GOLF CLUBS

Oyster Creek Golf
and Country Club:
A Short Three-Hour
Romp of Enjoyable Golf

By Joe Bruno,
Staff Writer

Englewood, FL - If you want to hit the links on an Executive Golf Course that looks and plays like a full 72-par course, you can't do much better than the Oyster Creek Golf and Country Club nestled in the quaint city of Englewood, Florida.

To get to Oyster Creek, take I-75 to exit 34 (River Road). Take River Road to Pine Street. Take a left on Pine and go to State Road 776. Take a left on 776 and go two miles to Oyster Creek. If you are coming from the Sarasota area, take US 41 South (Tamiami Trail) through Venice to state Road 776. Oyster Creek is 11 miles down on the right hand side of the road, just past Wall Mart.

When you reach the community of Oyster Creek you have to stop by the 24-hour manned gated entrance. Tell the guard your name, and that you are there to play golf and he will cheerfully signal you inside. Once inside you will marvel at the gorgeous homes that sit on the property. The Spanish accented houses are all painted pale peach, with Mediterranean-style glazed tile roofs. There is also a model home on the premises if you are thinking of relocating to the west coast of Florida. Villas start at $139,900 and house start at $151, 700.

The club house at Oyster Creek is immaculate, and there is a small bar inside where you can stock up on goodies before your round of golf. Be sure to purchase your food and beverages in the clubhouse beforehand, since there were no cart girls visible on the course.

At Oyster Creek, designed by Ted McAnlis, there are no gimme short par-three holes like on most Executive courses. For the men, there are two tee boxes, the back blues and the middle whites. From the blues, the shortest par-three is 137 yards, and the longest par-three is 205 yards. This golf course review will be given from the back blue tees, but beginners would be better served hitting from the whites. This is especially true on the front nine, which is far more difficult that the back nine.

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The greens, which are beautifully manicured and quite sloped, are as big as the greens on par-72 courses. Not once in eight holes did either of our twosome have a putt which was straight and level. So any of the greens can easily be a three-putt adventure.

There is also water in play on 13 of the eighteen holes, so be straight and true with your drives, or bring a dozen balls to finish out your round of golf.

The scorecard contains pictures of each hole, and a sentence or two on the best way to play each hole. Take heed. The advice is right on the mark. The white flag on the green means the pin is up front. The red flag means the pin is in the middle and the blue flag means the pin is in the back.

The par-three 149-yard hole number one requires a precise tee shot, since water and woods wait for your ball on either side of the extremely narrow fairway. If you go short with your tee shot, there is a deep, long and wide waterless gully full of high weeds. Even If you are lucky enough to find your ball, chipping out of the gully is no easy task. The scorecard says to take an extra club and to play to the far side of the green, which is good advice indeed. You are not allowed to take your cart over the bridge to the green at holes number one. So you have to park your cart near the tee box of hole number two and hike over to the hole-number one green.

On the par-three 205 yard hole number eight, you have to clear a lake off the tee. The green is protected by a sand trap on either side, so it might be a good idea to lay up short and pitch onto the green, rather than chance a tee shot right to the green. The green is also extremely long, so pay attention to the pin placement. Otherwise you will be looking at three-putt hell.

The hardest ranked hole on the course is the par-four, 402-yard hole number nine. Again, there is water on both sides of the tee box, but the landing area is big and wide. There is also a hidden pond on the lower left side of the green, and a sand bunker protecting the right hand side of the green. Since this hole is long, even compared to par-fours on par-72 golf courses, unless you are a long hitter, it might be best to play your second shot short of the green, then pitch and putt for a par.

The back nine starts with the 351-yard, par four hole number ten. You have to carry almost 200 yards over a huge lake off the tee to land in a dry spot. The fairway then doglegs left to the green. There is a sand bunker protecting the right hand side of the green. If your carry the water, a short iron to the green should do the trick. If not, drop and start hitting three. If you play the whites here, it¹s only a 140 yard carry over the water. Another good argument for playing the white tees at Oyster Creek.

The hardest ranked hole on the back nine, and the second hardest hole overall, is the finishing par-four 350-yard hole number 18. There is a huge body of water on the right side of the tee box, plus a 100 yard carry right off the tee. The fairway doglegs extremely left about 220 yards from the tee. The idea landing area for your tee shot are two tall pines almost in the middle of the fairway. The best bet here is to lay up short on your second shot, then pitch up and putt for a par.

The bottom line is that if you like a short three-hour romp of enjoyable golf, Oyster Creek is the place to be. The course is well kept, the staff cheery and helpful, and the greens play like those on the bigger courses.

Oyster Creek Golf and Country Club
6651 Oriole Blvd.
Englewood, Florida 34224
Director of Golf Cathy Edelen
Head Pro-David Kelly
941-475-0334
Fees: 18 holes before 11am--$30, after 11am--$25, after 2pm--$20