Foxburg Country Club (Foxburg, PA)

Driving two hours to play a nine hole course will definitely raise some eyebrows, but Foxburg isn’t just any course. It’s the oldest continuous golf course in America. Designed in 1887, golf has been played here for 135 years! 

Joseph Mickle Fox was a member of the All-American Cricket Team, and met Old Tom Morris while playing an exhibition match in Edinburgh Scotland. Taught the game by Old Tom, Fox was smitten with the golf bug, came home and laid out a makeshift course. It became very popular among his friends, and soon it became clear he had to move to a bigger site. In 1887, he laid out nine holes at Foxburg. 

(Several of the greens at Foxburg are very small and will prove to be elusive.) 

Foxburg is in a gentle “U” shaped valley with most holes going downhill from the tee and then uphill to the green. Only the second and sixth play across the  hillside. Both are par threes. The seventh plays straight downhill and the eighth plays in a relatively flat area by the road. It’s a very efficient design and takes advantage of the natural uphill and downhill features. Although it’s not overly long, there are two par fours in the 390 range, and a solid 485 yard par five. In the hickory days, these must’ve been very difficult holes.  

(Beautiful views and a lovely driving lane down to the valley…
…followed up by an uphill approach to a rather large green.) 

The two holes I found most fascinating were the par three sixth and par four seventh. The sixth has a cool concave green. The back is raised like a saucer with a fan shaped slope creasing the middle towards the left. The seventh follows with a driveable par four if one can carry over the cops that cross the fairway. Any club can be hit off the tee, but the real beauty is hitting it just right so it trundles onto the putting surface towards the pin. The road flanks the entire right side OB, and going long puts one in the rear traps. 

(The short seventh with the cops cutting across. Note how close the road is on the right…

…landing on the cop could result in multiple different scenarios. Some good, some bad. Look at all the rocks that are sticking out…
…note how downhill the hole is and also how quickly it dumps into the bunkers. A complete romp of a hole with several outcomes! First rate in my book!) 

While the course is throwback to yesteryear, the clubhouse contains the American Golfer Hall of Fame, and houses a collection of pre 1900 era golf clubs. For the golf enthusiast, seeing how primitive the equipment is, basically a tree branch whittled down, will give you an appreciation for the game’s early players and the skill needed to advance the ball. Of course, even the featheries look suspect. The early version was a sewed up leathery “ball” stuffed with feathers. The club also shows the progress of the ball and clubs through the 1970s. It is remarkable how much the game has changed. 

(The postage stamp green at the ninth is likely the smallest putting surface one has ever seen.) 

(Each hole has an old stone block where water and sand were located to build a tee. I’m positive there was some sort of strategy in how one built it. I think that would be a cool topic of discussion.) 

A trip to Foxburg is highly recommended, especially for golfers who love the history of the game. It’s like going to a museum that owns a nine hole course. I’m not sure if the club rents hickory sticks and Haskell balls, but if they do, what a treat that would be! It’s a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon!