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1.9
53 Reviews (53)
5 Stars
2
4 Stars
2
3 Stars
10
2 Stars
13
1 Stars
26
Conditions
1.5
Value
2.4
Layout
2.1
Friendliness
3.5
Pace
3.2
Amenities
1.8
32.1%
Recommend this course
17 out of 53 reviews
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About

Holes 18
Type Public
Par 69
Length 6004 yards
Slope 113
Rating 69.7

Editor's Note: Course closed for business in 09/2019.

Course Details

Year Built 1936
Fairways Rye grass
Greens Rye grass
Golf Season Year round

Rentals/Services

Carts Yes
Clubs Yes

Practice/Instruction

Driving Range Yes
Teaching Pro Yes

Policies

Credit Cards Accepted VISA, MasterCard, Amex, Discover Welcomed
Metal Spikes Allowed No
Walking Allowed Yes

Food & Beverage

Snacks

Available Facilities

Clubhouse

Reviews

1.9
53 Reviews (53)

What Golfers Are Saying

Course Challenges Include:
Thick Rough 7
This course/club is great for:
Beginners 8
Locals 7
This Course's Location is:
Convenient to the City 10
Near the Airport 9

Numbers based on reviews tagged with attribute.

Advanced Filters
Overall Rating
Recommended
Handicap
Age
Type of Golfer
Gender
Played On
Reviews 32
Handicap 15-19
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
1.0
Previously Played

Still one of the worse course and staff

I haven't played at FDR in over a year so I figured I would check if they actually put any money into the course. There are still greens that are missing areas and roll as slow as greens can. There is no first cut around the greens at all and crab grass is everywhere. It's a shame they don't try to put some money into this course. If it rains you can't play it for a week because the drainage is so bad. The practice area is the nicest part about this place. Make sure you don't have tokens you might of had saved from when they had a ball machine, because they don't honor them. How can you sell something and not honor it a few months later is absurd. I guess when you have a staff as rude as the people there you can see why. This will be the last time I waste money at this place.

Conditions Poor
Value Average
Layout Poor
Friendliness Poor
Pace Poor
Amenities Poor
Played On
Reviews 2
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
3.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Fair city course

The course is near the Stadiums so easy to access from all directions and the reason I have started playing this course. It's $25 flat rate so for the cost of nine hole rate you can play. If you play nine they are flexible about where you start. Golf range and 2 greens with one for chipping. The course is fair and makes you hit some real golf shots especially on the front. Do not expect $100 amenities, it's not that kind of spot. If you play early, lots of old timers that let you play through. I finish 18 on a Sunday at 11:00a between 2:45 & 3hrs on a regular. They do have a snack bar and the turn is in front of the clubhouse for a snack.

Conditions Average
Value Excellent
Layout Average
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Average
Amenities Fair
Played On
Reviews 3
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
3.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Conditions Fair
Value Good
Layout Average
Friendliness Good
Pace Good
Amenities Average
Played On
Reviews 6
Handicap Don't know
Skill Beginner
Plays Once a month
I Recommend This Course
3.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Hot weather
Used cart

Not bad for the price

You get what you pay for - $25 got me a round at noon on a hot Sunday where the cart ran out of gas on hole 16.

We had a large group and weren't held up once and weren't pressured from the group behind us at all. The course was in pretty rough shape; some tee boxes were difficult to find a semi-usable spot for your tee, and greens weren't very smooth to putt on.

Overall, when you factor in a low cost for a Sunday afternoon with a large group, it wasn't great but wasn't terrible.

Conditions Fair
Value Average
Layout Fair
Friendliness Good
Pace Good
Amenities Fair
Difficulty Fairly Easy
Played On
Reviews 1
Skill Intermediate
1.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

Awful

Couldn't even get on the course. Waited 1 hour for carts. It wasn't even busy. Management some how had it where 6 carts were returned all at once. When it was actually our turn the starter had another group go ahead of us. Absolutely no communication. Left after waiting an hour.

Conditions Poor
Value Poor
Layout Poor
Friendliness Poor
Pace Poor
Amenities Poor
Played On
Reviews 1
Skill Beginner
Plays Once a month
I Recommend This Course
2.0
Previously Played

Ok

I play here on occasion. It is $10 for a walking price which is worth it since the course isn't that long. Not good conditions but, worth it for the $10 I have to pay. The course has all skill level golfers so it doesn't matter if you are good or bad, you shouldn't feel bad about not doing well.

