Fox Hills Golf Center - Golden Fox Course

Let me preface my remarks by saying that I've played a handful of the top 25 courses in the country and consequently, I've had the pleasure of experiencing a spectrum of course designers and some of their best work. As a result, I think I've earned a bit of credibility along the way.

First the pros:
Arrival to the course was cool and laid back, there was plenty of help if we needed it and they knew enough to sense we were pretty self sufficient.

The facility, restrooms, and grill were clean comfortable, nicely appointed, and the staff were professional. Guys in the Pro shop were efficient and accomodating and the starter was very tuned in and attentive to our needs (we were concerned about rain predicted several hours later) and he got us out on the back 9 first to expedite our round, which thrilled us. The carts were brand new with GPS and fast! Nothing worse than a slow cart!
The practice facilities, although I didn't have time to use them, were very appealing as well.
The course itself, to my pleasant surprise, is an Arthur Hills design which usually connotes, with no exception in this case, a roomy feel off the tees and and increasing degree of difficulty as one approaches the greens. I played the blue (men's) tees at about 6500 yards and it looked like the course maxed out at about 6900 yards, so it wasn't overly long, and my 81 year old father played the yellow (presumably senior) tees at about 5100 yards which eliminated all but a couple forced carries. Arthur Hills seems to subscribe to the philosophy that "luck favors the aggressor" as nearly every tee shot offers a straight-away (safe) route And a more assertive path for the intrepid. This also pleases me because as a low double digit handicapper I can't always be certain to "thread the needle" on any given day. This course will often allow you to scramble your way to a respectable outcome and nearly always offers a safe side of the green to miss, although this often makes for a harder pitch.
The wonderful variety of holes never left my concentration waning and I was never underwhelmed. The course was reasonably sloped and fair. The green complexes offered a stout test and equal variety. The designer keeps changing his mind from greens well protected by beautiful traps to equally vexing large rolling mounds as fortification.
I found the beauty of the property also exceeded my expectations and, had there been an intermediate cut of rough, the grooming would have had me thinking I was playing a private caliber club. Oh, and before I forget, I can't say enough about the bunkers, which were exquisitely groomed, with excellent sand, and with their peripheries hand raked to perfection! The green surfaces were challenging without being Mickey Mouse and, had they not been plugged and sanded recently, appeared to be kept in great shape with virtually zero unrepaired pitchmarks.

The Cons:
The GPS system disables the carts when they approach restricted areas, sometimes 30-50 yards away from the greens etc., with no warning or demarcation and the only remedy is to reverse the cart and CRAWL backward up till the cart reactivates.
Having more than a passing relationship with golf etiquette I found this annoying and infuriating as the cart would die when I was clearly nowhere near a green, an apron, a bunker, or any other sensitive area.
Far too many wooded hazards where one is unnecessarily double penalized with out-of-bounds stakes. I interpreted this as a band aid remedy and deterrent to ball hunting induced slow play, and was very tempted to ignore them altogether as they were an unduly penal stop gap and couldn't possibly proximate the architect's intentions.
And lastly, and most courses are guilty of this one; Failing to post or verbalize conditions of aeration. This is a hack move and any course that doesn't offer this information or some concession in price pays for it in loss of good will. I really didn't expect aeration as most courses had completed this weeks earlier. Had I not received such an unbelievable deal I may have thought twice about playing.

I was able to play this course on a hot deal from Golf Now and I was more than pleasantly surprised as $25 was an absolute steal! I don't even know what the full fare Is but, assuming the greens aren't torn up, I would pay upwards of $60 to play this track. (Assuming, of course, that it's not a death march in mid season. Very few courses are worth playing in longer than 4 hours.)

I always thought of Fox Hills as a League Factory and as having courses commensurate with that philosophy, how happily wrong I was with The Golden Fox!

First time playing here. It is challenging the first time at any course but here you need local knowledge to help guide you. On a few holes you really need to know, not only where to hit it, but where to miss as well.

Missing the green even a little on some holes penalizes you with some moguls surrounding the green.

Fun time.

Payed 2 sum with my wife, but following 2 sum who had around 12:30 tee time on7/3, are always pushing us and sometimes hitting ball to us who are still playing. Wanted to enjoy, but they broke it.

Love Golden Fox. It's a challenging, beautiful course. Very well maintained, interesting holes. Staff is very friendly. If you can find a deal, do it. If you can't but are looking for an occasional splurge, I think this is worth it.

The pace of play was a little slow but this may be do to a golf outing that appeared to be a mix of golfers and nongolfers, the course looks like a few of the greens may have gotten a little winter kill and haven't fully recoverd yet, over all a good course and I'll be back.

It took 15 minutes for the starter to rudely explain all 73 rules about the GPS and where the carts can and can't go. Not a good way to start the round. The course was very average. Needless to say, we won't be returning.

it was a good day. Course was pretty empty, which was nice. Played in a two some with one two some in front of us and a four some in front of them. Never waited a second on a shot. Course was in good shape, did have to fix two more ball marks for my own one.

Very good, Well maintenance.
But at that time, front nine hole was being repaired.

We looped the back nine twice. Nice shape. Quick pace of play. Great value for the money. Nice people. Will play it again

Very nice course, challenging but fun to play, in great shape. If you can play for around $30 it is the best value around.

It was quite a deal to play on twilight rates on this awesome course. The only thing keeping it from 5 stars is the bar or concession stand was closing at 3pm on a Sunday. No way to buy a beverage or snack.

Had not played the course in a few years, but was quickly reminded of how much I like the layout and challenge. Plenty of tee markers to satisfy all levels, well-maintained greens and fairways.

This was the most quirky Arthur Hills course I've played, but the GPS on the carts helped with shot selection. Very fair layout with classic risk reward that you would see on any Hills course. Some very devastating waste areas for extremely wayward shots, but you have to hit a bad shot to get there - take extra balls. Beautifully maintained, staff was accommodating. Played for a deal hunter's price of $29, but would pay more to play again. Better maintained than Stonebridge, and a slightly less cramped layout, make it worth the extra $$.

Was a good experience with a couple of near chip ins, but too many putts, however the beverage cart lady was very attentive. Some holes were tight together which opened things up a bit for an errant shot or two, but felt like too often we had people driving onto our fairways.

We played the blues and it was a decent challenge considering the speed of the greens and the thick grass that wreaked havoc a few times.

I will play it again.

Good maintanined course. I like their large multifunctional GPS in cart, through which you even order sandwiches.

Greens perfect, pace of play was perfect. I will definitely be coming back. Highly recommend to friends.

I did not like the fact the course seemed to be overbooked so you had players on top of players at every tee box, you really could not enjoy the course. We felt rushed, especially coming from another state to play this course.

The green is faster but it's fun.The cart with GPS is usefull.

The cart with GPS is usefull for the players.This cart sometimes could not forward but could move rearwards.

Fox Hills - Golden Fox

Played on Oct 25, 2012. The greens had been aerated, YET they were running smooth and fast. Aeration had no effect. The fairways were beautiful and short. The course was leaf-free on most holes, due to windy conditions. From open til close, this course doesn't fail to impress, from staff, amenities, golf faciilties, etc. Top notch experience, worth every penny.