Welcome to the Club

With a new clubhouse and other facilities, and plans to keep growing, The Country Club of Oxford offers a world-class experience right here in Mississippi.

BY DAVID MAGEE

PHOTOS BY ANN-MARIE WYATT

The County Club of Oxford has held to a simple but lofty standard in its emergence as one of the top spots for leisure in one of the South’s fastest growing cities.

It is focused on giving families who make Oxford a first or second home and their guests a friendly, welcoming experience with first-rate fate facilities to yield an unparalleled country club experience.

For Oxford, that’s saying something since for many years the city had no country club at all. Now, The Country Club of Oxford is not only growing, with a new clubhouse and tennis courts and a golf course that just landed a Web.com Tour professional event, it is thriving.

Located at 300 Fazio Drive in Grand Oaks, The County Club of Oxford serves about 700 families and individuals and their guests with facilities including a challenging, undulating 18-hole golf course, a 14,000-square-foot clubhouse that also caters to events including weddings, tennis courts, a restaurant, tennis pro shop, swimming pool and a fitness center, with more facilities in planning.

“When our children were growing up we had the old Oxford Country Club and then all of sudden that disappeared,” said Larry Britt, a longtime Oxford resident and an owner of The Country Club of Oxford. “It seemed like with so much growth in Oxford and more to come that we needed a nice family facility that has something for everyone.”

Britt purchased the property in 2012 along with his son, Lee, and Dr. Tom Crowson and his son, Thomas. “Tom is Lee’s father-in-law,” Larry says, smiling, “so this is a real family affair.”

They had ambitious plans for creating a reputable golf course with accompanying facilities providing the well-rounded country club experience from the start, but moved at a steady pace in development so that the quality and services matched along the way.

Landing what is believed to be Oxford’s first-ever professional sporting event, the Web.com Tour stop scheduled in April 2018, is proof that The Country Club of Oxford has arrived, just like its namesake city so renowned throughout the South for liveability.

“When the Web.com Tour called us looking for new tournament sites they said they were wanted three things,” Britt says. “They wanted a nice town, a town with a university, and a great golf course. It was win, win and win since we had all three of these.”

The Web.com Tour is PGA affiliated, featuring many of tomorrow’s pro golf stars. “This is about as cool a thing that I can think of that has happened to this city in a while,” Britt says of landing the pro golf springtime event, named the North Mississippi Classic, scheduled for April 16-22.

Britt said the club’s memberships are nearly full, though there’s room for more golfers, and he thinks that that may change by the time the pro tournament is held. Reputation means everything for a golf course, after all. The Fazio design is known for its challenging lies – “you can’t find a flat spot on the course,” Britt says – and professional greens. But four sets of tees level the playing field for all competitors.

A new pool is being considered in future plans and The Country Club of Oxford is busy developing its real estate, with 86 lots sold and many already developed. There’s more on the way at The Grove at Grand Oaks, however, including new cottages that have just been approved for building.

“My daughter Margaret (Britt Baker) has been a blessing because she manages our real estate and helps out on everything else,” Larry says. “Jonathan Oliver (another family member) is our outstanding executive chef and other team members from our new general manager to our golf pro and tennis pro make this a first-class experience for Oxford residents and out of town members.”

The Country Club of Oxford provides full memberships and social memberships, and discounts to out-of-town members.

“The classic country club experience is leisurely for the entire family,” Britt says. “That’s what we’re working to provide.”

It’s so far so good for The Country Club of Oxford, with more on the way.