Oxford Golf & Country Club

It took the best part of six years for the Oxford Golf & Country Club course to finally make an appearance as part of developer Anil Seolkar’s Knowledge City project, but the finished article shows that it was certainly worth the wait.

Laid out within a 136-acre horseshoe-shaped valley where the Sahyadri Hills encroach on three sides, the fairways were first mapped out by architect Phil Ryan in 2004 but it would take until 2009 before the course was established and a golf ball driven from the first tee.

Most of the holes are routed across the slopes of the hills – though several on the back nine are set out on the floor of the valley – with an elevation change of 250 feet between the 4th tee and the 14th green. Four lakes were also constructed for irrigation purposes and these are linked by a creek to handle monsoon rains.

The 563-yard 3rd, a right doglegged par five, features an old stone wall that cuts across the fairway at the tee shot landing area – no wonder it’s rated the toughest hole on the front nine. The par four 18th provides a solid finish to the round; just avoid the huge remnant Banyan tree to the right of the fairway as it gently doglegs to the home green.