Foxhills (Longcross) – Golf Course Review

Golfer View Rating: 72%

“Top 100” Ranking: 25th (Surrey)

Summary

A polished and well-presented modern heathland course with tall pines, firm surfaces and a strong emphasis on accuracy and positioning. There are some very enjoyable holes and excellent facilities, but the course can feel a little repetitive in places and the modern resort character means it does not quite have the natural charm of Surrey’s classic heathland layouts.

Golfer’s Tips

• The second turns sharply left to right, and unless you are able to rely on a shot of this shape then allowing for two shots of similar length (around 180-200 yards) is the play here. Anything longer and not turning will find the frees that slant across and around the left flank.
• The two nines do feel a little different to each other, but at the same cohesive – the front feels narrower with a vast proportion turning left to right, and the back is considerably more open and holes often tend the other way. There are corners to be cut throughout for those feeling bold, but trees are mature and dense so shots of a certain elevation (and direction) are required.

Signature Holes

• 14th – a strong and memorable par five playing significantly downhill from the tee shot, prior to navigating a meandering fairway that loops around a mature tree to a generous green with bunkers front and left.
• 16th – a picturesque yet tough par three played downhill over water on the right, with the green falling away to the left and rear. Missing front left and getting out with a par or (at worst) bogey can never be a bad thing.

Review:

Foxhills is one of a handful of England’s country club venues that feel more American in their approach – paramount to their offering are their tailored customer experience, first class facilities, and more than just a little pomp.

Foxhills is a sprawling parkland layout with holes that are etched amongst tall, mature pine forest – this is not a heathland course, heather can only be spotted as decoration of a couple of the raised tees, so in fact it is reasonably difficult to lose balls among the tall trees compared to some of the more classic heathland courses in its Surrey locale.

The Longcross feels like the ‘big brother’ of the two loops at Foxhills, but in fact is shorter and narrower than the Bernard Hunt. The first few holes are spent navigating par fours that pierce through dense pine woodland, and Summer surfaces are firm and fast, so precision and sensible club choices are the name of the game.

The par threes on the Longcross are a real challenge – the sixteenth, downhill over water to a kidney shaped green, is probably the feature hole and will take a great deal of the focus, but the long uphill sixth is another tough one-shotter with a narrow, domed green that falls away left and right.

The back nine feels a great deal more open than the front, and scoring feels more achievable as a result. The short but fiddly tenth is followed by the more spacious par three eleventh, prior to the twelfth which is a fine downhill driving hole. There is a selection of shorter, drivable par fours that provide you with options over strategy, with the likelihood of finding your ball even with misdirected drives making it all the more enticing to have a crack. Eight requires a huge hook, or flying over two hundred yards of trees, but thirteen and fifteen are more gettable and do make you think.

The aforementioned sixteenth, providing the most significant expanse of water on the course, is then followed by a nice closing stretch with the seventeenth rising uphill to a raised plateau green well guarded by bunkers short, and the par five finishing hole that bends around to the left with a handsome approach to the green in front of the clubhouse.

Those that play Foxhills do so primarily for the superb overall club facilities, purists will rightly say that there are better courses in the area that do more from an interest and diversity perspective, but this is still a very enjoyable course that tests all aspects of your game. Score well at Foxhills and you have earned it, and this is to be commended.

https://www.foxhills.co.uk/golf/longcross

Other nearby courses:

• New Zealand – Golf Course Review
• Woking – Golf Course Review
• St George’s Hill – Golf Course Review
• West Hill – Golf Course Review

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