Blue Fox Run Golf Club - Red Nine

Employees helpful & friendly. Played red course & white. Most teeboxes were total wreck. Most fairways were chewed up & totally burned. However, greens were in great shape & fast.

Blue Fox Run is set in the Farmington Valley, and in point of fact, the Farmington River runs alongside the first hole of the Red Nine. The course is, as you would then expect, relatively flat. To make its layout more interesting, then, many of the holes on the Red feature an array of hazards, most prominently trees, numerous and often large bunkers, ponds, a couple of fairly sharp doglegs, and raised (either slightly or more dramatically) green complexes. A short nine at 2723 yards from the blue tees with one par-5 only, it still packs more than enough punch to engage, I would think, the vast majority of golfers. Moreover, none of the holes here seem harshly penal, and most will give you options that require some strategizing and, above all, careful course management.

The Red begins quietly with a pair of straightforward opening holes. The 2nd, a short but well-defined dogleg left par-4 with a threatening bunker on the bend, is the more interesting of the two, but also the one more likely to yield a birdie. They’re nice warm-up holes that may raise your pulse a bit, but the third is quite a bit more energizing: a 179 yard par-3 to a plateau green flanked by two deep bunkers.

The fourth, though, is where things really get interesting. A short hole in the vicinity of 300 yards, its driving zone has bunkers both left and right. Should you be able to fly a ball some 250 yards down the left side where the fairway juts a bit, however, the remaining pitch will be a short one. The fairway’s design tempts us to go this way because the right bunker is a bigger carry at some 15 yards further down but also situated in the rough. Nonetheless, a difficult, uphill pitch over a gaping, deep bunker remains if one is to hit the plateau green; not only that, its two tiers will still make two-putting difficult. Four is a superb, short tester of a par-four, both strategically on the drive, and then of short-game skills.

The shortest hole at Blue Fox, the Red’s fifth is a mere 105 yards, but a treacherous pond and marshy area in front of the green make for a forced carry on the direct route to the green (a small strip of fairway is off to the green’s left as an optional path). With the margin between green and pond/marsh relatively slim, the best play off the tee is a conservative one: the center, not the front, of the putting surface.

Hole six is a neat par-four of 365 yards, and it first demands a well-struck driver or fairway wood from the tee to a relatively narrow fairway, flanked by bunkers. A small bail-out area in the rough to the right may save faded shots from getting into deeper trouble (a row of mature trees), which would be ‘slice territory.’ The green’s opening is narrow, and it is further protected by sizeable bunkers.

The seventh is an exciting, Dye-ish par three with trouble on both sides of its green: a large tree helps to further minimize the narrow opening, and a right side bunker will catch even the faintest cut shot or push. Sliced shots, though, meet the worst fate, as a large pond guards much of the fairway’s right side, as well as along and beyond the green. The green complex has a couple of other interesting features: first, a large mound on the left side, further acting as an obstacle that may repel a few shots leftward at the green’s opening; secondly, a small depression in the green’s back/right quadrant. The tee shot on 7 is the toughest single approach on the Red Nine.

Eight, however, should not wreak the kind of havoc on your ego (or scorecard) that may have been inflicted by the seventh. It is a very good par-five of 501 yards, and its quality stems from subtlety. Virtually straight, open enough on the right side for misses that leak off the fairway, and almost flat, this hole has some built-in forgiveness. Yet the second shot will foil a good percentage of those long hitters who attempt this as a two-shotter; a large marshy waste-area precedes the green (it must be flown) and makes for the equivalent of a 50-yard-long water hazard. Decide carefully before you take on this hazard on a long second shot, realizing that layup followed by a third-shot pitch, alternatively, should both be matters of routine. The green itself is slightly raised, and slopes upward from front to back.

The ninth is kind of short (324-yard) par-four closing hole that demands precision both off of the tee and into the green. Its angularity should have you carefully plotting your drive to the tight landing zone. Play it carefully and you should finish with a closing par or better.

I found this nine to be in the best condition of the three nines at Blue Fox, mainly on the strength of decent fairways (a few were spotty), greens that were quite smooth for the most part, and better tees than the other two nines. It was, overall, the second very positive experience at this golf course (haven’t played it before this for a couple of decades) within the same week.

