The modernization of Cobbs Creek Golf Campus and the collaboration among the parties involved is truly inspiring and could serve as a model for other golf club proprietors and developers.
Below you can find what I found particularly useful and forward-thinking that worth considering to implement in your golf clubs too.
The Cobbs Creek Foundation selected Troon to manage the operations of the Cobbs Creek Golf Campus, which is currently under development in West Philadelphia, PA.
The Cobbs Creek Golf Campus, scheduled to be completed in phases over the next 3 years, will serve as a hub for education and golf opportunities for the Philadelphia community.
In 2022, the Cobbs Creek Foundation entered a long-term lease agreement with the City of Philadelphia to restore and revitalize the Cobbs Creek Golf Course and create a new education and community center on the site of the storied public course.
The Cobbs Creek Foundation is leading the project to restore the historic course and surrounding areas into a high-quality public space for all Philadelphians.
As part of the redevelopment, the Cobbs Creek Foundation is committed to the restorative sustainability of the property’s landscape.
The Foundation is restoring 3 miles of Cobbs Creek, Indian Creek, and adjacent tributaries. The creek restoration will include new wetlands for long-term sustainability and flood-risk reduction for the campus and, most importantly, the surrounding community.
Cobbs Creek Golf Campus: Tiger Woods’ involvement
In March 2023, the Cobbs Creek Foundation and TGR Foundation, a Tiger Woods Charity, announced a partnership to build a TGR Learning Lab at the Cobbs Creek Campus.
With the goal of reaching 4,500-plus local students per year, the TGR Learning Lab will provide youth with free year-round access to Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math (STEAM) education, college access, and career readiness programs.
The 30,000-square-foot facility is being launched thanks to the generosity of the Smilow Foundation, the Woodland Family, and the TGR Foundation.
Benefactors at Cobbs Creek are proud to support local families, educators, and programs that serve the community’s 1st through 12th-grade students.
TGR Design – a short course
In addition, under Tiger Woods’s vision, TGR Design will create and develop a short course at Cobbs Creek.
The course will provide a world-class golf experience to the local Philadelphia community. It will be accessible to golfers of all ages and abilities, introducing new players to the sport.
The short course will offer programming for young golfers to build their skills and learn and develop values central to the game of golf.
The TGR Learning Lab and TGR Design’s short course are scheduled to be completed in 2025.
Golf entertainment by Toptracer
A state-of-the-art golf entertainment venue with temperature-controlled double-decker practice bays featuring
- Toptracer technology,
- food and beverage service, and
- social gathering spaces will also debut on the Cobbs Creek Campus in 2025.
The Driving Range facility will house a Heritage Center where guests can learn about the history of Cobbs Creek, as well as a golf retail pro shop, an indoor/outdoor bar, a restaurant, and a community event space.
Golf Course restoration: Gil Hanse & Jim Wagner
Renowned golf architects Gil Hanse and Jim Wagner, who both have strong ties to the community, are leading restoration work on the 18-hole Olde Course and building a new championship 9-hole course.
The restored Olde Course, in conjunction with the golf clubhouse, is slated to open for play in the summer of 2026, while the new 9-hole course will open in 2027.