Fox Hopyard Golf Club – Played September 2022
- Rankings: None of my four lists
- Location: 1 Fox Hopyard Road, East Haddam, Connecticut
- Year: 2001
- Architect: Roger Rulewich
- Course Access: Private
- Walking Rules: Carts Available
Score Card Information:
- Black: 6,912 yards, Par 71, 74.1 Rating/136 Slope
- Blue: 6,512 yards, Par 71, 72.6 Rating/131 Slope
- White: 6,109 yards, Par 71, 70.7 Rating/124 Slope
- Gold: 5,657 yards, Par 71, 68.5 Rating/119 Slope (Men’s), 73.9 Rating/139 Slope (Women’s)
- Red: 5,164 yards, Par 71, 71.1 Rating/132 Slope
- Alt Red: 5,002 yards, Par 71, 70.5 Rating/126 Slope
Fox Hopyard Golf Club wasn’t really on my radar until recently. Due to some more deep dives into courses around the country, I’ve expanded my list of places to see.
While that doesn’t get me closer to my Top 100 quest, it does get me to new golf courses. That’s what I love the most, so I’m going with it.
Fox Hopyard was a public course for most of its existence. It was taken private recently with plans for improved maintenance and some additional building.
You get a little bit of everything over the property’s 530 acres. Water, trees, hills, open spaces, and rocks all feature to make the course feel right at home in New England. Let’s get started!
Hole 1 – 374 yards – Par 4
You can see the entirety of the hole from the tee box. The green will be slightly obscured from view on the approach since it is slightly raised.
Hole 2 – 383 yards – Par 4
This hole plays uphill from the tee to the green. The two bunkers in the distance guard the front left of the green.
Hole 3 – 504 yards – Par 5
A quick look at the yardage might make you believe it’s easy to get home in two here. The true yardage is much longer than the number because of the hill you see below. Despite all that, there is a lot of short grass short of the green, so I’d recommend advancing the ball as far as you can on the second shot.
Hole 4 – 184 yards – Par 3
There is a steep drop of about 90 feet from tee to green here. Club selection will be tough but the green is a big target with lots of slopes.
Hole 5 – 486 yards – Par 5
Tightness provides the defense on this shorter par five. Trouble flanks the green on all sides and makes the second shot a really tough decision.
Hole 6 – 345 yards – Par 4
This short par four is a cape-style hole playing around the wetlands. Picking your line from the tee is critical. The farther left you go the longer the carry but you’ll be rewarded by a short second shot.
Hole 7 – 384 yards – Par 4
The tee shot here is quite awkward. The hazard extends all down the left side. Another hazard is on the far right side as well. Sacrificing some distance for accuracy is the prudent play.
If you can push your drive into the left side of the fairway, you’ll get a clear view of the green. If not, you’ll have this.
Hole 8 – 165 yards – Par 3
Short and left are deadly on this hole. The green is a challenging target since it is quite wide but very shallow.
Hole 9 – 383 yards – Par 4
With the hazard lurking on the left, playing to the 150-yard pole makes the most sense. From there you can still take aim at the elevated green.
The very deep green makes it important to know the pin position.
Hole 10 – 400 yards – Par 4
You need to fit your drive down the narrow fairway here. The green is quite large with a dropoff on the right side.
Hole 11 – 170 yards – Par 3
Don’t try to get cute on this tee shot. It’s all carry to an undulating green. Up and downs from over the green will be tough but are much preferable to coming up short.
Hole 12 – 388 yards – Par 4
The wetlands dominate this hole. You have to factor them in on the drive and approach. Quite simply, this is one of the most demanding holes at Fox Hopyard.
Hole 13 – 429 yards – Par 4
From one demanding hole, we move on to one that might be even more so. The hole bends slightly right and calls for a power fade as far as you can hit it.
Hole 14 – 199 yards – Par 3
This hole gets back to basics and just asks for a solid shot. The inclination is to avoid the bunkers and trees short and right, respectively. However, the short grass on the left will let balls run away from the green.
Hole 15 – 534 yards – Par 5
A quick aside here. We got to see what looked like a bobcat scurrying off of this fairway. It was from a safe distance away thankfully.
Back to the hole, most golfers will need two solid shots to get into a good approach position.
Stay out of the deep front bunker at all costs. The green has a lot of contouring that makes for difficult putting and chipping.
Hole 16 – 220 yards – Par 3
The longest of the one-shot holes is quite demanding. It features a narrow and small green. Shots up the left side can get good bounces off the large mound.
Hole 17 – 436 yards – Par 4
The tee shot plays to a severe downslope that will boost your driving distance. This is a difficult hole because it doglegs to the right but the fairway slopes the opposite way.
Take note of the heaving slopes in the green.
Hole 18 – 528 yards – Par 5
It’s wide open spaces on the finishing hole. Let the driver rip to this generous fairway. The second half of the hole has water up the right side, so there will be time to be calculating.
Obviously, you can’t afford to go right on the second or third shots. The left rough is no picnic either but is still a better spot to be if you miss the fairway.
The green is a really pretty spot.
Fox Hopyard is in a transitionary phase. Moving from public to private can be tough, but the club seems to be confident in its direction. All reports seem to state that the conditioning has gotten a lot better in the last two years. I can’t speak to that other than to say that the course was in very nice condition when I saw it. If you find yourself with an invitation, accept it.