Cobb's Creek GC to be inducted into AAGHOF

[Joe Bausch]

The Friends of Cobb’s Creek Golf Course are very pleased to announce that the Philadelphia municipal golf course will be honored this year with induction into the "African American Golfers Hall of Fame" (AAGHOF) at a ceremony this May in West Palm Beach, Fla.

Read the rest of the article Mike Cirba penned for MyPhillyGolf here:

http://myphillygolf.com/detail.asp?id=17112
 

[BCrosby]

Congrats Joe, Mike and all.

[Jon Wiggett]

Nice to hear this. Well deserved.

[MCirba]

Thanks fellows...

I'm rather certain that my life would have taken a much different turn for the worse had I not been exposed to golf a week before my 13th birthday.   It certainly would have been lacking all of the richness of the friendships and golfing acquaintances I've been lucky enough to have over the years.

While I'm not sure we "need" to "grow the game", I do think we need to provide opportunities for people to become exposed to the game, particularly young people in their formative years.   The life lessons taught by golf are invaluable and almost unobtainable in any other forum I can think of.   

Thus, our mission continues.   Thanks again.

[Kris Shreiner]

Mike, Joe, and Friends,
Thank you, and congratulations! There are some illuminating facts in that article, and it's great when we get other, hidden layers of Cobb's rich history revealed to us.
On an interesting side note, better supporting Caddie Golf is finally on the agenda this week at a meeting at this year's PGA Show!
There is a pilot program, providing youth caddie opportunities at municipal facilities,  that has been launched privately, and active discussions to gradually expand it are ongoing.
Given the deep ties that Cobb's has had to the caddie dynamic in the past, on multiple levels, it would stand to reason that properly supported,  a similar program could  be established at Cobb's in time.
It took the better part of 10 years plus to get Cobb"s from GAP dream to reality, in 1916.
Let's hope we can shorten that time-frame before the  restovation commences, as Cobb's embarks on it"s sec.ond century serving as a beacon for all that has been, and IS possible in this great game of golf!
Well done, and warm thanks for continuing to champion one of the most storied municipal golf facilities in the country- Cobb's Creek, West Philadelphia, PA.
Kris 

[Bret Lawrence]

Mike, Joe and everyone at Cobb's Creek:


Congratulations!  Keep up the good work.


Bret

[MCirba]

Thanks Kris and Bret...much appreciated!

[Jon Wiggett]

Can anyone point me to thread with a course tour of Cobb's Creek?
I have had a look on the search feature but have been unable to find one.

Jon

[Joe Bausch]

Can anyone point me to thread with a course tour of Cobb's Creek?
I have had a look on the search feature but have been unable to find one.

Jon

Here is a photo album I put together from a couple of years ago:


http://xchem.villanova.edu/~bausch/images/albums/CobbsCreek/

[Ed Brzezowski]

Thanks fellows...

I'm rather certain that my life would have taken a much different turn for the worse had I not been exposed to golf a week before my 13th birthday.   It certainly would have been lacking all of the richness of the friendships and golfing acquaintances I've been lucky enough to have over the years.

While I'm not sure we "need" to "grow the game", I do think we need to provide opportunities for people to become exposed to the game, particularly young people in their formative years.   The life lessons taught by golf are invaluable and almost unobtainable in any other forum I can think of.   

Thus, our mission continues.   Thanks again.

Growing the game is a good objective Mike, at least in my opinion. I look where the game has taken me geographically, spiritually and friendship wise. I think most golfers lives are richer due to the game. I see it as an obligation to pass it along, which causes both the game and the individual to grow. Or I am just a weirdo and wrong, I hope not.

ed`

[MCirba]

Jon,

One of the goals of our group is the restoration of the original course routing, lost in the 1950s due to a US military installation with air defense missiles, utilizing about 15% of the total original course acreage.   As such, the course was re-routed to utilize all the existing greens but today's holes 6, 7, 8, 9 (truncated), 14, 15, and 16 are not original.   Other original features such as the wild greensite of today's 10th were also lost with time.

The good news is that the original course is wholly restorable to that original design (the military install is now a driving range) and Gil Hanse and Jim Wagner have created a Master Plan.   

Thanks for you interest.


Ed,

Simpatico on that one, my friend.

[Ed Brzezowski]

I'm still not voting for Hillary Mike.

[Jon Wiggett]

Thanks Joe.

[Joe Bausch]

I'm still not voting for Hillary Mike.

deleted.

[JJShanley]

I'm still not voting for Hillary Mike.

Hillary Mike.  Sounds like a viable candidate.

Mikes do candidates no good in the long run.

[MCirba]

I'm writing in Biden or perhaps moving to Ted Cruz's native land.   

Please let's not let this thread devolve into a political discussion, tho.  Thanks.   

[JJShanley]

I'm writing in Biden or perhaps moving to Ted Cruz's native land.   

Please let's not let this thread devolve into a political discussion, tho.  Thanks.   

We did well in the 1980s thread, no?

[Ed Brzezowski]

Mike or Joe, has anyone heard if this was insured? I would assume Casper had a contract where they provided the insurance??

[MCirba]

Ed,

There is insurance but I don't know details.  Something will get rebuilt.

[MCirba]

Joe and I plan to head to West Palm Beach for this event on Thursday the 26th and won't be coming home until the afternoon of Monday the 30th, Memorial Day.   We'll likely be playing golf constantly between obligations and are wondering if there are any nearby  courses of historical note we should see during our visit?

Got the news yesterday that PGA great Jim Dent will be in attendance and performing a clinic that sounds like great fun.   Here's the promotional poster with the other awardees;

[Steve_ Shaffer]

Good for you and Joe!!!!


You don't have to go far to find a 1928 Herbert Strong course:
http://www.pontevedra.com/florida_golf_resorts/


The nearby private Sawgrass CC is of some historical interest as the the original home of The Players:
http://www.sawgrasscountryclub.com/club/scripts/section/section.asp?GRP=12591&NS=PG


And the Fernandina Beach GC is a must play to honor Tom Paul:
http://www.fernandinabeachgolfclub.com/

[MCirba]

Thanks, Steve.   The Ocean Course at Ponte Vedra looks intriguing.   I think at one point they claimed to have the original "island green" in the US but there were a number of courses in and around Philadelphia that preceded them by at least a decade and perhaps others elsewhere.

However, isn't Jacksonville over four hours drive from West Palm Beach??   

[Steve_ Shaffer]

Mike,


Ooops... my speed reading caught up to me. West Palm is not near WGHOF in Ponte Vedre/Jacksonville area.


How about a Dick Wilson? http://www.wpalmbeachgc.com/course/ Was recently renovated though.


In Delray Beach, there's a fairly basic  Ross course : http://www.delraybeachgolfclub.com/course/


In Lake Worth, you'll find a 1925 Langford: http://www.lakeworthgolfclub.com/aboutus/


In the private arena,Seminole is closed for the summer. Don't know about Gulfstream or Palm Beach CC or Everglades.


Park Ridge is a neat landfill course with a 6-6-6 routing. It's public. http://www.pbcgov.com/parks/sports/golf/parkridge/#.VzPOioQrLIU


The Palm Beach Ocean course is worth a play: http://www.golfontheocean.com/

[MCirba]

Steve,

Thanks for the info.   I've played West Palm Beach and Delray Beach on prior visits, but the par three on the ocean is a must and the Langford course at Lake Worth looks intriguing.