I was browsing through Goflnow on my phone with a few holes left on the Red Fox Course and trying to get an idea of where I wanted to play in the afternoon. I had a couple places in mind, but I was playing so poorly that I didn’t want to spend $50+ to play a nice place and hit it bad. Therefore I started thinking that it might work best if I played the Grey Fox Course and stopped by the Pinehurst Resort to browse around and take in some history. If I played 36 here then I would be done early and could enjoy a leisurely evening. I saw a couple times on Golfnow at Grey Fox for $19, but didn’t book anything as I didn’t know exactly what time that I would finish up.
I headed over to the proshop to inquire about a replay rate and to see how quickly they could get me out. I was told it would be $30 and that I could tee off right away so it ended up being about 12:30pm when I went off for round two. Like the Red Fox, the Grey Fox has wide fairways and large greens, at least compared to what I am used to. That said, it is the course that I would pick if I just had to pick one round at Foxfire. The course has a more championship feel and seems to require more quality shots. I think it tests a wider variety of shots than the Red. Here, I had to hit some good tee shots, some good irons, calculate the correct distance, pick the correct line, and try to shape a couple shots so I was more mentally involved. There is more water in play, more secluded holes, and the elevation changes seemed to influence a shot more than the other course. Again, I think the back nine is the better nine but there are some quality holes throughout the course. I played the Blue Tees here as well and they play 73.0/130/6851. Something that I didn’t like when it came to the design is that there isn’t much variety for the par 3’s or par 4’s. The par 3’s all need a long iron or hybrid except for the 17th which is probably going to be a mid iron and the par 4’s are all similar distances (371 to 430 yards).
I didn’t think that the course was in as good of shape as the other one though. The Grey had some more patchy and over-watered spots than the Red and plenty of fire ant mounds on the back nine that I had to avoid. The greens were similar and a firm putt still had a good chance of falling. I cruised around in 3 hours after playing through a group and was very happy with the decision for the replay which allowed for the complete golf experience at both courses. I’d call Foxfire an outstanding value as I played 36 holes, at two different courses, for $65 at the tail end of peak season on a holiday weekend. Everything was great for the price and I’d highly recommend the courses for someone who is looking to play some golf while in the area but not looking to break the bank.
#1 (546 yard par 5):
While the opening hole on the Red is easy, this is a tricky one. The proshop told me that the water comes into play off of the tee so I hit a 3 wood which ended up just short. From there I tried to hug the left side of the fairway to avoid the pine on the right and use the slope on the left side. I had about 60 yards into a green that was larger than it looked.
#2 (214 yard par 3):
This played tough as it is uphill and was into the wind when I played. The green is a small target with a long iron, or in my case a hybrid.
#3 (518 yard par 5):
This par 5 is tougher than it looks because there are plenty of bunkers that pinch the layup. Plus, I caught my third shot cleanly from the fairway and spun it back on a green that slopes from back to front. That lead to a three putt on what should have been a birdie chance.
#4 (396 yard par 4):
The fairway slopes the littlest bit from left to right so playing it down the left half is best as long as the bunkers can be avoided. The pin was on a back shelf when I played so it made gauging the speed difficult.
#5 (389 yard par 4):
The tee shot is semi-blind, but the fairway is very wide if the tee shot is played short of or past the fairway bunkers. This is where a little thought can be displayed in hopes of a decent score.
#6 (380 yard par 4):
The lake on the right is in play all the way up to the green so hitting a fade is best on this hole. Someone should have just a short iron approach if the tee shot can be navigated. This is a very good hole.
#7 (194 yard par 3):
The pin was tucked over the right bunker when I played and I caught the very left edge of the green. There is some slope in the green to feed it towards the flag which is nice, but I don’t see too many birdies with the flag over there. If it is in the center of the green then it should be pretty easy to get to, even with a long iron. I like a large green if I have to hit a long iron.
#8 (403 yard par 4):
This hole requires a little knowledge for a par. It moves left and anything down the left side has a chance of being blocked out by some trees. That would force someone to play out to the right which can add a club or two for the approach. This one didn’t fit my eye.
#9 (397 yard par 4):
The fairway slopes from left to right and the holes goes the other way so a tee shot should land soft to avoid kicking into the woods. There are some mounds down the right side which can help keep an average tee shot from ending up in the trees but it is another uncomfortable tee shot. The 2nd shot plays back uphill and is semi-blind to a green that slopes hard from left to right.
#10 (392 yard par 4):
The toughest shot here is going to be the tee shot and having to try to turn it from right to left. The hole moves left around that pine and the fairway is narrower than it looks. The 2nd shot is played to an elevated green so I’d say par is a good score.
#12 (430 yard par 4):
This looks like a tough tee shot, but the fairway is wide and has a bit of a “bowl” to it so a shot down the left or right side should kick towards the center. The tee shot will run out too as I only had a 9 iron into the narrow green.
#12 (212 yard par 3):
I think that this is the best par 3 on the property. It plays a club less and the ideal shot is something left to right into the green to avoid that large bunker. There is room to miss left which shouldn’t leave the world’s most difficult chip.
#13 (508 yard par 5):
The tee shot isn’t the hardest part of the hole. Even a 3 wood or hybrid should be fine if positioned down the left side as I don’t see too many folks trying to go for the green in two. I don’t have any other pictures of the hole as I played through on this hole, but from the fairway #13 sets up very similar to #1 just with wooded trouble to the right and some slope kicking the ball that way. Definitely want to favor the left side when getting closer to the green.
#14 (381 yard par 4):
This hole is straight away and the only tricky part about it is that it plays more uphill than I thought. I should have hit one more club on my approach.
#15 (371 yard par 4):
This hole has one of the narrower fairways on the course. The ideal tee shot is something less than driver to the top of the hill just right of the bunker. It was tough to tell exactly where to play this tee shot.
#16 (517 yard par 5):
This is a good birdie chance and depending on the wind, could be reached in two shots. I hit a hook into the hill left of the fairway and it almost kicked to the edge so there is some slope that will feed everything right. The tee shot sets up similar to the 14th on the Red course. The green curls around a bunker and because of that a good angle is important when pitching to this green. I had 50 yards for my 3rd, but had to go straight up in the air with it and over another bunker.
#17 (172 yard par 3):
The putting surface is blind from the tee, but don’t go left as it falls off into the bunker. The miss is going to be right which will probably end up in a chipping area.
#18 (431 yard par 4):
This is a strong closing hole but very fair. It is a long hole, but there is plenty of room. In fact, if a tee shot gets moving left and clears those trees then it will probably end up by #6 green. The 2nd shot is back uphill to a large green which was receptive to a long iron.
