MEXICO – Nestled on the side of a hill, in the middle of what used to be a giant farm and just a sniff away from the paper mill that defines the River Valley region, Oakdale Country Club is a hidden gem with a dwindling membership that many members have called “the best kept secret in Western Maine.”

And they are right for more than one reason.

Built in 1923 to accommodate the population of a growing mill town, Oakdale is a nine-hole track on a hillside and hidden from the view of any road other than Country Club Lane, which bisects the course as it winds away from U.S. Route 2 across from Walmart.

“That has something to do with it, probably,” said Frank DiConzo, President of the Board of Directors at Oakdale. “It’s not hard to miss the turn on your way by.”

The course

Missing the course, however, would be a mistake, even though it is just nine holes long.

“It’s hard for nine hole layouts to survive now,” DiConzo said. “One thing that helps is that there aren’t many 18-hole courses out in this part of the state, though.”

But the club has survived – so far – and is a picturesque layout that offers a little bit of everything for golfers of all abilities, right from the first tee.

“You start off well with a dogleg left par-4,” said course professional Steve Hodgkins. “It is uphill, but wide open. If gives people a chance for a solid start.”

The second hole is the only par-5 for golfers playing the nine for the first time (on the “back,” golfers are faced with different tee grounds and yardage’s which changes the par on some of the holes), and is a true test of mettle, especially for shorter hitters, because of a narrow opening as golfers get closer to the green.

“It’s a challenge for the shorter hitters,” Hodgkins said. “You have to stay to the left because the pine trees are too tall to try and get over on the right for the third shot in. A long hitter can reach in two distance-wise, but it is tough to get an accurate shot in.”

One thing working in the golfers’ favor is a large, indifferently-sloped green that caves in rather than crowning to the edges.

The fifth hole is perhaps the hardest hole on the course when played as a par-4 (front nine only). Listed at 423 yards from the men’s tees, the hole tempts golfers of all abilities to cut the corner of the dogleg to the right. The risk, however, may outweigh the reward in this case because the woods to the right are marked as out of bounds, even if a golfer finds their ball, leading to a two-stroke penalty.

By the eighth hole, golfers are ready for a spectacular sight to brighten their spirits, and that hole will usually do the trick. Played as a par-4 on the front nine and as a par-3 on the back, No. 8 is a tricky uphill hole over a picturesque pond complete with a fountain. The green is the smallest on the course and is hidden by virtue of the continuous uphill slope from the edge of the pond just in front of the teeing ground to the front edge of the green.

“That is easily one of the tougher shots on the course,” Hodgkins said. “There is some give if you hit it over because there is a slope back there that will stop the ball, but you are still in the rough with a downhill chip.”

The ninth hole, described by Hodgkins as a “fine finishing hole,” returns golfers to the area by the first tee, and the tee box looks out over the rest of the course.

Staying alive

With a dwindling population base (according to the 2000 census, there are fewer than 7,000 people in Rumford and Mexico combined), the course itself is suffering from shrinking pains.

“We have an older member base,” DiConzo said. “Last year alone six of our members passed away, and we are getting close to having just 200 members. We used to have five or six hundred. In the 50’s and 60’s, though, when the town was alive, there were 16,000 people living here, too.”

Instead of wallowing in declining numbers, the club has started to do something about it. Local recreation programs use the course for youth programs, and the course itself offers clinics aimed at getting the younger members of the community involved in the sport. Even some of the course upkeep is done on a volunteer basis.

“We have one member who comes in every spring and does all of the flowers and landscaping,” DiConzo said. “A lot of the members come out at the beginning of the season and help with the general course cleanup, too. That helps the grounds crew get a good start on the course.”

From a financial standpoint, the course hasn’t made money in several years. Loans and other financial obligations have made the course more or less a non-profit group. Still, the members seem happy and the course itself is in fine shape.

Irrigation maintains the greens and tee boxes, and the fairways to date have suffered only minor sun scars from the heat. Overall the course is lush and receptive to most shots – as long as you don’t drive too quickly by it on Route 2.