Philadelphia Golf Courses & Tee Times in New Jersey

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

• Walnut Lane Golf Club: Alex Findlay's par-62 layout in Roxborough, built with WPA labor from 1935 and opened in May 1940.
• Juniata Golf Course: Fairmount Park course along Tacony Creek, nine holes opened in 1927 and 18 by 1930, laid out by park engineer Alan D. Corson.
• Jeffersonville Golf Club: West Norriton Township's Donald Ross course from 1931, built on an old steeplechase track. In May 2026 it became the first public course to host a GAP major, the Middle-Amateur.
• Makefield Highlands Golf Club: Lower Makefield Township's Rick Jacobson links-style course from 2004, up to 7,058 yards; Golfweek's #9 course you can play in Pennsylvania in 2013.
• Skippack Golf Club: 18 holes, par 70, 6,007 yards inside Evansburg State Park.
• Kimberton Golf Club: The first course George Fazio designed, in Phoenixville.
• Cobbs Creek: Hugh Wilson's 1916 public course, host of the 1928 U.S. Public Links. Hanse and Wagner's restored Olde Course is slated for summer 2027.

Why tee times in Philadelphia are hard to get

The season in Philadelphia runs roughly from spring to late fall. The first warm weekends in spring and the cool, dry weekends of fall are the hardest to book.

Each course releases its tee times on its own schedule, commonly a week or two out, with residents of town and county courses often booking first. Leagues, outings and members claim chunks of the sheet in advance, and whatever prime weekend times are left tend to go on release day.

When tee time cancellations happen

Booked-up doesn't mean gone. Plans change: groups cancel ahead of the course's cancellation deadline (often 24 to 48 hours out), players drop when the forecast turns, and a group that shrinks leaves an open spot. Those times quietly come back on the booking page, usually for minutes, not hours.

How to get a tee time in Philadelphia

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. Mount Laurel has 3 courses on Yoink and Blackwood has 3.

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