Pros:
Living in East Central Indiana, you hear a lot about a lot of different courses. We are close to a lot of legendary layouts. Idlewild. Lemon Lake. Flip City. And believe it or not, people talk about Oxford in the same breath. Beautiful. Scenic. Challenging. All words that I have heard describe this course. And while all of those things remain true, I am afraid that we are on the verge of losing a course. First, let's start out with the good.
1. The teepads are great. If the pads aren't concrete, then they are hand laid pavers. All of them are longer than most airport runways, and most of them are in pristine shape. As I have pointed out in previous reviews; a great course needs great tee pads. This course has just that.
2. Variety - Unlike a lot of courses you play, this course is not just a long course or just a technical course. Indeed, Oxford has a giant variety of shots. Giant, sweeping Anhyzers, long, downhill bomb shots, short tech shots and tight tunnel shots.
3. Scenery - Unreal. I mean it. This is one of the prettiest courses that you will ever play. Number 4 and 5 play under bridges that have GIANT arch ways. The pond near the back comes in to play beautifully without being an imminent threat. The art museum serves as a backdrop on a hole that sits on a great hill.
4. The baskets catch well and are all functional. Well, the ones that are there do. This begins my sad face.
5. The signs on the holes work. As in, it has yardage and direction. Nothing fancy, but they are functional. It beats a kick in the taint. I guess.
Cons:
1. Some of the holes are just plain gone. yes, gone. Done. Kaput. Out of here. Finito. El out to hereo. Holes 1,2,17 and 18 are gone and 16 is missing it's basket. The locals that were kindly enough to show us around told us about this and were incredibly broken up. Not as much as I was when they took Riptide off of the air, but it had to be close. This is a HUGE hit for this course. You can't have a destination course with only 13 holes. You just can't.
2. Navigation on this course is sad. Not sad in a "oh man, I skinned my knee". but sad in a "man, I can't believe that people still go to monster truck rallies" kind of way (though, truth be told, who can't enjoy Gravedigger?). OK, 3,4,5,and 6 make sense. 7 is weird. You might NEVER find 8, so listen close. walk ACROSS the football field thing where the marching band practices and go down the hill. It's near where the 50 yard line might be. And then down the hill. 9 is then across the road from that basket. 10 is then over the bridge and to the right from that basket. 12 is a HAUL from 11 basket. Over the road and up a hill. 13 makes sense, and 14 is LITERALLY a block away from 13's basket. The basket for 14 is right in front of 15's tee. so...that's just not good.
3. Amenities stink. There is almost no place to park without a permit. There are no benches. There are no water fountains. There are no trash cans. There is little shade.
Other Thoughts:
I will bet you dollars to donuts that this course used to rule the barren earth. The use of the natural terrain and the bridges is amazing. The shots are fantastic. The use of the campus is ridiculous.. But damnit, how can I give a high rating to a course that is missing 4 holes and another basket?
Also, the parking thing just made me mad. on top of that, the natural flow to this course is terrible. Navigation doesn't make sense and just about everything good about the course is taken away by the lack of a complete course.
Please hit me up with any questions! Thanks!.