Oak Ridge Golf Club

Haven't played Crestview yet so I can't say this is Agawam's best course but this is, in my humble opinion, head and shoulders better than St. Annes and Agawam G.C. Don't get me wrong, I've never had a bad time at St.A or AGC, but there's something about Oak Ridge that is just better, I dunno. I just wanna hit driver, wedge, and putter. Here's a place you can do it. Good greens. Well maintained fairways. Tee boxes I have no complaints.

Would be nice if c.c. reported recent aeration. I understand spring & fall is when golf courses aerate but not reporting is skeptical

This is a great course to play and it is in excellent condition.

Oak Ridge turned into a fun visit for me today, having been paired with two friendly and interesting Golf Now players; our conversation never waned over the eighteen.

Of typical length from the whites and blues, the durable 1974 Fazio layout at Oak Ridge nonetheless plays longer than its total yards, owing primarily to its par of 70, along with five par-3s ranging (today at least) from 176 to 200 yards from the blue tees. Also in the mix are three par-5’s ranging from 500 to 575. And the longest, hole six, forces most golfers to lay up from the tee with something less than a driver. I ended up hitting into the green on my third shot with a six-iron today, but only partly because the course was soggy from the aftereffects of Sunday/Monday’s tropical storm. Architects George and Tom Fazio thought you should be challenged a bit more on these five-pars, so they made the twelfth (for example) an especially narrow, angular brute that plays uphill over its second half. And they sited its green on a tall plateau. Yikes!

The course rating from the deepest tees--the golds, at 6,702 yards--is a rather whopping 72.6 against par of 70; it’s still 70.6 from the blues. That’s just plain difficult. The Fazio’s also threw in, for good measure, several tough and fairly long four-pars featuring doglegs, ponds and streams, deep and strategically-placed bunkering, and plenty of trees that definitely hinder progress toward the greens when fairways are missed, and not necessarily by all that much.

No doubt Oak Ridge is full of strong and well-designed holes. The opening trio of par-fours sets the tone, but there are more good ones at nine, ten, and eighteen. Of the five par-3’s, every hole works, though I particularly like the 11th and 17th for their straightforward challenges. The three-shotters, on the other hand, are decent enough, but I don’t think any stand out, unless you like the kind of torture-test that is the twelfth. Okay, it’s still playable. The sixteenth finishes well with a well-used dogleg to a shallow and well-defended green, but the rest is a bit mundane.

All in all, though, this layout is a winner. The Fazios deliver a playable course with realistic challenges. Nothing is really tricked up (it’s just tough). I’m not a fan of their tendency, though, to block the crooks of doglegs with trees both sizable and huge (such as at seven and eighteen). Clearly this is unfair to shorter hitters who can’t blow it by the corner, and so may be blocked from the green, oftentimes, when their drives veer toward the crook. This is a point about general design that Tom Doak makes in his “The Anatomy of a Golf Course.”

The greens should keep you engaged here, with enough slopes and variability in their design to constantly change things up from hole to hole. Their breaks tend to be subtle, and reading them correctly isn’t easy. On aesthetics, as well, O.R. is a first-rate golf course. It also feels secluded, nicely, from the outside world.

Conditioning:
Overall good. Fairways ranged from fair to very good (some, like five and six were patchy). Tees and roughs were good, while the greens stood out as excellent--some of the best I’ve played this year.

Best Hole: The tenth, par-4, 431 (blues).
Straightaway but long two-shotter that is best played with a draw from the tee, opening up the bunker-flanked green better from the fairway’s left side.

Some Conclusions:
Definitely recommended, especially for its layout. I don’t think you can go wrong with nearly any Fazio course. This track, too, is the most challenging of three I’ve played in Agawam. Nice clubhouse, capable and friendly service. Oak Ridge was recognized as one of thirteen notable courses in Massachusetts (rating “excellent”) in the 1995 edition of “The American Golfer’s Guide,” by Hubert Pedroli & Mary Tiegreen.

I've played Oak Ridge as far back as 25 years. The greens are excellent, a little slow but tees and fairways have declined over the years. There were no rakes at any of the bunkers so we had to play them up and just looks in disrepair. I love the layout as it is a fun and challenging golf course but need to put some money into it.

Will definitely play again. Only complaint is that many of the cart paths are badly beat up,, chunky and very bumpy. Seems to be a low priority for many courses.

Played early this morning with my son. Friendly staff and course was in fantastic condition.

I recommend this course to anyone who wants to play a fun course. Enjoy your round.

Got there early and was able to get right out at 7 am. Didn't have to wait at all throughout the day. Greens and fairways were in excellent shape. Only negative was I found the par 3's to all be very similar, from the greens , all were about 135 yrds. Overall, very nice

Played early in day. Greens and fairways in good condition. Slow twosome in front of us. Otherwise a morning will spent. And one of us had a bear-die. .

True roll on the greens. Most fairways in good shape.