Old is new again: Foxburg Country Club continuing to raise money for renovations, upgrades
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Golf Clubs that once belonged to Thomas Morris, one of the founding fathers of modern golf, are on display in the museum of the Foxburg Golf Course on Monday, May 19, 2025. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
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Various types of historical golf balls on display at the Foxburg Golf Course on Monday, May 19, 2025. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
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Various types of historical golf balls on display at the Foxburg Golf Course on Monday, May 19, 2025. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
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Various types of historical golf balls on display at the Foxburg Golf Course on Monday, May 19, 2025. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
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Golf clubs that once belonged to Pittsburgh Pirates announcer Bob Prince sit in the museum at the Foxburg Golf Course on Monday, May 19, 2025. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
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A light from St. Andrews in Scotland, often referred to as the Home of Golf, was given to the Foxburg Golf Course on Monday, May 19, 2025. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
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A light from St. Andrews in Scotland, often referred to as the Home of Golf, was given to the Foxburg Golf Course on Monday, May 19, 2025. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
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Bill Zimmerman works on clearing a newly built bridge for use at the Foxburg Golf Course on Monday, May 19, 2025. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
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Bill Zimmerman works on clearing a newly built bridge for use at the Foxburg Golf Course on Monday, May 19, 2025. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
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Bill Zimmerman works on clearing a newly built bridge for use at the Foxburg Golf Course on Monday, May 19, 2025. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
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Bill Zimmerman works on clearing a newly built bridge for use at the Foxburg Golf Course on Monday, May 19, 2025. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
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Bill Zimmerman works on clearing a newly built bridge for use at the Foxburg Golf Course on Monday, May 19, 2025. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
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The Foxburg Country Club building on Monday, May 19, 2025. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
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The Foxburg Country Club building on Monday, May 19, 2025. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
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The Foxburg Country Club building on Monday, May 19, 2025. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
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A golfer gets ready to drive the ball at the Foxburg Golf Course on Monday, May 19, 2025. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
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Ray John drives the ball at the Foxburg Golf Course on Monday, May 19, 2025. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
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A scenic view of the Foxburg Golf Course on Monday, May 19, 2025. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
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A scenic view of the Foxburg Golf Course on Monday, May 19, 2025. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
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A light from St. Andrews in Scotland, often referred to as the Home of Golf, was given to the Foxburg Golf Course on Monday, May 19, 2025. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
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A light from St. Andrews in Scotland, often referred to as the Home of Golf, was given to the Foxburg Golf Course on Monday, May 19, 2025. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
In a few years, Foxburg Country Club and Golf Course could look old.
That’s by design.
The golf course’s leadership is in the second year of fundraising for The 1887 Project, a $2.5 million renovation of the oldest course in the United States, which will bring facilities upgrades and a course design overhaul.
President Robert Foust said they have raised nearly a third of the needed funds, through a combination of a $500,000 grant and the rest in donations.
“We got big oak trees around here, and they’re close to the greens and they’re really hurting our greens,” Foust said. “The biggest thing I’m hoping for is (a new irrigation system for) the golf course.”
Once the irrigation system and a water supply restoration project are completed, Foxburg is turning to course designer Ron Forse to update the 138-year-old course with a retro look by remaking it more like it’s original layout.
That will include removing many of the oak trees around the greens and building chocolate drops, small mounds in the fairways that are reminiscent of the original design that was modeled off the famed St. Andrews Links in Scotland in the late 1800s.
“We got small greens,” Foust said, sometimes referred to as postage stamp greens.
Other historic course features they will incorporate are steeple chase bunkers and a “donut bunker.”
There are also other maintenance upgrades incorporated into the project.
Foxburg Golf Course will host two fundraiser events in June, Foust said: the inaugural Starkey-Colony FoxburgFEST Shootout on June 27, featuring 93.7WFAN’s Joe Starkey, and the Pennsylvania Governor’s Cup, an event for CEOs of various businesses across Pennsylvania that will be held June 10, the same week as the U.S. Open in Oakmont.
Foust hopes to bring back hickory tournaments in the future, which will feature hickory stick clubs and feather balls, similar to those used more than a century ago, and traditional garb from the late 1900s. Hickory clubs are available for rent, currently.
The nine-hole course is short by modern standards, with some driveable par-4s.
The weekday rate for nine holes at Foxburg starts at $15, and is $23 for 18 holes. Weekends and holidays are $18 and $27. Renting a golf cart carries an extra fee. Memberships are available as well.
Donations for The 1887 Project can be made at 1887project.org.