White Nine Review: Blue Fox Run

Looking at this White Nine is a bit like checking out a beautiful but sleek—and understated—modern luxury car. It may not ‘wow’ you with flashiness, but one quick look under the hood and it’s obvious there’s more than enough power to meet any car enthusiast’s needs. Even beyond that, this White Nine has an open, pleasant links-like feel that is unusual on Connecticut golf courses.

The round starts conventionally with a par-4. Only a couple of details break the mold on this straightforward opener: the hole is 460 yards from the blue tees, and its circular, plateau green rises abruptly, some 3-4 feet above the fairway’s level, with a more severe falloff on the left. Not quite the recipe for a routine opening par.

The second hole, however, only intensifies the difficulties. On the tee, you face a 210 yard par-three, almost completely fronted by a deep trap (leaving a narrow opening on the green’s left side), and a pair of equally deep bunkers on the left side. The shorter one, some sixty yards shy of the green, will put pressure on those who choose to run the ball in from the green’s left-side opening. The longer, greenside bunker makes the approach that much tougher for golfers who fly the ball onto the surface. All three bunkers have tall lips, rising up as much as ten to twelve feet from the base of the right-side trap. In other words, you won’t be skipping shots through these babies. The green is also elevated—as if the hole is not tough enough (!)—and ringed with tall mounds on its left and rear periphery. It should be apparent to you when you walk off the green here (if it hadn’t on the tee) that the game is now on.

By the second hole, too, the course looks to be the kind of open, nearly treeless territory that is characteristic of British seaside links courses, remaining this way through the opening shot on the seventh. Hole three compensates for the torturous second, though, by allowing you a golden opportunity to drive its green, 270 yards distant, but blind, from the tee. Then again, there will be the issue of another deep, greenside trap to skirt. This has another tall, 7-foot lip that will snag almost any golf ball that dares to enter. With woods on the right, along with a few mounds and a sizeable trap off the fairway’s left side, the hole is not a pushover. Significant contours—greenside—will also deflect imperfect shots.

After the mid-length but high quality fourth, a par-4, you’ll reach the scenic but very testing 512 yard par-5. An old farm sits handsomely in the distance, a postcard backdrop to the green. Off the tee, you can see Heublein Tower (on Avon Mountain) nearly straight ahead. The preferred driving zone will be to the right, away from a pair of huge bunkers that guard the elbow to this slight dogleg. Looking down the fairway, you may feel, just briefly, that you’re looking at a British links fairway: it rolls and heaves and tumbles with pronounced contours. For power-hitters, this is a bona fide two-shotter. Once out in the vicinity of the fairway bunkers, the play into the green should a well-ripped fairway wood. But not so fast! Finesse is also a requirement: if the pin is in the middle, getting anywhere close to it may be virtually impossible, as a deep pot bunker awaits at the very front-center of this green (This bunker is about St. Andrews-Road-Hole deep, as close as I’m able to judge, although it seems a bit narrower at five yards in width). Running a ball onto this green is problematic, too, because both openings on either side of the bunker are tight. In the event that your ball traverses the green, you may encounter one of two more deep traps sitting at the base of a steep falloff. It’s a great par-5, easily among the best I’ve encountered across Connecticut, and its artful design will make golfers think.

The next two holes, both par-4’s, supply two textbook examples of how to make both medium and short two-shotters interesting while retaining some toughness. The sixth generates problems with five bunkers of varying shapes and sizes, all within 125 yards of the cleverly designed, rolling, two-tiered green. The seventh, on the other hand, demands a carefully-placed tee ball, as the fairway sweeps around a pond (a large bunker sits in its landing zone, as well, to the right) to reach a small, well-protected, and shallow green.

Eight is another beautiful par five, this one narrower and even a bit tougher around its plateau green, which is flanked by deep bunkers and demands a precise shot—it is two-tiered—to the level on which the pin is set. It’s also a great driving hole, favoring a fade. Nine wraps things up with both a touch of elegance and beauty. A par-3 of 182 yards, it features a carry over a small pond to the center of a contoured green, a green that is bunker-flanked and yet still retains a small strip of fairway to the left for anyone who would prefer to avoid the carry and run the ball onto the putting surface by chipping. Here, we are back by the clubhouse, and the setting provides the kind of visual imagery—the pond is serene, the trees behind the green stately—that should leave most of us wanting to return.

