This club is famous for… being one of Britain’s most historic
It’s almost a cliché to call something historic these days. Every time anyone does anything of any note, it’s historic. Any building that’s managed to survive since, well, the 1960s is historic.
But at Foxhills, the golf club and resort based in Surrey, this isn’t just an idle boast. The site boasts a pedigree that dates back to the Middle Ages.
It was originally heath and woodland owned by Chertsey Abbey, the Benedictine monastery that was founded in the seventh century.
Foxhills really came to note in the 18th century, though, when the politician Charles James Fox came to live in the area with his mistress Elizabeth Armistead in 1780.
Fox, who it will cause no surprise is whom the estate is now named after, was a rising star in Parliament but a man with a predilection for gambling, drinking and the high life in general.
Foxhills’ website tell the story of how he once made a bet with the Prince Regent as to the number of cats they would see on Bond Street.
Another legendary tale involved him surviving a duel in Hyde Park, arguing that he would have died from his wound had his opponent, William Adam, not used government issued gunpowder.
Following his death, the estate passed through several hands down the decades. It was even used as a home for wounded officers during the Great War.
A generation later, as Britain went to war with Hitler, the farm, which is now the site of the Bernard Hunt course, was handed over to the Dig for Victory campaign.
Even today, Foxhills are still making news.
Aside from the two championship courses and the first par 3 course of its kind in Britain, the estate also hosted Team GB’s ultra successful road race cycling team during the London Olympics five years ago.
This club is famous for… the birth of the Dambusters
This club is famous for… The hole that was halved in one
This club is famous for… the Stableford scoring system
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Steve Carroll
A journalist for 25 years, Steve has been immersed in club golf for almost as long. A former club captain, he has passed the Level 3 Rules of Golf exam with distinction having attended the R&A's prestigious Tournament Administrators and Referees Seminar.
Steve has officiated at a host of high-profile tournaments, including Open Regional Qualifying, PGA Fourball Championship, English Men's Senior Amateur, and the North of England Amateur Championship. In 2023, he made his international debut as part of the team that refereed England vs Switzerland U16 girls.
A part of NCG's Top 100s panel, Steve has a particular love of links golf and is frantically trying to restore his single-figure handicap. He currently floats at around 11.
Steve plays at Close House, in Newcastle, and York GC, where he is a member of the club's matches and competitions committee and referees the annual 36-hole scratch York Rose Bowl.
Having studied history at Newcastle University, he became a journalist having passed his NTCJ exams at Darlington College of Technology.
What's in Steve's bag: TaylorMade Stealth 2 driver, 3-wood, and hybrids; TaylorMade Stealth 2 irons; TaylorMade Hi-Toe, Ping ChipR, Sik Putter.
