NeilVoss

Really enjoyed the course and loved the layout/variety of different holes. Not overly long but challenging with some holes that you can really get after. Strikes a great balance of tough shots mixed with getable holes. The Par 3’s were a lot of fun and the 9th is an incredibly fun hole to play. Creeks and hazards are well placed to make the shorter par-4’s trickier. Greens were pretty solid and consistent with subtle breaks so they were challenging to read but true. Really slow against the grain, but incredibly fast downhill. Pace of play was terrible though and the ranger (while a super nice guy) only realized when we were on 15 and didn’t do much to speed things up. 18 took close to five hours which was frustrating. But that was my only real gripe. Great range facilities, staff were friendly and I feel like it’s very good value for a really fun track. Probably not for beginners though. I played with my pal who’s a +2 handicap who shot a 75/76 off the whites, so it can punish you on certain holes. However, any single digit to mid 20 type handicaps would have a great time here. Highly recommend!

I played Somers for the second time over the weekend and there are plenty of things I like about the course but I feel there're more things to dislike. The first time I played was late in the season, so it was tough to get a sense of the condition of the course so I was disappointed to have arrived (when most courses are already in great shape), to see the greens in pretty poor condition as well as several tee-boxes being renovated. On arrival, their range was also occupied and they only had a tiny putting green for practice. That's the second time this has happened and I feel like that should be advertised as most people want to try and hit at least a small bucket before they go out and play.

Pros:
-The challenge. You're rarely able to use driver (even on the longer par-5's) which means you can get some excellent iron practice in. You really need to be able to shape the ball (right-to-left for righties) in order to score low here. In the right mindset and playing well, this can be a lot of fun.
-Layout. While the layout has pros and cons, there're a lot of fun doglegs but one of the best features of the course is the undulation. I can't think of a single hole that's flat and straight. Again, great practice off of slopes and awkward lies
-The employees. On both of my trips to Somers, I've found the staff to be incredibly inviting and helpful. The starter in particular - great guy!
-Firmness. The fairways were in good shape and often resulted in getting an extra 20+ yards of run-off.

Cons:
-As mentioned, the greens are in poor condition. Several greens have large patches (from what looks like it was caused from the sun/lack of water) which throws you off massively. The greens are very difficult to read because of it and you rarely feel comfortable over a putt.
-Trees. I'm not sure I've seen a course with more trees/OB potential. You can rarely miss the fairway and get away with it. While that can be fun/challenging for excellent golfers, it can lead to a nightmarish day of losing/chasing balls in the wilderness. You have to hit the fairway on all but maybe 4/5 holes or you'll end up in a terrible spot or OB.
-Lack of space. The course itself is short and there're too many dogleg type holes because it's been crammed into a residential area. This makes it even easier to lose balls (even when you've hit a decent-good shot).
-Facilities. This has been annoying during both of my rounds. The entire range has been taken up to service members (to be expected), but you'd hope that they'd have at least a few mats available for players. I'm someone that loves to get down early and hit 40-50 balls beforehand, so it's frustrating taking your first shot of the day on the 1st tee, even after arriving an hour early. Also, the putting green is very small with next-to-no space for chipping etc.
-Layout. While I mentioned this as a pro above, it's also a con. While fun at times, you want to be able to work on different shots over 18 and you don't really get that here. You may only pull out driver three times through 18, unless you can shape your driver however you want. Due to the doglegs, there are a couple of par-5's where you have to start with an 7/6 iron and then still have 300+ to try and reach the green.
-Price. Maybe I missed a deal on booking, but this is not a course I'd play for $75 again. It's more of a $40-$50 type round. Not to say it's crazy overpriced, but I don't think they can justifying charging more than $50.

Overall, I wouldn't recommend this course to beginners or to someone who's looking to have a bit of fun. You have to think and plan on each hole. For single-digits/scratch golfers, it could provide some really good iron practice but the overall condition would likely be a deterrent to people that're likely already members of more reputable clubs. If you're playing off of 5-14, you may have a good time and get what you want out of the course but I would look elsewhere first.

Do not recommend this course for beginners. While the course isn't particularly long, you need to be very accurate with mid-long irons in order to shoot respectable scores. However, this is a great course to practice iron accuracy and would be a good test for even the best of golfers.

The layout definitely suits single-digit handicappers and the fairways are extremely tight with OB coming into play on almost every hole. You will not enjoy playing here if you're having an off day and you'll likely go through 10-15 balls.

I was very surprised at how fast the fairways were which certainly made things a little easier as you could bank on getting an extra 15-20 yards with run. For this time of the year, it was certainly a pleasant surprise as to how hard the fairways were.

The greens were a bit of a nightmare. They were very quick but I felt there weren't true a lot of the time which was frustrating. They may have been aerated recently which might explain it but you could rarely trust the read/break. Getting putts slightly wrong (particularly downhill) resulted in fair-good putts rolling anywhere from 5-10 feet passed the hole.

You can rarely use driver, even on the par 5's which made things even more challenging as there are a couple of par 5's over 500 yards, so without driver, you're struggling to make the green inside three shots. This was one of my favorite parts of the course, as again, you need to be on your game and concentrating on accuracy as distance doesn't provide much assistance.

The pace of play was very poor which was a disappointment. We even had to call the starter after a few holes because the pace of play seemingly wasn't impressed upon people, which led to a lot of waiting around on the tee box.

I'd love to play this course during peak summer months to get a feel for real conditions and I would certainly recommend the course to have a practice round if you're getting ready for a tournament. But certainly not a course I'd recommend for beginners/if you want to have a fun round.

Oak Hill is uniquely laid out, particularly on the front nine where there are several doglegs with zero visibility of the flag. You don’t really take driver out until you get deep into the back nine (or unless you’re dead straight with driver). The course suits players they’re confident with mid-long irons.

The back 9 is a lot more open but there’re sneaky hazards situated in blind spots that make “easier” holes subtly challenging. The par threes (both front and back) are incredibly fun. Quite short, but big bodies of water to contend with.

For anyone playing to a handicap of 12 or under, the blue tees are a must as the course is still relatively short, even off of the tips. White tees just don’t create the same challenge but would be very helpful for someone who wants to play on a good course while improving their game.

The course was in very good shape for this time of year, particularly with the amount of rain we’ve had recently. The greens were slow(ish) [because of the weather] but were as true as possible for this time of the year.

This was my second time playing Oak Hill and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed both rounds and will certainly go back. Staff are friendly, the clubs’ members are welcoming and they’ve done a great job of making the course rewarding but challenging at the same time. If you’re on, you can make low scores and OB doesn’t come into play unless it’s a truly bad shot for the most part. If you’re off, you’ll likely spend some time trying to find your ball amidst the trees (there’re plenty). Overall, Oak Hill is a really fun track with a great layout.

One thing to note is that there is no driving range facilities at the course. I wasn’t aware of that the first time I played which was a little annoying. They do have chipping/putting greens though. Not a big deal but for players who have a strict warmup ritual, bare that in mind.