Conditions Poor
Value Good
Layout Average
Friendliness Average
Pace Good
Amenities Poor
Played On
Reviews 1
Skill Advanced
Plays Once a week
1.0
Previously Played

Don't bother

You have to look pretty hard to find a course worse than this one. Totally disheveled and should not be open to the public. They would be better off building apartments here. There is nothing about this course that makes it playable. Potholes on cart paths, Fairways with marshy soil, greens all unkept and the staff could care less. Save your money, find a real course to play on, and good luck trying to find the next hole being that there is no signage to direct you.. Luckily I did not pay to play here, a friend invited me and took care of it. After the 3rd hole I wanted to go home. I left after playing nine holes.

Conditions Poor
Value Poor
Layout Poor
Pace Poor
Amenities Poor
Played On
Reviews 1
1.0
Previously Played
Perfect weather
Used cart

Find a company that cares!

FDR is a convenient course that allows golfers to hop off major highways, subways or city streets and quickly get to the first tee. Unfortunately, the folks who manage the course (Billy Casper Golf) need to step aside. There are pumpkins growing out of the greens, cart-swallowing holes everywhere and drainage ditches that run across fairways on almost all of the holes on the front nine. The cart paths are a minefield of potholes. Billy Casper staff are now filling these holes with wood chips in lieu of gravel! The front-line staff are friendly but the rules, fees and general explanations change with the temperature.
This being said, you can still enjoy the outdoors, watch herds of deer graze in the middle of fairways and hobnob with the locals while golfing in the heart of Philadelphia,

Conditions Poor
Value Average
Layout Average
Friendliness Average
Pace Good
Amenities Poor
Difficulty Fairly Easy
Played On
Reviews 1
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
2.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

Fast to play, unless your golf cart dies

I knew I should have just walked this course– it would have saved me the time it took to drive the course employee 2 holes back to my dead cart after I called the pro shop to alert them of the issue.
The holes are poorly marked and the cart paths are maintained worse than the Oregon Trail.
All of these things being said, it's a cheap course to play within city limits and the pace of play was not an issue like most south Jersey courses I play.

Conditions Poor
Value Fair
Layout Poor
Friendliness Good
Pace Good
Amenities Poor
Played On
Reviews 5
Handicap 10-14
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
1.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Excellent weather
Used cart

Yuk

Tee boxes were horrible, no grass, bare dirt, hard as a rock. Greens were soft, uncut, sandy base, some with disease. We won't be back again.

Conditions Poor
Value Fair
Friendliness Good
Pace Good
Amenities Poor
Difficulty Fairly Easy
Played On
Reviews 1
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
1.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

Disappointing to say the least

We purchased our tee time for 35 per person and when we got to the course the price was not honored. The guy in the shop said that the computer system wouldn't accept a lower amount and we had to pay 41 per person. To try and make up for it, he gave each of us a sleeve of 3 Wilson gold balls. We told the starter about this and he said that must be disappointing but did nothing to try and accomodate. The course was in okay shape, but the greens were in BAD shape. The layout of the course was poorly thought out and we will definitely never play this course again. Very very disappointing.

Conditions Poor
Value Poor
Friendliness Average
Pace Average
Amenities Poor
Played On
Reviews 32
Handicap 25+
Skill Beginner
Plays Once a week
2.0
First Time Playing
Good weather
Used cart

Rip Off

What people say is true, this course is pretty awful. I suppose if you like dragonflies, it may be a fun time. Yes, I get its a Philadelphia public course so I wasn't expecting the course to be top notch but rivers in the middle of the fairway, mud and massive holes everywhere. I can take some of it and expected it too, but to charge $41 is absolutely shameful.

The Byrne public course in Torresdale has a similar feel, but those greens are nice and not even a fraction of the fairway messes FDR has.

I'll give it two stars for location, but feel I was robbed of my $41.

Conditions Poor
Value Poor
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Average
Amenities Poor
Difficulty Moderate
Played On
Reviews 2
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once every three months
2.0
Previously Played

Great Staff, course not so great

I've been going to this course for years, and I have to say, it's better than it was, but it is still well below average. While the greens and tee boxes are in relatively decent shape, some did had some issues. 1-2 of them had dead or dying grass and were covered in dirt/sand. The fariways were a little better than the greens. It looked like they had been mowed within the last day or so, so they seemed to be in pretty decent shape. There were, however, plenty of big holes in the fairways and a bunch of water. The course has never drained well and it shows. Finally, the rough was in really beat up. It looked way more like grass youd find alongside a highway than grass you'd expect on a golf course. Balls get lost in their way too easily.

