Foxhills says farewell to traditional tee system

Nestled within the picturesque landscapes of Surrey, you’d be forgiven for thinking that Foxhills was far from being a club that defines the conventional.

But with a new tee system based on driving distance and handicap – not gender – that’s exactly what they’re doing.

Departing from the conventional men’s and women’s tees, Foxhills now offers four distinct tee boxes: Front, CJ, Medal, and Championship. This evolution seeks to empower golfers of all skill levels, reshaping the way the game is played and fostering a more inclusive environment.

With a focus on both driving enjoyment and accelerating the pace of play, the Foxhills team also hopes to attract a broader spectrum of players, including low-handicapped female golfers.

Here, Sean Graham, Director of Golf, explains the driving factors behind this transformative change.

Can you explain the new tee box system and what you hope it will achieve?

Instead of the traditional men’s and women’s tees, we have four tee boxes: Front, CJ, Medal and Championship.

We recommend players with a handicap of 24 or higher, or a carry distance of less than 180 yards, play from the Front tees. For players with a handicap of 10 – 24, or carry distance 180 – 220 yards, we recommend the CJ tees. And the Medal tees are for golfers with a single-figure handicap or carry distance of over 220 yards. The Championship tees are typically reserved for major tournaments or scratch golfers with permission from the club first.

Ultimately, the move to the new system is all about enjoyment – giving golfers the opportunity to play from a tee that best suits them and their game. And with tees better suited to ability, we expect to see the pace of play improve too.

We also hope to encourage more low-handicapped, female members to the club, as they can move back easily based on driving distance and ability.

What drove the decision to implement the new tees?

As a family club, Foxhills has always tried to introduce contemporary new additions to our golf experience to suit our members; we have one Club Captain, and all our competitions are open to both men and women.

So introducing a tee system based on ability, not gender, seemed like a perfect next step.

Have you noticed both men and women playing from different tees than they would have done previously?

Yes, however, the new system has represented the biggest change for our male members – and it’s been really well received.  

Some of our older members used to struggle with the length of the course. Now they have the option to play from a shorter tee, meaning a shorter walk, it’s made a huge difference to their enjoyment of the game.  

Overall, how successful has implementing the new tee system been so far?

The new tees have definitely made a positive impact already.

What is most exciting is that we’ve actually seen golfers returning to the course after not playing for a while.

The Championship courses often provide a difficult test due to length, so having a men’s rating on our forward tees has made a big difference. It’s also positively impacted the morning pace of play already.

I think what has helped is by giving the tees colours and names that have nothing to do with gender, we’ve removed a lot of the stigma around “men’s” and “women’s” tees.

Next season we will transition to competition golf, and we’re looking forward to seeing the outcomes of that move.

Is it time to ditch traditional tees and moved to ability tees instead? Sidcup Golf Club are also making the move. Read their article now >