All in all, this is nearly a bullet-proof layout. Despite the conditioning woes the course is currently addressing (see my other review on the Blue nine, played the same day), Blue Fox Run should still be a worthy golf course for most players. It has especially appealing green sites, dramatic and ample bunkering, and an excellent mix of holes. The amenities are outstanding here, and the personnel on hand are friendly and accommodating. By all means, try it.

BLUE NINE REVIEW (see White Nine, separately—played on same day)

Having played the White/Blue combination at Blue Fox Run today, I can attest that the layout is the type that left me wishing it were nearby my town (I travelled some 35 miles to reach it), even though the conditions could only be called fair. This is good, tough, long, and essentially uncompromising golf. Back in the 80’s and 90’s, I did play it several times in its previous 18-hole incarnation—it’s now 27—but the design, though solid, wasn’t quite this impressive. It was even a bit strangely comforting to play some of the old holes I remember, or, in some cases, parts of them—some revamping and editing seems to have occurred throughout.

Let’s get the conditioning stuff out of the way first. A good portion of the previous reviews on this site do tell a negative story on this aspect, and indeed, these criticisms all have some genuine basis in truth. Yet some verge a bit on the hysterical, portraying conditions as the golfing equivalent of a five-alarm fire. This is not really the case, from what I saw today. To put it objectively: even though the Blue Fox Run is fully playable, it has some problems. These occur especially on the tees, and to a lesser extent on the fairways (a couple of them were, in fact, truly bad). The greens, though falling well short of ideal, were relatively smooth and free from bad blemishes (except in a few cases) and, most importantly, did not seem to affect my score at all. Better still, they rolled at a medium-fast pace. Some might wonder if the real root of these conditioning issues comes down to simple, indifferent neglect. Yet what I heard today, from word of mouth around the course, was a different story: the course’s watering system has failed, and now management is in the process of getting a new one. They have also hired a new superintendent, whose first priority is apparently revitalizing the greens. The bottom line for me was that the course’s conditions had no perceived effect on my score, because I shot my handicap on a tough layout, even rolling in a couple of longer birdie putts, both of which glided—quite smoothly—into the cup. It was also apparent upon leaving here that the parking lot was almost completely full, so I don’t think that all that many golfers are deterred from playing Blue Fox Run solely because of conditioning.

In fact, right now the course may be considered, monetarily speaking, a great value. If you appreciate golf course design, Stephen Kay’s superior layout is likely to impress, as it is of championship length from the blues and infused with more than enough variety and challenge to satisfy anyone. The Blue Nine, by contrast to the White, is a classic parkland layout, and many or its holes seem unchanged, if I’m not mistaken, from the original 18.

The Blue Nine’s first five holes are all so long that I almost felt, just looking at each one from its tee, that I would need touring pro talent just to par it. From the blues, not even the deepest set of tees, they run 420, 415, 533, 439, and 545 yards. The whole nine, incidentally, is 3445 yards from the blues, or the equivalent of almost 7,000 yards when doubled. The fairways here do run considerably, however, so I had no trouble reaching the three par-4’s in this stretch with mid-irons. The two par-5’s are about equivalent in quality, though unremarkable, with relatively flat but well protected greens. The fifth’s green is dominated on its right side by a huge, marshy pond, but looming to its left are a sunken bunker and deep woods. Unless you’re a very long and highly accurate hitter, play this as a three-shooter; the green complex is fraught with too many hazards, including a falloff in back. Although the 1st has the tightest driving hole among the trio of par-4’s in this opening sequence, holes 2 and 4 are even better, more classic holes, again nearly in the P.G.A. tour mold. Long and tree-lined, but with flat fairways, both culminate in large greens fronted by gaping bunkers that flank the left and right sides. At the fourth, the lips on the bunkers are four and six feet high, making the odds of skipping through them almost nil.

Now that your power game has been fully tested on this nine, it’s on to holes six through nine, all of which are tests—to a far greater extent—of precision golf.

