Foxfire Golf Club - Pinehurst Golf

Not too long ago, the reputation of the once-glorious Foxfire was plummeting about as fast as a golf ball careening down a steep bank. The clubhouse and two Gene Hamm golf courses grew ever shaggier under previous owners who apparently thought maintenance was an unnecessary evil. And as the grass grew longer, the modest membership grew thinner, threatening to put Foxfire's light out completely.

One of Foxfire's meticulously groomed holes Then, along comes Scottsdale-based Golf Matrix, which bought the property out of bankruptcy in 1998. Golf Matrix began at once to apply the financial bellows to the smoldering coals. Breathing millions of dollars into the site, including the clubhouse and the courses, the company has begun to restore Foxfire's class. As a result, Foxfire's old glory is coming back. It is definitely a place you should not miss when you visit Pinehurst.

Foxfire is located six miles west of Pinehurst village. The property includes a spanking new clubhouse, the renascent courses, an inn and golf villas. Homes, many with good sized lots, line the courses but their modest number preserves the site's uncrowded atmosphere.

Foxfire Red and Foxfire Grey (renamed by the company) are two outstanding courses designed in the classic tradition. What you see here is what you get, and what you get are two layouts that Donald Ross himself would have applauded. Furthermore, with the improvements Golf Matrix has made, the courses are even better than when the original 18 opened in 1968. Two additional nines were built in 1972 and 1974 when the layouts were configured differently than they are today.

Foxfire Red, the 6,742-yard (from the back) 130-slope (6,333 yards from the middle) layout has brand new greens outfitted in G-6, a recently developed strain of bent that is more disease-resistant and more quickly self-repairing than G-2. The natural areas and the fairways have likewise undergone a redressing under the Arizona golf management company. In time, these putting surfaces, already excellent now, will be truly outstanding.

Foxfire Grey, a slightly longer but equally scenic route through pines, holly and hickory trees, and other native vegetation, has an older strain of bent. Like the Red course, Foxfire Grey has had a comprehensive make-over. The sand in all of the bunkers is totally consistent and comes from the same source as the sand at Augusta. The natural areas are excellently groomed, the fairways are maintained precisely. (Remember to call before your visit as conditions vary according to the superintendent's schedule.)

Foxfire Grey sits on one of the highest points in Moore County. The back 9 has a few homes but you get the feeling of wilderness on this 9, which has one fine hole after another. The 518-yard (from the back) 13th, for example, is a terrific risk-reward hole that doglegs slightly around an environmental area and water to an elevated green that sits atop a shelf with a steep incline off to the right and sand left. From the green, you can look over the dense forest towards the east in the direction of Pinehurst. Using a little imagination, you could well envision settlers in buckskin and wagons roaming this untamed-looking and wondrously beautiful landscape.

View toward a green and one of several lakes at Foxfire Foxfire Red has a few more homes along its fairways but it also has a remote feel to it. In a design worthy of being a model for would-be golf designers, the course deftly mixes doglegs with straight holes, long with short par 4's, and strong par 3's over forested terrain of elevation changes and lakes. Among a slew of outstanding holes offering "pure" golf, the 12th is remarkable for its awesome length and appearance. To make the hole, it was as if the designer took a giant razor and shaved a route through the trees like a barber shaving the head of a new Army enlistee. The 573 yarder (552 from the whites) is virtually surrounded by trees. From an elevated tee box you drive obliquely over a portion of the lake that guards the green of the previous hole to an upwardly sloping fairway. The fairway levels out somewhat at about 300 yards and then makes a slow upward push to the green wrapped in trees and colorfully bunkered. Putatively, Curtis Strange is the only golfer to hit this green in two from the back tee. With two career shots, some golfers could do it from the forward tees.

Foxfire has the distinction of being the club where E. Harvie Ward was the head professional. His tenure started in the early 1970s and ended with his retirement in 1982. Today, the septuagenarian continues to give occasional lessons and play with friends at Pinehurst #2 and Forest Creek, where he is a member. A native of Virginia, Ward moved to Tarboro, N.C., early on and went to Chapel Hill, becoming the nation's top amateur golfer. In a career of stunning achievements, Ward finished fourth in the '57 Masters and was a cinch to become a top professional golfer. But financial opportunity came to him in the form of a partnership in a San Francisco auto business and he spent many years in California before returning to his adopted state of North Carolina. The clubhouse of Foxfire is adorned with pictures of the great Ward.

A long time designer with distinguished credential, Hamm has said that his original 18 at Foxfire was among his best work. Having played both courses, I would elaborate and say that Foxfire's two courses deserve to be ranked among his best. You will not be disappointed with these tracks. Play them and enjoy!

Members and those staying at Foxfire's accommodations have access to Beacon Ridge Golf Club featuring another Gene Hamm design that is shorter but not less challenging.

Pinehurst Golf

• Introduction to Pinehurst Golf
• Forest Creek Golf Club
• Foxfire Golf Club
• Pine Needles and Mid Pines Golf Courses
• National Golf Club
• Hyland Hills Golf Course
• Legacy Golf Course
• The Pinehurst Resort
• Woodlake Country Club
• Pine Crest Inn
• Pinehurst Accomodations