After walking off Amberwood’s 9th green I headed for my car. I walked past the starter’s house and the starter was leaving for the day. He encouraged me to go play the Oakleigh course (without paying another green fee) and to squeeze in as many holes as possible.

I had about 45 minutes before dark and knew that I’d need to play quickly. I ended up finishing the round as darkness fell and I still probably had time for a couple more holes. However, I’m not sure my lone golf ball would have lasted much longer!

I opened with three pars and then things got interesting. Since I was walking I didn’t want to weigh down my golf bag and I packed lightly. I started the afternoon out with five golf balls and lost two while playing Amberwood. Then, I lost two more golf balls on Oakleigh’s 4th hole. That was after those three pars to begin, ugh!

I was in such a rush to squeeze in the round that I didn’t even think of getting another sleeve from the car before starting this nine. So, I was down to one golf ball with five holes left. Thankfully I managed to hit some playable shots and made it through the rest of the round without any additional issues.

From the black tees Oakleigh is a 1,517 yard par-28. The 6th, at 304 yards, is the course’s lone par-4. There is some elevation change and a couple holes are spread out so it can be a healthy walk. There are also a couple beefy par-3’s here.

The 4th – where I rinsed my two golf balls – was playing 213 yards and has water short and right. The 5th was 170(ish) yards and has more water in play. The 9th is uphill and 202 yards over a bunker. With all the slope in the greens I found Oakleigh difficult to play.

The conditions were good as you’d expect in The Villages. I enjoyed my free round but I really wish the design group would have thrown in a few “easy” greens to putt here. I had a couple putts swing five feet and that seems a bit silly, especially on a difficult hole (like the 4th). I’d say Oakleigh is a very middle-of-the-pack executive course in The Villages.

Course Pictures (click any picture to scroll through the gallery):