In South Carolina I always have a golfing partner in crime, my father-in-law Jack Baggette. Jack's usual track is the Legends at Parris Island (yes, the Marine Corps' Parris Island), a fine low country test in its own right.
Jack recently joined Oldfield, a gated community between Beaufort, SC, and Savannah near Hilton Head. Situated on the Okatie River, Oldfield's course winds through the marshes and forests, and the community has a spacious feel with large lots and ample open space.
The course has a similarly gracious feel to it. For a course set within a residential community, at no point does it feel like the homes encroach on the course or that anyone's decks or backyards were in imminent danger.
That's not to say the course doesn't have its share of trouble but in most cases there is either a place to bail out or the landing areas and targets are large enough to provide some margin for error. The first is a good example of this with a wide fairway for the opening tee shot but also featuring a lake surrounded by tufts of marsh grass coming into play for longer drives and on the second shot. Bunkers also guard the front and right of the green but there's a flat closely-mown chipping area behind the green. The flat run off areas are a common theme on most of the green complexes.
The course really hits its stride with the fifth and sixth, back to back, stout par fours. At the fifth, the fairway pinches in at a large live oak on the left before skirting a swampgrass tinged pond that guards the front right and circles its way around back.
The sixth is a shorter par four playing the opposite direction, that features a long waste area on the left and a tall tree guarding the left side of the green. Our playing companion that day, the affable Ben from Texas, pointed out that with the large elongated greens, many holes can play very differently depending on the pin placement. The sixth is one such hole with the pin at the back left hidden behind the tree guarding the green, it was nearly impossible to get it close on approach.
Seven is an unremarkable par 3 but typical in that it is a medium long one-shotter with a deep bunker left, but a large flat chipping area right and probably the only reason I mention it was that it marked my first par of the round and started a string of six pars in seven holes and eight of the next eleven, and anyone who's played with me in the last couple of years would know that is remarkable.
Eight is a moderate length par 5 that features a waste area running along side the entire length of the fairway which then curls in front of a bunker guarding the right front of the green.
The front nine ends with a big boy dogleg right par 4. The hole has no bunkers or water, but it is one of the narrowest with the tree canopy encroaching on the fairway and a sloped green with one of the few steeply banked chipping areas left of the green.
While the front nine meanders through the trees, the back nine is a bit more compact laid out on a bulb of land formed by a large bend in the Okatie River. The back nine is a little more open and a little less conventional, especially the stretch from 11 to 13. The picturesque eleventh is par 5 that starts from an elevated tree with not a long (but not a short) carry over water to a wide fairway, which is narrowed by the bordering trees for the second shot.
The 12th is a risk reward par 4 with players facing the option of playing a straightforward mid-iron to the left, and then over water to the green, or being tempted to carry the water on the tee shot for a shorter approach to the green, which might even be reachable for long hitters. I like this hole because "going for it" on the tee shot is not all or nothing. The carry is not all that long, but a natural area with broomgrass hides the landing area between a waste bunker and the large trap that guards both the green and the landing area making it seem like a tougher shot than it is.
The 13th is a par 3 with water on the left and plenty of bail out room to the right which can lead to three-putts on the large green.
After a pair of solid par 4's at 14 and 15, 16th is a difficult par 3 with a long, forced carry over water, probably my least favorite hole. While my low opinion may have had something to do with my rinsing my tee shot and barely clearing the water with my third shot which then plugged in the hazard after which it proceeded directly to my pocket (we were playing a team format), it really is the definition of a penal design.
Seventeen is another risk reward, nearly drive-able par 4 though not as interesting as 12, but the course really finishes with a bang at number 18 a double dog left (right then left) par 5 around a grove of trees with the approach to and the green itself guarded by the marsh on the left and a small inland pond (which I was surprised to fine with my second shot) on the right. Another hole where the pin placement plays a key role in how the hole plays, the day we played, it was in its most difficult back left position on the long narrow green.
Oldfield is a very good course blending nicely with the natural landscape of marsh and forest. There aren't a lot of elevation changes, but the course features a good variety of the low country landscape. Though the nines have different feels to them, the contrast provides variety without feeling like you took a wrong turn at the turn. With long waste areas, bunkers, and gator-filled water all over the place, the members can puff out their chests and point to the 130 slope from the white tees, but it also has large greens with generous chipping areas, and wide fairways that make it playable as well.
