Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States: The Cobbs Creek Foundation has selected Troon to manage operations of the Cobbs Creek Golf Campus, currently under development in West Philadelphia.  

Scheduled to be completed in phases over the next three years, the Cobbs Creek Golf Campus 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 revitalise the Cobbs Creek Golf Course and create a new education and community centre 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 restorative sustainability of the property’s landscape.

The Foundation is restoring three 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.

“This is another exciting moment for Cobbs Creek. Troon will ensure top-of-class golf operations management providing every guest with an immersive experience in our rich and inclusive heritage,” said Jeff Shanahan, President of the Cobbs Creek Foundation.

“Troon’s deep course management experience is second to none, but their shared commitment to our vision to serve the academic, athletic, and social-emotional needs of the youth of Philadelphia was paramount in selecting Troon for this critical role. We are delighted to add them to our growing array of local and national collaborative partners.”

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 Mathematics (STEAM) education as well as college access and career readiness programmes. 

The 30,000 square-foot facility is being launched through the generosity of the Smilow Foundation, the Woodland Family, and TGR Foundation. Benefactors at Cobbs Creek are proud to support local families, educators and programmes that serve the community’s first through 12th grade students.

In addition, under the vision of Woods, TGR Design will also create and develop a short course at Cobbs Creek. The course will provide a world-class golf experience to the local Philadelphia community and will be accessible to golfers of all ages and abilities, introducing new players to the sport.

Programming will be available at the short course 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.

A state-of-the-art golf entertainment venue, complete 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 Centre where guests can learn about the history of Cobbs Creek as well as a golf retail pro shop, an indoor/outdoor bar, restaurant, and community event space.  

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 nine-hole course. The restored Olde Course is slated to open for play in the summer of 2026 in conjunction with the golf clubhouse, while the new nine-hole course will open in 2027.

“We are very excited, and humbled, to be part of the team assembled by the Cobbs Creek Foundation to transform this community asset into a modern golf and educational campus,” said Tim Schantz, President and CEO at Troon, an Executive Member of the Asian Golf Industry Federation.

He added: “Cobbs Creek has been an important part of Philadelphia for over a century – from the land’s history prior to it becoming a golf course to its significant contribution to equal rights and encouraging diversity in the sport.

“The new Cobbs Creek will represent more than a reborn golf course. It will be a model for introducing new golfers to the game, recreation, education, sustainability and community. Providing the canvas for area residents (and those visiting the area) to connect, learn and grow. We are thrilled and honoured to collaborate with the Cobbs Creek Foundation, TGR Foundation, and other supporters who share this vision.”

Cobbs Creek has a storied history. Opened in 1916, the Olde Course’s design is credited to Hugh Wilson, who laid out nearby Merion Golf Club’s famed East Course, and several of the game’s most decorated course architects from the Philadelphia School of Golf Course Architecture, including George Crump, William Flynn, AW Tillinghast, George Thomas, and Albert ‘AB’ Smith.

From the day it opened, Cobbs Creek has welcomed all, including women and golfers of all backgrounds. When a young black golfer named Charlie Sifford arrived in Philadelphia in the late 1930s, he found a welcoming place to hone his game.

By the 1940s, Cobbs Creek became a home for the United Golfers Association, which provided professional competition for Sifford and other black golfers. In 1961, Sifford became the first black golfer on the PGA Tour, winning two professional events in 1967 and 1969, and paving the way for the next generation of minority golfers.