The Foxton Golf Club opened on 7 May 1949. But it was not the first one that catered for the sportsmen of the district. There had been four other clubs established in the district in the years before 1939. The best known club, being the private Herrington Club, located on the road to Foxton Beach. All ceased to function as a result of the World War 2. After the war newly arrived teachers Ted Douds and Stuart Morris were keen to get back to a game they had played previously and in 1948 called a meeting to form a club. 26 people attended and the ball was rolling. The first committee was formed early in 1949 and was made up of H Hannay, T Douds, S Morris, L C Bryant, J Bergin, n Hunt, J Purcell, R Evans, W Hale, R Small and I Nicholson.
Land for a course was found at Target Reserve, a sports reserve to the north of the town. Much of this was covered with lupin, blackberry and gorse but the Evans brothers, who leased it, were prepared to sublease part of it to the new club. Many working bees saw 12 holes in playing condition for the opening day. Another hole was soon added and these 13 holes made up the course until 1966. An old house was re-erected as the clubhouse but was burnt down in 1951. Its replacement has been added to several times as the size of the club and new demands have required action. In the early years the course was pretty rough, so much so golfers were given a special mark for their balls so that when they were found they could be returned to them (for a small fee). Sheep belonging to the Evans were used for some time to keep the fairways down as this was part of the lease agreement. Trees line several of the fairways and in most cases these are pines. There have been plantings of several other species but none can survive in the conditions as well as pine.
To get an 18 hole layout more land was needed but it was not until 1962 that the lease for all of the Target Reserve area was gained by the club. This came only after a lot of “discussions” with the Borough Council. This extra area enable the course to be extended to 18 holes in 1966. There was a strip of Railway Department land between the course and State Highway 1. Conditions for the use of part of it to get access to the course were strictly defined by the department, so it was relief when the whole area was added to the course in 1969. This meant there was enough space to accommodate the length of the course desired and in 1975 the present layout replaced the eighteen holes of 1966.
The course is a sandy one which dries out badly in summer but gives great winter conditions. Water for the greens was obtained from the town supply in 1951 but the fairways had to wait a lot longer until 1970. The excavation of a soak pit for this gives the course its only water hazard. The lupin, gorse and blackberry are now a thing of the past and losing a ball is usually the fault of the golfer. As a result of all the work, the course is now presented in top condition all year round. The course is generally flat and the layout requires very little extra walking from greens to the next tee.
A special thank you to Tony Hunt for providing this historical information.