. Very professional and friendly–the best I’ve seen this year.

I was fortunate to be grouped with three great playing partners: Chuck, Bill, and Don. We were always conversing, and enjoyed each other’s camaraderie throughout the eighteen. Chuck is pictured teeing off at twelve in one of the photos.

Some Conclusions:

At Oxford Greens, I always feel as if I’m rubbing elbows with real Connecticut golf on a beautifully rolling, wooded landscape. The course boasts four outstanding par-3s, too, that I would consider the best (most varied and most interesting design) among public golf courses in the state of Connecticut. Mark Mungeam, who renovated and restored the 2003 U.S. Open Course at Olympia Fields in Illinois, here created one of Connecticut’s gems. Oxford Greens remains–in my opinion–categorically the best golfing venue in Western Connecticut.

Heat wave cart path only and no water on the course to drink. Absolutely terrible.

The Course was cart path only. No problem if this was not the middle of a heat wave. Then to make matters worse, if not unhealthy there was no water anywhere to drink. No fountains, no coolers no ice chest with bottles of water, nothing. And just to make matters better, no port a potties, not that you would need one because you were sweating so much. I felt they cared only for my money and not my well being.