Detailed description of Fox Hills Country Club, Fox Classic
Fox Hills Country Club is a 63-hole daily fee public golf facility located in Plymouth, Michigan. The facility has the 27 hole Fox Classic Golf Course consiting of three 9-hole courses that can be played in 3 different 18-hole combinations. The three nines are known as the Hills, the Woodlands, and the Lakes. In addition to the Fox Classic 27-hole Course, there is the Golden Fox Course and the Strategic Fox Course.
The facility had its beginnings in 1927 as a private country club. Wilfried Reid, a well-known golf course architect was said to have designed the original 18 hole course then known as the Plymouth Country Club for $50 and a bottle of spirits; a pretty hefty fee during the Prohibition days. The Plymouth Country Club continued to operate as a private club and in 1958 changed its name to Fox Hills Country Club. By the late 1960's Fox Hills had fallen into a state of disrepair and lost members.
In 1974, the club changed ownership, improvements were made and growing demand for golf prompted the addition of another 9 holes in 1983. This new 9 was designed by Jim Lipe making Fox Hills into a 27-hole complex.
In 1989 the complex opened a new 18-hole championship course, the Golden Fox. Designed by Arthur Hills, the Golden Fox immediately impressed golfers with its sporty design. Golf Digest described the Golden Fox as a "design with a Scottish flair, undulating greens and steep bunkers." The addition of Golden Fox now made Fox Hills a 45 hole facility.
In 2001, another course was built to add variety and interest to an already large golf complex. Ray Hearn designed the championship par-three course, named the Strategic Fox. A great course for beginners because of its shorter length, the course also offers the more advanced player a true challenge. The Strategic Fox has become a popular course for families since it offers fun and challenge for people of all ages.
With the edition of Strategic Fox, Fox Hills now has a total of 63 holes of golf making it the largest single golf facility in Southeastern Michigan.
Fox Classic, 1927, Wilfried Reid, 18 holes, 1974, Jim Lipe, 9 hole addition, (The Hills, The Woodlands, and The Lakes).
Golden Fox, 1989, Arthur Hills, 18-hole,
Strategic Fox, 2001, Ray Hearn, 18 hole, par-3 course.
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$26 (cart included), played on Friday, November 2022 at 9:00 AM
Trying to get in a few more rounds in Michigan before the real Winter raises it's head. I got a tee time to play the original 1927 Wilfrid Reid eighteen (18) hole Fox Classic "Hills & Woods", because it seem like a good place to start. Having 63 holes to choose from, we might as well start at the beginning of this golfing meca layout. Even though there are 27 holes in this area, each hole viewed from the tee box is not confusing, but very straight forward. There's plenty of trees to give fairway separation and the leaves were almost non-existence. Very rolling terrain that added to the yardage struggles and fast greens (8-10) were very hard to read correctly. Sand traps were plentiful and in beautiful shape with a very fine grain of sand to blast out of.......this I know very well of. The Front 9 today was the Hills which we played from the tips/Black at 3,028yd and the same on the Back 9 Woods layout at 2,941yds. This combination makes it 5,969yds / 68.4 / 121 with a Par of 35/35 and though short on yardage it's narrow fairways, elevation changes, swirling winds add to the element of surprise on each shot. The #2 hole Par 5 on the "Hills" is the longest at 450yds and only has a RH pond 250yds out and two (2) front green-side traps for its Hcp3 rating. The #3 Par 3 at 220 yds has a Hcp 2, is a little different being slightly up hill and into the wind with short being a smart miss here. The #4 is a Hcp 1 with a dogleg right, pond on inside corner with a 398yd length and narrow all the way to a thin elevated green. The #9 is a uphill 400yd dogleg right with a deep RH trap that play extra long on that 2nd shot. The Back 9 "Woods" is self descriptive of what you'll find here......narrow wooded layout with some blind and elevation decisions on those tee shots. The #2 is a straightway Par 4 at 354yds with a narrow non-forgiving landing areas to a elevated green. They have two (2) short Par 3's #3 @ 151yd and #5 @ 144yd so enjoy and make good swings. The #4 is a downhill, dogleg left Par 4 at 346yds, but don't hit through the RH corner at 180-200yds out. The #6 Par 5 is Hpc 1 at 643yds with a 190yd water carry to get to the next tee box and its a narrow landing area so a 220+ drive is what you need here. My playing partner Mark had a chip-in Birdie 4 from 30yds out which was amazing to witness. The #9 is a 305yd Par 4 dogleg left, downhill, tall trees on the left, row of trees on the RH side with a straight 180-200yd tee to look at the green.....a smart shot. We really enjoyed the course here today and the conditions were off the hook for a November 57 degree day. Mark P ended up shooting 84 w/30putts with 1 O.B. and I had 85 w/31putts with 4 O.B's as the narrow fairways got my number today as I failed "Course Management" .........Again. Looking forward to playing Arthur Hills 18 hole "Golden Fox" the next I'm out here.