The Oxfordshire: Spectacular and Challenging
World renowned golf course architect Rees Jones has successfully blended 18 strategically contoured holes into the surrounding countryside.
A relative rarity in Britain, the course has been designed in a modern American parkland style, and specifically as a potential venue for international golf tournaments. Since opening in 1993, The Oxfordshire has hosted the Anderson Consulting World Matchplay, the English Ladies Open, and from 1996 to 1999 it has been the venue for Benson & Hedges International Open. The latter boasts an enviable list of winners such as Colin Montgomerie, Bernhard Langer and Darren Clarke.
All the holes present their own individual challenges. The course's signature hole is the 17th, voted one of the top 500 holes in the world by Golf Magazine in January 2000.
This downhill par five is the thinking golfer's dream, and the thoughtless golfer's nightmare. After the drive, the second shot can be played one of two ways. A solid tee shot will invite a second shot over the water to a small landing area protected by pot bunkers. The safer route plays around the lake but requires a longer shot partially over water. The big hitter may try for the green in two shots, but beware, a full water carry is required to the green which is also protected by sand.
Another notable hole is the 8th, also voted one of the top 500 holes in the world by Golf Magazine in January 2000. Although a short par four, the 8th requires both finesse and accuracy. The water on the right and the bunkers at the turn tempt the conservative player to hit an iron from the tee. The short second shot is to a peninsula green with water long, short and right. Not a hole to be played without a plan.
The Philosophy behind the course
The inspiration for the design for The Oxfordshire Golf Club came from Mother Nature herself: the lay of the land is superb. I wanted to combine the best of the British courses with the best of the American, with the result being variety, challenge, drama and fairness. One design decision that reflects both the philosophy of fairness (being able to recover from an errant shot) and the influence of wind on the game is the fact that on this course each par three and each par five plays in a different direction so that the effects of the wind will be equalized during the course of any given round. The layout of The Oxfordshire flows naturally with the beautifully contoured land and was created to preserve the existing trees. This provides an environment where the player will be able to see and understand the design at work.
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7.8 mph