Here is the link to the course website which provides precious little information on or pictures of the course itself. http://oldfield1732.com/lifestyle/golf/ In reminding myself of the layout as I wrote this the best resource I came across was this one from bluegolf.com which uses actual satellite imagery to show the holes. http://course.bluegolf.com/bluegolf/course/course/oldfieldcc/aerial.htm
The course really hits its stride with the fifth and sixth, back to back, stout par fours. At the fifth, the fairway pinches in at a large live oak on the left before skirting a swampgrass tinged pond that guards the front right and circles its way around back.
The sixth is a shorter par four playing the opposite direction, that features a long waste area on the left and a tall tree guarding the left side of the green. Our playing companion that day, the affable Ben from Texas, pointed out that with the large elongated greens, many holes can play very differently depending on the pin placement. The sixth is one such hole with the pin at the back left hidden behind the tree guarding the green, it was nearly impossible to get it close on approach.
Seven is an unremarkable par 3 but typical in that it is a medium long one-shotter with a deep bunker left, but a large flat chipping area right and probably the only reason I mention it was that it marked my first par of the round and started a string of six pars in seven holes and eight of the next eleven, and anyone who's played with me in the last couple of years would know that is remarkable.
Eight is a moderate length par 5 that features a waste area running along side the entire length of the fairway which then curls in front of a bunker guarding the right front of the green.
The front nine ends with a big boy dogleg right par 4. The hole has no bunkers or water, but it is one of the narrowest with the tree canopy encroaching on the fairway and a sloped green with one of the few steeply banked chipping areas left of the green.
While the front nine meanders through the trees, the back nine is a bit more compact laid out on a bulb of land formed by a large bend in the Okatie River. The back nine is a little more open and a little less conventional, especially the stretch from 11 to 13. The picturesque eleventh is par 5 that starts from an elevated tree with not a long (but not a short) carry over water to a wide fairway, which is narrowed by the bordering trees for the second shot.
The 12th is a risk reward par 4 with players facing the option of playing a straightforward mid-iron to the left, and then over water to the green, or being tempted to carry the water on the tee shot for a shorter approach to the green, which might even be reachable for long hitters. I like this hole because "going for it" on the tee shot is not all or nothing. The carry is not all that long, but a natural area with broomgrass hides the landing area between a waste bunker and the large trap that guards both the green and the landing area making it seem like a tougher shot than it is.
The 13th is a par 3 with water on the left and plenty of bail out room to the right which can lead to three-putts on the large green.
After a pair of solid par 4's at 14 and 15, 16th is a difficult par 3 with a long, forced carry over water, probably my least favorite hole. While my low opinion may have had something to do with my rinsing my tee shot and barely clearing the water with my third shot which then plugged in the hazard after which it proceeded directly to my pocket (we were playing a team format), it really is the definition of a penal design.
Seventeen is another risk reward, nearly drive-able par 4 though not as interesting as 12, but the course really finishes with a bang at number 18 a double dog left (right then left) par 5 around a grove of trees with the approach to and the green itself guarded by the marsh on the left and a small inland pond (which I was surprised to fine with my second shot) on the right. Another hole where the pin placement plays a key role in how the hole plays, the day we played, it was in its most difficult back left position on the long narrow green.
Oldfield is a very good course blending nicely with the natural landscape of marsh and forest. There aren't a lot of elevation changes, but the course features a good variety of the low country landscape. Though the nines have different feels to them, the contrast provides variety without feeling like you took a wrong turn at the turn. With long waste areas, bunkers, and gator-filled water all over the place, the members can puff out their chests and point to the 130 slope from the white tees, but it also has large greens with generous chipping areas, and wide fairways that make it playable as well.
Here is the link to the course website which provides precious little information on or pictures of the course itself. http://oldfield1732.com/lifestyle/golf/ In reminding myself of the layout as I wrote this the best resource I came across was this one from bluegolf.com which uses actual satellite imagery to show the holes. http://course.bluegolf.com/bluegolf/course/course/oldfieldcc/aerial.htm
