Philly golf review: Five Ponds Golf Club really does have it all

Five Ponds Golf Club only has four ponds. Head Professional Ron Stepanek counted them.

But that’s okay. It has 18 holes of finely manicured, challenging golf with five tee boxes on each. It has two picturesque par 3s over water, tree-laden par 5s and enormous sloping greens. It also has a state of the art, free (yes, free) practice facility with three greens, bunkers, pitching and chipping areas and a driving range.

Give the Warminster, Pa golf course a pass for mis-representing their ponds. The course is exceptional everywhere it counts.

“When you stand on the tee you get a sense of the hole,” Stepanek said. “What you see is what you get. We recently did a lot of work to take down a lot of trees between holes, we took down probably 60 trees.”

Short game is key at Five Ponds, and getting up and down is an accomplishment to be proud of.

“Because of the age of the golf course, it’s rather new, the greens are rather large,” the pro said. “You have to really pay attention to the size of the greens. On the shorter holes, the greens are more undulating. It’s the sign of a good design, balancing the difficulty of it.”

The course is young and offers a bevy of memorable holes. Picking a favorite isn’t easy.

“Hole 15 is sneaky good,” Stepanek said of the longest hole on the golf course and the third par 5. “The signature holes are 3 and 17, they are picturesque (par 3s). [The par 5] 12th to me is a different view. It’s not an open course but No. 12 is a lot more wooded than any other hole out there for sure. It’s one of those things where good players can reach in two sometimes.”

The golf club does a lot to support junior golf and veterans, and starting July 1 the course will offer $10 off for veterans active military or anyone wearing red (before 11 am) to show support for the US armed forces.

Local knowledge tip: “There’s a bail out area on every hole, a way every golfer of every ability can play.”

Price range: From $25 (walking, twilight) to $65 (weekend morning)

Website: 5pondsgc.com