Maryland

Philadelphia Golf Courses & Tee Times in Maryland

Philadelphia is where organized American golf got its start. The Golf Association of Philadelphia was founded on February 5, 1897, and calls itself the oldest regional or state golf association in the country. The public side has its own history. Cobbs Creek in West Philadelphia opened in 1916 on a Hugh Wilson design, the same Wilson who built Merion, and the city says it quickly earned a name as the best public course in the country. It welcomed golfers of all backgrounds, and Charlie Sifford called it home. The market runs well past the city line into the Pennsylvania suburbs, South Jersey and northern Delaware.

Can't get a tee time in Philadelphia? Yoink watches 3 public courses, from Havre de Grace, North East and Elkton. Pick your courses, set the day and time you want, and get a notification when a tee time opens, cancellations included.

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Who runs public golf in Philadelphia

Inside the city, the public courses sit on Fairmount Park land. Juniata, along Tacony Creek, opened nine holes on July 14, 1927 and all 18 by Memorial Day 1930, laid out by park engineer Alan D. Corson. Walnut Lane in Roxborough is a par-62 Alex Findlay course built with WPA labor and opened in May 1940. Cobbs Creek closed in 2019 and is being rebuilt by the Cobbs Creek Foundation on a 70-year lease, with Troon running the campus. Its 9-hole Q School short course is open now and the restored Olde Course, by Gil Hanse and Jim Wagner, is slated for summer 2027. In the suburbs, townships run some of the best public golf: Lower Makefield owns Makefield Highlands in Bucks County, and West Norriton owns Jeffersonville, a 1931 Donald Ross course it bought in 1972. The state gets involved too: Skippack Golf Course sits inside Evansburg State Park. Since 1996, public courses can be GAP member clubs, and juniors 6 to 18 can join Youth on Course for $5 rounds at participating courses.

Public courses worth knowing in Philadelphia

3 courses in Philadelphia

Elkton

Patriots Glen Golf Club - Patriots Glen

Elkton

Havre de Grace

Bulle Rock Golf Course

Havre de Grace

Bulle Rock Golf Course in Havre de Grace, Maryland. You'll carry water off the tee or into the green on 4 holes.

North East

Chesapeake Bay Golf Course at North East

North East

Why tee times in Philadelphia are hard to get

Golf in Philadelphia follows the seasons: spring openers and fall weekends are the busiest stretches, and summer mornings fill before afternoons.

Most public courses open their tee sheet a set number of days ahead, often 7 to 14, and many municipal courses give residents or card holders an earlier window. The best weekend-morning times usually go the day they're released. Leagues and outings take blocks of the sheet before the public ever sees them.

When tee time cancellations happen

A full tee sheet rarely stays full. Many courses let you cancel without a fee up to 24 or 48 hours before your time, so spots tend to reappear in the last couple of days. A bad forecast shakes more loose, and a foursome that drops to three opens a single. None of it is announced. The time just shows up again on the booking page, and whoever looks first gets it.

How to get a tee time in Philadelphia

Yoink

Every course in Philadelphia on one watchlist: all 3 of them

Pick the courses you'd play and Yoink keeps an eye on all 3 courses in Philadelphia. You see what's open in one place, and you hear about it the moment a time that fits your day, window and group turns up, cancellations included.

Get tee time alertsFree during the beta · You always book direct with the course

Doing it by hand? Here's what works.

  1. Know the booking window. Find out how many days ahead each course releases times, and whether residents get an earlier window. Be ready the morning it opens.
  2. Look again 24 to 48 hours out. That's when most cancellation deadlines pass and spots come back.
  3. Be flexible on group size. Singles and twosomes fit into gaps a foursome can't.
  4. Try twilight and weekday afternoons. They're the last to fill and often cheaper.
  5. Widen the map. If your first choice is full, check the next town over. Havre de Grace has 1 courses on Yoink and North East has 1.

Read the full guide to getting a tee time when everything's booked

Tee times in Philadelphia: questions

How do I get notified when a tee time opens up in Philadelphia?

Set a watch in Yoink for the courses you want, the days you can play, a time window and the number of players. Yoink checks those tee sheets every few minutes and sends a notification as soon as a matching time appears, cancellations included. You book it directly with the course.

When do tee time cancellations usually show up?

Mostly in the 24 to 48 hours before the tee time, as golfers cancel ahead of the course's cancellation deadline, and whenever the weather forecast changes. They appear without notice and tend to be rebooked quickly.

How far in advance can you book a tee time in Philadelphia?

It depends on the course. Many public courses open bookings 7 to 14 days ahead, and town or county courses often give residents an earlier window. Each course's own booking page has its policy.

When is golf busiest in Philadelphia?

Demand is highest on spring and fall weekends. Weekend mornings are always the hardest tee times to get.

Does Yoink book the tee time for me?

No. Yoink tells you when a time opens; you book it with the course on its own booking page, at the course's price, with no extra fee.

More golf in Maryland

Just across the state line

Markets with courses within 25 miles of a course here.

Sources

Facts on this page come from these pages, checked 2026-09-28. Rates and booking rules change, so confirm with the course.

Tee times in Philadelphia, without the refreshing

Watch as many courses as you like. When a time opens that fits your day, window and group, Yoink tells you first.

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