Oakwood Golf Club is a 27-hole facility located in a retirement community just off of Riggs Road in Sun Lakes. Depending on which 9s you draw, you’re playing either Palms, Sonoran, or Lakes. Today, we played Lakes/Palms, which measures 6,508 from the Tournament (Black) tees. The course rating is 71.3. The slope is 131.
In my opinion, the Palms Course plays longer than the Lakes Course, although both 9s are pretty similar. I recently overheard a few of my classmates saying that there’s water on 17 of the 18 holes, so I thought I’d add it up for myself. There is water on eight of the nine holes on the Lakes Course, although the water doesn’t always come into play. The Palms Course features water on just six of the nine holes, but again, the water doesn’t necessarily come into play. By my count, that’s water on 14 of the 18 holes we played.
I have driven by this course several times, and it always looks great from Riggs Road. You never really know if a course puts a little extra time and money into maintaining the holes along a major thoroughfare, but the holes at Oakwood were consistent throughout. The dormant bermuda rough looks great in contrast to the winter rye grass on the tee boxes, fairways, and greens. Look for the same look coming up at this week’s Phoenix Open at TPC Scottsdale! The greens were good. With the exception of the 9th green on Palms, which seemed to have the remnants of an old irrigation line or draining ditch running through it, you have plenty of opportunities to make some putts.
Here are some of the highlights of the round:
Holes Worth Writing Home About
There were a few really interesting holes out here, but my favorite holes were on the Lakes Course. The 133 yard Par 3 2nd hole is guarded by water short and left and bunkers right. It’s an intimidating shot off the tee even though you’re likely hitting a short iron or even a wedge.
The 544 yard Par 5 7th hole can be birdied. Just make sure you carry the water off the tee. The course yardages are very well marked with blue markers 200 yards out, white markers 150 yards out, and red markers 100 yards out.
Quiet Please…
I thought the course was great. It was in a very pretty setting, and I thought it was a good layout. Just be prepared for the homes lining the fairways. I overheard someone say that they recently renovated the short game area. They have large undulating putting and chipping greens as well as a practice bunker. The range balls were good and had enough dimples that they could be shaped.
Fore!
My best shot of the day came on the 522 yard Par 5 9th hole on the Palms Course. I hit a great drive down the right hand side and had about 235 yards in. I hit a four wood up onto the green, but because the green is crowned, the ball ran into a cavernous greenside bunker to the left of the pin. I could only get up and down for par despite being just off the green in two. Like I said, it was a deep bunker.
While We’re Young
We teed off promptly at 12:30p and finished at 4:45p. We only had to wait on the foursome in front of us on a few holes.
Next On the Tee
Stay tuned… I’ve got my sights set on Ocotillo Golf Resort in Chandler.