MONTCO Golf: Honeybrook Golf Club Offers Golfers a Welcoming, ‘Feel Good’ Experience

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By Rick Woelfel

Two decades ago, a golf course was laid out over a 165-acre site in western Chester County that had once been a farm. The goal of the management team was to create an atmosphere that let visitors feel good about themselves and about the game of golf.

As Honeybrook Golf Club prepares to officially mark its 20th anniversary next weekend there can be no doubt that goal was attained; the club is one of the area’s most popular golf destinations.

Honeybrook is a family operation. Donna Horvath serves as business manager and oversees the club’s marketing efforts. Her brother Ted Piersol is the superintendent while another brother, Tom Piersol, is the clubhouse manager and oversees the food and beverage operation.

PGA professional Duane Lent serves as director of golf.

The club hosts more than 30,000 rounds annually and even in the wake of the COCOD-19-mandated shutdown this spring figures to surpass that total this year.
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“We make a real effort to be welcoming and friendly,” Horvath said, “not pretentious. We focus as much on the beginner golfer as we do the lower-handicap golfer. So, we create an environment where people have a good time, they enjoy meeting friends, and they just like to come back over and over again.”

The golf course was designed by Jim Blaukovitch, who made his reputation in the industry by creating interesting layouts where the everyday golfer would feel comfortable.

His work at Honeybrook is characterized by wide fairways, a minimum of forced carries, and bunkers that are situated in locations where they must be accounted for but in many cases can be avoided.

Water comes into play on occasion but it is not a constant threat.

There are five sets of tees, ranging from 4,503 to 6.341 yards.  Most visitors will play the course from 6,031 yards where the course rating is 69.3 and the slope rating 125. Par is 70.

One of the most celebrated holes here is the 14th, a par four that exemplifies Blaukovitch’s design philosophy. It plays to just 314 yards from the back tee but features a demanding tee shot.

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From the next set of tees at 276 yards, the golfer has a wide-open look at the fairway. The player must deal with a moderate forced carry and be aware of the Brandywine Creek on the right side, but once the player finds the fairway they have just a short pitch to the green.

Honeybrook is open for public play but does offer memberships. The club is affiliated with the Golf Association of Philadelphia and the Women’s Golf Association of Philadelphia, thus enabling its members to compete in championship events.

A variety of leagues and clinics is available to golfers of all ability levels.

There is also a restaurant, the Greenhouse Grill, on site.

For more information on the course or to schedule tee times visit Honeybrook’s here.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Rick Woelfel has worked in print and broadcast journalism for more than 35 years. He’s covered golf in one medium or another for more than 30.

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