Philly golf review: Linfield National a ‘shot-makers’ course

Linfield National Golf Club is just waiting for you to go low.

There’s so much potential to shoot a low score, from the forgiving open fairways to the tantalizing doglegs begging to be faded or drawn around to the large, fair greens.

“It’s a shot-maker’s golf course,” the course’s owner Robert Kleckner said. “It forces you to take control and know your distance on a lot of your irons or your woods and you’re going to use every club in the bag. The second or third time you play here you can score really well. When you acclimated with the greens and where to place it off the tee, the greens are fair and run fantastic you can score.”

The course can be a paradise for a strategic player, one who is able to perfect their shot selection and maneuver the right shot shape or pick the right club.

The par 3 14th takes a picturesque iron over a pond and is Kleckner’s favorite, along with the finishing 18th that forces a golfer to drive into the westerly winds.

Linfield National’s course is solid, but what makes it really worth trekking the 15 miles north from King of Prussia is what’s inside the clubhouse.

“The unique thing about Linfield National is its a public facility of 18 holes of golf and then we have the five indoor simulators,” Kleckner said. “There’s nothing like this product within 200 miles. The combination of the two is such a unique product.”

“It kind of gaps our winters, from daylight saving to daylight saving… You can play golf here all year round, rain or snow.”

The simulators appear in a room with barstools and televisions, and grabbing a few beers or a burger while playing with your buddies is a pretty appealing way to spend some time and rivals any bowling alley or racquetball court.

“Our product is 80-90 percent entertainment,” he said. “Rent it per hour, it can be one guy it can be two, it can be five, you can go per hour. It is just a lot of fun. It’s a great entertainment and the accuracy and technology is over the top. It’s tour quality.”​

Local knowledge tip: “Everything breaks down toward the valley, anything inside six feet is really a straight putt, the par 5s you can go for them in two if you take the right line. It’s a very scorable golf course and it’s fun.”

Price range: From $20 (twilight) to $55 (weekend morning)

Website: linfieldnational.com