GOLF REVIEW OAK HILL GOLF CLUB MILFORD NJ

http://www.oakhillgolf.com/index1.htm

Oak Hill is located just over the hill From Bloomsbury and is easily accessible from either exit on 78 Pattenburg or Bloomsbury.

This course is not one of the high echelon courses in the area so if you are looking for a Trump National course this is not for you, but of course you do not have the high entry fee either which makes it that much more attractive. The club has a full clubhouse that is very capable of hosting wedding or outings. There is a driving range, but no pool or tennis courts if you are looking for the total family package. But we were concerned with reviewing the golf course as a possible place for you to play regularly if you want a faster round on the weekends that you just don’t find at the five and a half hour public courses.

Upon reflection Oak Hill offers you to unique nine holes that I would refer to as the highlands and lowlands. The front nine is relatively flat and rolls nicely through the countryside. Playing the back nine you'd better be ready for side hill lies, wildly sloping greens and an uphill par three that would challenge Tiger from the tips.

Now joining a club is making a commitment to play golf at one course for the majority of your rounds during the year and thus several questions must be asked,

1)      Is the course in good condition?  - The Oak Hill Greens are superb. They are fast, if you go there only once for an outing you may find yourself baffled with speed and break, but if you are joining a club to become a better player, in the long run you will become a great putter here. You can tell they are serious about their putting surfaces as there are no ball marks, the fringes are cut to make chipping tough but not impossible. The greens get an A+ rating.  Now this has been a wet summer so we took that into consideration, but the Tee Boxes and Fairways were just ok as compared with other courses in the area and we would give them about a B score.

2)      Can you play a fast round?  The folks at Oak Hill were kind enough to invite us to play on two different days of the week, a Tuesday and a Thursday and we teed off at about one in the afternoon. On Both occasions we zoomed through the round in under 3 hours, so very few golfers on the course and were able to grab a quick bite at the turn without ever worrying about pace of play. This was a great attribute, with all of us leading busy lives these days it’s nice to know that you get what you pay for and here you can get a fast round should you desire.

3)      Is it affordable? Obviously that is a subjective question based upon your economic circumstances, but if you go to http://www.oakhillgolf.com/MembershipDuesandFees.htm  you can see their different options. It appears that in comparison to some other spots that this course falls well below the curve when looking at bottom line dollars. They do charge the typical food requirement per month and have incidental costs for carts and other things, but the staff is very cordial and will work with you to find the best available plan. Keep in mind that many places are doing membership drives at the moment so its always worth finding our if there are any special deals going on as we drift into fall.

4)      What are the Members like? The first loop we did on Monday was with a member and he introduced us around to many of the members who were on the premises and they were extremely cordial, offered to invite us back whenever we wanted and generally seemed to have a group of tight knit guys that you could always easily pick up a game with. This is not a place where noses are in the air. No one cares if you are the president of IBM or the local cop; everyone is on equal standing and treated with respect. It had a very good feel that way.

5)      The Staff – We interacted with many of the people working on the property, from the Pro Michael Knight, right down to the folks running the restaurant to the guys washing the carts we were treated with smiles, professionalism, and generally upbeat folks and when you are dealing with them on a 3 or 4 times a week basis that makes a big difference.

Ideally Oak Hill is a club for the person who wants a very playable golf course that is not going to require a second mortgage on the domicile. If you are interested in taking a look at a local club in the area you can contact the pro via email at -  oakhillclub@verizon.net     it is definitely worth a peek  

ARTICLE

So here's a good example of the vibe of the course, you have a beautiful view on the range but the mats are a little tattered

First shot is right up the gut to a wide fairway

Just a little uphill to a raised green

Looking back up the fairway

Dogleg left, if you can start if out right tree lien and fade it in 

Wide open in front gives you multiple options on how to play the approach

Beware the side bunkers, the up and downs are difficult

If you can hug that left tree you will be pleased

Second shot is longer from bail out on right, straight up the hill

You can see the elevation change from behind the green

Beware of the snakes

From here is doesn't look as daunting

This is a straight ahead grip and rip par five.

Go for it in two

Great hole, blind off the tee, draw will serve you well avoiding the left trees which are dead.

Downhill, anything on the left hillside will drift toward the green.

This bunker is almost impossible to get down from

Blast it off the tee, you need to get around the edge for the third shot

Two good shots gets you near the bridge on the right which is about 85 out.

Up up and away

Second shot comes straight up the hill back to the clubhouse.