Hack Attack Week 5: Oakridge’s Failing Grade

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Course: Oakridge Golf Club

Date: Wednesday, June 6th

Weather: Chilly for June! Overcast and around 12 degrees

Green fees: Green fee $58 plus Cart $16.50 (Weekend rate $70)

Tees used: Gold (5816 yards) Rating 67.8 Slope 134

Score Shot: 76

Tee time intervals: 9 minutes

Time taken: 3 hours 40 minutes

The Course

Quality of service:
No complaints. The young lady in the pro shop was very pleasant and the starter was happy to let us go off early. Perhaps due to the unseasonably cold weather, there were less than a dozen cars in the parking lot which meant we had the front nine to ourselves.

Goat Track or Weekend in Paradise?:
Normally, I’d play off the back tees on this length of course (6360 yards) but as my elderly playing companion for the day wasn’t quite up to it, I was happy to move to the next set of tee blocks.
Oakridge has the potential to be in the Weekend in Paradise category but at the moment, Goat Track would be a more accurate description. I got my first inkling that things weren’t right at Oakridge as early as the 2nd hole. We were forced to play off the forward tee at the par 3 as the Black and Gold tees were under reconstruction, which seemed a bizarre state of affairs at this point in the golf season. I was shocked when I saw the tee – what do you think?

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There was nothing about the golf course that I could describe as being better than average. Attention to detail was sadly lacking, really not what I expected. The conditions were more in keeping with a low budget golf course.

How the rock rolls:
I believe that putting surfaces are by far the most important item on any golf course. Golfers will quickly forget about many shortcomings if they have billiard table surfaces to putt on. Sadly, the greens at Oakridge were below the standard of most courses I’ve played this year. They were a little soft, therefore quite receptive, of medium pace and in no better than average condition. Quite a few holes were poorly cut – making the hole look smaller – and fresh pin placements were badly required. There were also areas on a few greens, the 17th springs to mind, that required attention.

Conditioning:
The overall condition of the golf course was a huge disappointment. The fairways were untidy, with too many divot marks unfilled. The bunkers were quite simply awful. With horrible, heavy sand and little or no natural drainage, many bunkers were under water and barely playable. It was so bad that my playing partner actually lost a ball in cloudy water in a greenside bunker at the 10th. Yes, there’d been rain but it wasn’t as if the golf course was particularly wet. The problem could have at least been partly resolved quite easily, by pumping the water out of the worst affected bunkers.

Making the Cut:
It’s tough to be so critical of a golf course I really enjoy and I hope the problems I’ve highlighted are sorted out sooner rather than later. As for the golf course itself, course designer Tom McBroom did a fine job at Oakridge. Despite being only 6,360 yards off the tips, this course is a good test of golf, with plenty variety to make the golfer think. It’s a fun course in a glorious setting and must rank as one of the most picturesque courses in Ontario.
There are many interesting holes at Oakridge, and the ability to shape your tee shots will be rewarded with an easier approach shot. Accuracy is far more important than length so keep the ball in play or you can run up some big numbers.

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My favourite is the 377 yard 3rd hole which requires a good straight hit off the tee to a narrow fairway to set up a medium to short iron approach over water to a shallow green.
The 8th hole, aptly named “Tight” on the scorecard, lives up to it’s name as only a controlled fade (for a right hander) will find the fairway to leave an uphill approach shot to a green that slopes from back to front.

It’s vital to find the fairway at the short par 4 10th hole, to leave a short iron to an elevated green (photo below).

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Hacker’s Highlights:
Sadly, the most memorable thing for me was playing the front nine in less than an hour and a half, before getting stuck behind a painfully slow 4 ball group on the back nine. The suggested pace of play target time on the scorecard is a pathetic 4 hours, 35 minutes – what’s that all about? Are they trying to attract slow golfers?

Hit To Your Pocketbook:
For the average weekend hacker, Oakridge is a tough course to walk with many elevation changes and quite a number of green-to-tee hikes. Unless you’re a dedicated walker, you’d be better off with a cart. Oakridge has the potential to be a $60 – $70 golf course, but at the moment it’s an excellent course in very poor condition. For $58 plus the cart fee, it wasn’t even close to being good value for money – it was a very disappointing experience.

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Hacking Away: 50%

To this Weekend Hacker, Oakridge is currently worth no more than $30. S

(Final rating is an indication of what the course is worth versus the green fee charged. According to the Hacker, a poor course could be worth less than the green fee charged, while a strong course that offers value might actually be underpriced.)