Overall, the course is relatively inexpensive and never that crowded, so it is a decent place to get out and play last minute, but I wouldn't recommend going if you have the chance to play a better course.

Conditions Poor
Value Fair
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Amenities Average
Played On
Reviews 3
Handicap 20-24
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
3.0
Previously Played
Fair weather
Used cart

Convenience

If you are in Center City you can not beat the convenience factor here. I'm willing to pay a little more than I think this course is worth for the convenience.

Conditions can vary, standing water is common.

The cart parts are atrocious and if you don't know where you are going there are a couple places you can miss the next tee box.

My largest complaint is a complete lack of yardage markers. I play here often enough that I got a GPS watch because in the fairway you have absolutely no idea how far you are to the green.

Conditions Fair
Value Average
Friendliness Good
Pace Fair
Amenities Average
Difficulty Fairly Easy
Played On
Reviews 9
Handicap 15-19
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
1.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Good weather
Used cart

Dump.

This is worse than a "dog run" ...

Absolute dump. Poorly laid out. We got lost on two separate times due to lack of signage and generally crummy lay out.

Just a run down muni.

The only benefit is the practice facility, I'll return for this and this only.

Conditions Poor
Value Fair
Friendliness Fair
Pace Good
Amenities Poor
Difficulty Extremely Easy
Played On
Reviews 1
Handicap 25+
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once every three months
I Recommend This Course
3.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Average weather
Used cart

A pretty good deal

The course isn't in great shape, but for less than $40 with a cart, the value is pretty good.

Conditions Fair
Value Good
Friendliness Good
Pace Excellent
Amenities Good
Difficulty Moderate
Played On
Reviews 3
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
3.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

First time here

My first round in almost a year after a couple of surgeries. It was a bit pricey for the quality of the course itself. The facilities were nice. Would have been a nicer experience for about 10-15 less on the greens fees; but I did enjoy myself

Conditions Average
Value Fair
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Average
Played On
Reviews 11
Handicap 20-24
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a month
I Recommend This Course
3.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Good weather
Used cart

Good place for beginners

There is not any signature holes or ones you will remember. But if you want to get out and play 18 without worrying about the crowds, this is a good course.

Conditions Fair
Value Average
Friendliness Good
Pace Excellent
Amenities Average
Difficulty Fairly Easy
Played On
Reviews 7
Handicap Don't know
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a month
1.0
First Time Playing
Excellent weather
Used cart

Horrible course in need of repair.

This is by far the worst course I have ever played. I'm not usually a person to leave a really negative review, but this was just atrocious. The course condition was horrible. Irrigation ditches run directly across fairways, some fairways had huge puddles and some had big muddy ditches that at some points were several FEET wide. There were at least 3 holes where I hit a perfectly straight tee shot right down the middle and yet I couldn't find my ball because the grass was so high. Green conditions were just as bad. Patchy grass everywhere, I might as well have been playing on a high school soccer field. And to top it off...

Just before our first tee shot, a gentleman asked if he could join us. My buddy and I are of the "the morer the merrier" mentality so we said, "sure, why not". However, after two shots it was very clear that this guy was an instructor from the course and was probably trying to push lessons on us. The LAST thing I want is some guy I've just met correcting my golf swing before I've had the chance to reach the first green... UGH. Such a bad experience. Ironically enough, the driving range is by far the nicest feature this place has to offer.

Conditions Poor
Value Poor
Friendliness Good
Pace Good
Difficulty Fairly Easy
Played On
Reviews 8
Handicap 25+
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
2.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Fair weather
Used cart

Good Course to Work on Your Swing, Bad for everything else.

If you are looking to get your swing down, it's a very easy layout to attack and put up low numbers. I consistently golf around 100, and I had no problem playing Bogey Golf through Nine Holes. There is no difference between playing out of the rough and the fairways; the rough is not thick enough to slow your club down.

I liked the ease, but hated the conditions. It's almost as if disrepair is the normal, when all it would take is a couple guys and a shovel to fix some of their problems. Not to mention I had multiple two puts where the putt might have gone in if the green was rolled. Two Words: Carpet Greens.

Be Careful when you go, as the Leagues there are huge, and slow. I was disappointed I couldn't play more holes after work, when the course is extremely quick to play. Out of the Public Philadelphia Courses, this was one of two I had never played and now I am glad to have crossed it off my list.

Conditions Fair
Value Good
Friendliness Fair
Pace Poor
Amenities Poor
Difficulty Extremely Easy
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