Cobbs Creek is on its way back to life and then some

This week has the world of golf fixated on Aronimink Golf Club as they are playing host to the PGA Championship. It goes without saying that this is a big deal. That is par for the course, no pun intended, when it comes to majors.

While a certain golfer’s legacy will change in Philadelphia at large on Sunday afternoon, the future legacies of many others and golf itself are being worked on daily in the same area. Cobbs Creek is on its way back to proper and full life as one of the top public golf courses in the United States.

And then some.

Cobbs Creek has a history worth saving

Cobbs Creek Golf Course was thought to be an abandoned asset by the City of Philadelphia just a few years ago. Back in 2021 the Cobbs Creek Foundation signed a 70-year lease to help restore it and thank goodness that they did.

Enrique Hervada is among the chief historians of all things Cobbs Creek and noted that Hugh Wilson was among those who led the charge to initially design Cobbs Creek all the way back in 1912. Told you. There is history here.

Wilson was hired after completing Merion East which is located up the creek that Cobbs Creek is built around. Wilson was of course a part of a contingent of gold-standard golf architects with George Crump, William Flynn, George Thomas, and A.W. Tillinghast. That this piece of property was regarded as an abandoned asset is hard to fathom.

Unfortunately the passage of time, and a fire in 2016 that destroyed the clubhouse, led to Cobbs Creek falling by the wayside. It needed help and the Foundation looked to save the whole thing. Originally it was thought that $30 to $40 million would be required, and hard work from all involved helped things reach a point where more ambition led to a current total project cost of $180 million. Simply put, Cobbs Creek is doing things right.

Cobbs Creek has always done things right, though. From a historical standpoint Cobbs Creek has always been among the most welcoming golf courses in the entire country. Women were allowed to play there before they were allowed to vote.

Charlie Sifford, widely regarded as the Jackie Robinson of Golf as the first Black player to earn a PGA Tour card and win on Tour, found his game at Cobbs Creek, so much so that he regarded it as his home course. The restoration that the property is undergoing pays honor to him in a number of ways. Consider that the restaurant at the new driving range is named after Sifford’s nickname on Tour in “The Little Horse” with the Little Horse Tavern. A museum is a part of the construction and will pay homage to Sifford as well.

As Cobbs Creek was looking to restore itself the TGR Foundation was looking to build their second TGR Learning Lab and wanted to do so in a Northeastern area that had a golf course. Boom.

You see, Tiger Woods was mentored by Charlie Sifford (think about Tiger’s son’s name, by the way). Given their relationship Tiger was obviously familiar with Cobbs Creek and soon enough the property was home to a $35 million STEM learning center which opened in April of 2025. They have already served thousands of local children and will do so for generations.

Upon completion, Cobbs Creek will be quite robust. Their Olde Course (an 18-hole course) is being restored by Jim Wagner and Gil Hanse, and maybe it will host a PGA Tour event in the future. There will also be a 9-hole course as well as a 9-hole par 3. This all is in addition to the Smilow Woodland TGR Learning Lab, the driving range, the restaurant on property… it will be one of a kind when the final construction vehicle drives away.

One of a kind is the Cobbs Creek way.

Then. Now. Always.