The Country Club of Oxford

The CC of Oxford was quite a surprise.

The only thing I knew about it before visiting is that the club hosted a 2018 Korn Ferry Tour event, yet it did not appear on any list of top courses in Mississippi.

Once past the benign, handshake par-5 opening hole, however, I encountered a rollicking course that may not be flush with scenic postcard holes, but is chock full of character.

Wedged among toney homes, the layout plays up and down violent elevation changes, and often asks for blind approach shots. The value of course knowledge or a member to guide you around is invaluable for a first trip here. We had neither. Sometimes the fun, though, is in the discovery.

The corridors off the tee are claustrophobic and demand extreme accuracy to score well. There is so much land movement in the fairways that balls will often find collection bowls.

The greens also employ a lot of slope that can funnel balls and prominently feature shelves on several holes.

The par 3s were very different in shot value and club selection, which is always a hallmark of a good design, in my opinion. The fifth is a short hole with a pronounced ridge that can help push balls back toward front pins. The ninth is maybe the most picturesque hole on the property, playing downhill with large bunkers and a pond guarding the left side. The 11th plays 221 yards from the blue tees. It does allow for a slightly shorter shot played out to the left that can feed in links-like to the green, which is defended by a deep bunker front right.

As mild as the opening hole is, the closer is a brute of an uphill par 4 that plays extremely long. It is a great climax to the round.

I’m not sure why this course doesn’t get more acclaim in the state. It is a stern test of golf, particularly off the tee.