Why You Should Care About Cobbs Creek

The town sat in quiet ruin. Shutters hung loose, streets cracked, the air heavy with stillness. The sun fell hard on empty porches and broken glass. You could hear the boards creak when no one walked them. Life had gone out of the place.

One morning a door opened. A hammer struck wood. A light burned late behind a window. It was small, but it carried. Faces returned to the street. Voices rose where there had been none. The wind moved softer through the trees. What was old and forgotten took in breath again, as if waiting all along.

For our new readers, I wrote about the The Revival of Cobbs Creek a few months back, but after stepping foot on property earlier this week I figured it was worth revisiting.

For some background, Cobbs was originally designed by Hugh Wilson (Merion). The course opened in 1916, and welcomed players of all genders, ages, and races. Famously, Charlie Sifford learned to play the game at Cobbs.

If you’d like to read the full backstory and learn more about the $150 million dollar renovation, I’d suggest reading this piece by Golf Digest. It’s incredibly well done.

Anyway, what was once a derelict, overgrown, and forgotten treasure has been undergoing a world-class facelift over the past 5 years. Once finished, Cobbs Creek will be mentioned in the same sentence as Bethpage, Torrey, and TPC Harding Park as one of the greatest municipal facilities in the country.

But if we take a step back, away from the creek restoration, the short course development and the work by Hanse and Wagner, we can see the long-term impact to the surrounding community.

I’ve discussed the shortcomings of onboarding mechanisms in the game today in posts like Golf in the Social Media Era. The TGR Learning Center at Cobbs stands in stark contrast to the hasty, dopamine-fueled introduction that many new players embrace today. Built for after-school activities, the center intends to blend entrepreneurial education with the game of golf. A marriage I will get behind 10 times out of 10.

During my brief walk through the center (before Tiger arrived to speak), I was blown away by the facility, but also by the tools offered to young kids. Along with an indoor golf simulator, Cobbs offers kids a podcast studio, 3D printing, and graphic design programs. The idea is to ignite the entrepreneurial spirit at a young age. If they can dream it, they can bring it to life all within that building. It’s what the future of education should be. Creation over consumption, always.

I can’t imagine many kids growing up in West Philadelphia know what the game of golf is. The kids will be introduced to the game in person (important, underrated), and will associate the game with the other cool stuff they get to do at the after-school program. After the finish 3D printing some cool design, they can walk out onto the massive, private club level putting green and learn what putting is, or walk 100 feet to the incredible short course.

With a smart and well trained educational and golf staff, Cobbs will set the precedent for how golf is taught, understood, and played for those who do not grow up at private clubs. It is a blueprint not just for the game of golf, but for cities looking for innovative methods to uplift poor neighborhoods.

Where else? Cobbs has an elite logo.

For no reason whatsoever, I started thinking about TopGolf this morning. It seems like the hype around the modern public driving range concept is dead? I keep seeing more and more Five Iron competitors pop up, but fewer and fewer players in the outdoor space once dominated by TopGolf.

It was an interesting concept, but the upfront capex and land expenditures seem to have caught up to them. The smaller, year round facilities like Puttery and Five Iron cost less to operate and can make money all year.

Coming from a golf purist background, I never understood the appeal of these facilities (with the exception of Five Iron for winter practice). The loud music, beer and food made it feel like you were practicing inside of a bar more than anything else. Maybe that’s the point? Regardless, I’m not a huge supporter of any entity that dilutes the the nature of the game to make a quick buck.

So, you’ve been invited to play a private club. I may sound like a broken record, but I’ll continue to belabor this point: Leave your phone in the car.

Why? To be present in the moment. To be where your feet stand. Enjoy the smell of the grass, notice the tiny spike marks on the wooden benches in the locker room. Drink in the idiosyncrasies. Tee it up and enjoy the walk without the weight of the phone in your bag and on your mind.

Instead of sneaking haphazard photos, keep the scorecard, pencil and souvenir from the pro shop as the mementos of your time. They’ll have more sentimental value one day!

Talk soon,

BTG

Email me: [email protected]

Each Saturday, we go deep — with a satirical essay covering behind the scenes nonsense at elite private clubs.

Start your weekend with a laugh - just 1 referral gets you access.

Talk soon,

BTG