The Oxfordshire

We stayed on a dinner, bed and breakfast basis with two rounds of golf. This is not any hotel golf course, the holes were well laid out with some very challenging and interesting holes especially those involving the large lake. Staff extremely friendly, great food and a lovely spar facility.

Typical English clubhouse and inland left lane. Very varied and challenging. Beautiful, well maintained golf course. Driving range and Clubhouse are OK and all necessary facilities are there.

The Oxfordshire starts off with a downhill par 4 and that is the end of the hills until you come back up the 18th. The rest of the course is on a fairly flat and featureless bit of land on which they have built a high quality golf course.

The challenges come in the form of over 100 bunkers (some of which are absolutely massive – easily bigger than the footprint of an average house) and four lakes which come into play on 7 of the holes.

Whilst the course was immaculately maintained with lush fairways and quick greens, the whole place felt very ‘man-made’ (which it is). It lacked the charm of other courses which work with the landscape they are situated in to create interest.

If you do come here to play, I would recommend eating somewhere else. The bar staff seemed completely overwhelmed with the simplest of breakfast orders and, whilst we were waiting (a long time), there were numerous occasions where the wrong items were delivered to the wrong tables. We played as part of an organised event so they knew well in advance that there would be a lot of people on the course that day.

The Oxfordshire Golf, Hotel & Spa is a relatively new course, having opened in the early 1990s. The grand clubhouse provides all the modern amenities you would expect, including a well-stocked pro shop with plenty of branded items. Although somewhat pricey, the prices are not unreasonable.

The Spike bar, with its stunning views of the 1st Tee and 9th green, is a nice room, but the service is really poor. The waiting staff bring anything they have to the table, hoping it is what you ordered, after struggling to take your order in the first place. One member had to wait 25 minutes for a bacon bap, and the table was even served a pot of tea that wasn't theirs. In contrast, the changing facilities are large and clean.

Unfortunately, the outside facilities are somewhat lacking, with a poor chipping green and a driving range that lacks lustre, featuring poor quality balls. However, the practice putting green was good and provides an accurate representation of the greens you will encounter on the course.

The course itself is exciting and enjoyable to play, with water featuring prominently throughout the course. The par 5 17th is particularly noteworthy, as it urges you to get to the green in two and rewards a well-struck shot. The short par 3 5th and 13th holes are entirely over water, adding to the excitement of your round. Sand also plays a significant role, with numerous bunkers lining the playable but damp fairways. Although not hilly enough to require a buggy, there are subtle elevation changes, and the course affords beautiful views of the Oxfordshire countryside.

If I return to The Oxfordshire, I would skip the food and driving range and solely focus on enjoying the course.

This parkland course is quite well maintained and is pretty challenging as water is in play on quite some holes. You'll also find quite some elevated tees here. Nice lay out with a halfway house that you can visit quite a few times due to how the holes are layed out. Nice food in the restaurant and the club has a hotel. Pace of play can be an issue here, but we didn't experience too much issues.