Six is a beautiful, short three-par of 145 yards that requires a cleanly struck short/mid iron to a green fronted by five evenly-spread traps. The green is wide and shallow. The 7th, a 392 yard par-4, has one of the most intimidating driving zones I’ve experienced, as you’re aiming across a pond (the carry is not the big thing; the lush vegetation, emerging vertically from it, is) to a fairway heavily guarded on both sides by huge, mature trees. When I first saw it, the thought crossing my mind was ‘Amazon Jungle.’ Fortunately, most of this is sheer visual intimidation, even though your drive must find, in reality, a 25-yard wide fairway that is obscured from view on the tee by vegetation. The second shot is far less claustrophobic to a green whose distinguishing characteristic is a large hump on its left side. And watch out for the hidden, sunken right-side bunker.

I’ve played probably ten ‘island’ greens over my golfing travels, but the one that is hole #8 here ranks among the top two or three. What distinguishes this hole’s green is not just its length from the tee—167 yards—but also a hidden, slight, rearward bunker that will save shots hit slightly too far. Throw in a pot bunker in front and a tree on the green’s right side, and you’re looking at a distinctive little island, both natural and, when first viewed from the tee, stunning. The green here is virtually flat, but it does possess some light contours to keep you honest.

Number nine is a strong closer. Heavily wooded on its right and, on the left, sided by a hidden pond, the driving zone is challenging. This tee shot is further complicated by two large fairway bunkers, putting a premium on accuracy. When hit from the center of the fairway, the second shot will fully open up the narrow green, sided by two magnetic bunkers. The right-sided one, a brute, approaches 30 yards in length. It must snare an untold number of errant shots to the right.

All in all, the Blue Nine (longest of the three if only by an 85-yard margin over the White, but 722 over the Red) is a truly solid test of golf with several outstanding holes. Its one weakness is flat fairways. But given the length and the number of challenges these holes issue, both near the fairways and on the greens, flatness is something we should be grateful for on the Blue.

The environs and country scenery are classic at Blue Fox. Nor can the amenities be faulted, and they are done to completion—a driving range, two putting greens (one with a sand trap and pitching area), a solid pro-shop, and a first-class, modern clubhouse and restaurant with just about everything you could want. And everyone who works here is polite and helpful. David, who manned the pro-shop, was quite friendly; we had an interesting conversation about golf in general, as well as other topics.

In the end, I think golfers should play this course, even with its currently sub-par conditions. I’m certainly planning on coming back later this year and play it with my son. On both the Blue and White Nines, you’ll need power off the tee, solid irons, and good judgment around the greens to subdue the course, and that’s the beauty of playing here.

Goo value for money. Friendly staff .

Course a bit dry but greens in good shape.

First time playing here and it was in terrible condition. They are supposed to be closing one of the 9s to build houses but things are delayed. They are not investing at all in the course. Fairways are burned out or non existent. Weed infested everywhere. Tee boxes are dirt. Only thing in ok shape was the greens. Glad we only paid $34 but I won’t be going back. Would rather spend more money to play a course that is being maintained.

One star rating is generous here. Fairways were literally all dirt, and greens looked like a one star municipal. Management really needs to step it up, or this course will be out of business soon! Would not recommend.

The tees and fairways were horrible. Dead grass everywhere, it was like playing in a dirt lot. I have never seen so much dead grass and dirt.

Played it 2 years ago and it was fine. Currently the conditions are abysmal . The pro shop and the restaurant staff is very friendly .

Worst course I have ever seen it should be shut down and the Better Business Bureau should be involved

Course Conditions:

Greens & Fringes very good. Rest of course - GARBAGE.

Whether it is due to the recent heat wave or lack of care for the course, it seems blue fox has come down a bit in quality. Their tee boxes were just piles of dirt with little to no care...a few of the fairways on the holes were dry and hard...saw sole workers out but they seemed focused on making sure the sand trap was properly groomed.

I always enjoy playing here and the price is great but would advise the landscapers to give the course a bit more love and grass seed....I know they cant water the entire course but some need some TLC. Especially #4 and #7 on the white course

Dirt fairways in places. Greens have so many hallmarks they look like the surface of the moon. Some greens have dead grass! Bridges look rickety.

The course was extremely dry. The green were in great shapenbutnthebfairways were very dry...not unusual due to the lack of rain. The cost through golf now was too hard to pass up even though it was one of the hottest days of the summer. A savings of $27 per person was amazing.

The course is in terrible shape. Hardly any grass left.

Tee boxes were dirt or long grass, greens patchy, grounds crew was putting new hole locations in while we were about to tee off left lips around the holes. Overall was very dis pleasured with this courses conditions!