Going for Golf

The Oxfordshire

“Padraig Harrington took a 13 on the 17th in the Benson & Hedges when it was played here in 1996.”

When you’re a high handicapper, that’s not necessarily the thing you most want to hear when putting on your golf shoes in the locker room. But the affable member getting changed next to me at The Oxfordshire Golf, Hotel & Spa wasn’t trying to intimidate me – he had a degree of pride in his voice.

In truth, I knew the Harrington story already. It came a week after he turned pro. But I didn’t want to disappoint my companion so I feigned surprise and awe. I didn’t have to feign awe for long. The Rees Jones-designed course here is a challenge if you’ve a decent swing; if you swing with the flexibility of a parking meter, as do I, then it’s doubly difficult. But it’s still a hugely enjoyable way to pass an afternoon. And it’s a thoroughly pleasant way to spend a weekend now the four-star, 50-room hotel is fully open.

Too often when a golf resort is built the course is almost an afterthought, with room occupancy the raison d’être. That’s not the case at The Oxfordshire, where the course had been open for 17 years before a planning battle was won and the hotel was opened in 2010. It really does complement the fairways rather than the course being an adjunct to a money-spinner.

The Benson & Hedges – which did for the three-time Major winner – was played here for four consecutive years from 1996 and the winners have included Colin Montgomerie and Bernhard Langer. The Oxfordshire is clearly a true championship layout, not one with the epithet attached for marketing purposes.

Indeed, it has since hosted the Ladies European Tour, the European Seniors Tour, the Brabazon Trophy – one of British amateur golf’s top events – and pre-qualifying for the European Tour. This year it’s one of the venues for the burgeoning William Hunt Trilby Tour and the final venue for the unique Four Nations Golf Challenge, both of which will be televised by Sky Sports.

The architect admits to being influenced by traditional Scottish links courses and you can feel the inspiration in the mounds and hollows, though at first glance it looks like a US-style course. Arguably the most memorable hole is the par-four eighth – Risk and Reward – which has a much-photographed green surrounded by water on three sides as it lives up to its name. Attacking the pin off the tee is an option if you’re long. And confident. For mere mortals it would also be a lot easier if there wasn’t a distracting island on the periphery of your vision when taking a wedge in for the second shot. If your tee shot is particularly short, it won’t be on the periphery either…

As for Harrington’s nemesis, Treble Chance, it is the course’s signature hole, a 505-yard, par-five, which tests nerve and accuracy in equal measure. It requires a straight drive to avoid sand on the right and water on the left. If like me you’re risk-averse then eschewing a second over water, you can continue down the fairway before a longish third into a sloping green. Or a not-so-longish fourth in my case.

There’s no denying it’s a tough course – but it was created for championship golf as you can tell from the ‘auditorium’ design on several holes. One has to wonder if the designer was Nicklaus or Palmer whether the lay-out would feature higher in the various top 100 lists. Arguably it deserves to.

The wait for a hotel at the venue has been well worth it. The addition to The Oxfordshire’s offering brought with it a first-class spa and a restaurant – Sakura – which will soon, I predict confidently, have the prefix ‘award-winning’ attached. Having experienced exceptional dinners on both nights I decided it was the best food I have experienced at a UK golf hotel. And you don’t get to achieve my finely honed physique without tucking into the odd bit of nosebag. The only downside to the place from a personal perspective was the inclusion of a fully equipped gymnasium into which my wife seemed determined to push me. I hastily showed her the Oxford English Dictionary’s definition of ‘relax’, followed by a couple of G&Ts in the upstairs bar – which provides stunning views across the course and nearby countryside – and consequently soon turned her mind to other things.

An outstanding feature of The Oxfordshire’s location is the number of sightings of the very beautiful, once-threatened red kite. One of the best spots to see them is the nearby village of Stokenchurch, but they are now widespread across the central and southern Chilterns. They can also be seen hovering above the golf course and are the best possible reason for delaying your approach shot and causing a backlog on the tee.

If you really want to impress your spouse you should consider visiting Raymond Blanc’s two-Michelin-starred Le Manoir aux Quat’ Saisons, just a few minutes away down the A329. But with the exceptional Sakura on-site, why not stay here and enjoy an extra glass of wine recommended by the knowledgeable and affable maitre d’.

As for the 17th hole, I may not have got a par but I didn’t take 13. Padraig Harrington? Eat my capacious shorts!