Cobbs course closing for repair
The historic golf grounds will get a $20 million renovation. The target date for reopening is June 2023.
Philadelphia’s historic Cobbs Creek Golf Course will close for a few years to undergo a $20 million renovation aimed at restoring it to its former glory as one of the country’s most well-regarded public courses.
Cobbs Creek will close to the public Oct. 31, when the city’s contract with its managing company, Billy Casper Golf, ends. The renovations will start this spring, and the course is expected to reopen in June 2023, a representative from Philadelphia Parks and Recreation said.
The course had fallen into disrepair over the years. Dying trees litter the greens, and the creek that runs through the course floods often, causing erosion, damaging holes, and spreading debris after rainstorms. In 2016, the course’s clubhouse burned down and was replaced with two double-wide trailers.
The renovations, which will be funded by the nonprofit Cobbs Creek Restoration & Community Foundation, aim to replace the clubhouse, fix the floodplains, and create wetlands around the creek to prevent flooding, according to Chris Maguire, who chairs the foundation’s board of directors. The revamp will also add an educational program for young golfers.
To date, the foundation has raised $12 million of the $20 million it needs to finish the renovations. Maguire said the coronavirus has made applying for federal, state, and local grants more difficult, but the foundation is continuing its fund-raising efforts.