Cobbs Creek Golf Course

Cobbs Creek Golf Course, established in 1916, is a 340-acre public, city-owned golf course in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was one of the first courses in the area to welcome golfers of all races, ethnicities, and genders.^[1]

Cobbs Creek Golf Course

Club information
Coordinates	39.967°N 75.265°W / 39.967; -75.265
Location	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Established	1916 - Cobbs Creek 'Olde Course' 1929 - Karakung Course
Type	Public
Total holes	18 (Cobbs Creek), 9 (Karakung)
Cobbs Creek 'Olde Course'
Designed by	Hugh Irvine Wilson
Karakung Course
Designed by	Alan P. Corson and A. H. Smith

The course consists of the 'Olde Course' and the adjoining Karakung Course which was added in 1929.^[2]

History

Cobbs Creek Golf Course was designed by Hugh Wilson with contributions from A. W. Tillinghast, George C. Thomas Jr., William Flynn, George Crump, and William Fownes. Wilson also designed nearby Merion Golf Club's east course.^[1]

Charlie Sifford, the first Black golfer to play in a PGA tour event, learned to play at the course.^[1][3][4]

The course hosted the United States Public Links championship (1928), the United Golfers Association Championship for Black golfers, and two PGA tour events (1950s).^[1]

In the 1950s and 60s, part of the course was used by the military as an anti-aircraft battery.^[3]

The course is situated between Philadelphia's Overbrook and Overbrook Park neighborhoods.^[5]

Restoration

The course's clubhouse was destroyed by a fire in 2016. In 2019, the city's lease with the operating contractor expired and the course closed. The Cobbs Creek Foundation was formed soon after and was granted a 70-year lease.^[1]

The foundation is facilitating a $100 million renovation of the course which will restore the 18-hole ‘Olde Course’ and revive its adjoining facility, Karakung Golf Course, into a nine-hole course.^[1] Jim Wagner of Gil Hanse and Hanse Golf Design is leading the design team.^[4]

Tiger Woods, through the TGR Foundation, provided funding for an on-site TGR learning lab.^[1]

There was initial controversy surrounding the environmental impact of the restoration from several local organizations. Specifically, clear cutting trees without notice, damaging habitats, reducing biodiversity, and contributing to soil erosion and flooding. The course was eventually granted an exemption from legal minimum anti-erosion standards.

The restoration is being overseen by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Awards

The course was inducted into the National Black Golf Hall of Fame in 2021.^[6]