(photo: Cobbs Creek Foundation)
Philadelphia, PA. (July 23, 2024) – The Cobbs Creek Foundation and Troon® have appointed Christopher Parker General Manager of the Cobbs Creek Golf Campus, currently under development in West Philadelphia, PA. Parker will oversee operations of the 350-acre Campus that is scheduled to be completed in phases over the next three years as the complex continues its $150 million renovation and expansion. When complete, the Campus will include an 18-hole championship golf course restored by Gil Hanse and Jim Wagner, a new 9-hole course, a golf entertainment venue, a practice facility, a TGR Learning Lab, and a TGR Design short course. A transformative project, the Cobbs Creek Golf Campus will serve as a hub for education and golf opportunities for the Philadelphia community.
A 20-plus-year golf industry veteran, Parker moves to Philadelphia from West Orange, New Jersey, where he served as general manager at Rock Spring Golf Club since 2019. Prior to leading operations at Rock Spring, Parker worked as the golf business manager for the Maryland National Capital Park and Planning Commission in Prince George’s County, creating golf instructional programs and business plans for three golf facilities. From 2012 to 2014, Parker oversaw food and beverage operations at East Potomac Golf Course in Washington, D.C., before taking over as golf operations manager from 2014 through 2016.
“I am beyond thrilled to be appointed to this key position at Cobbs Creek. The work that the Cobbs Creek Foundation and Troon will complete on the campus will have a profound influence on the Philadelphia community for years to come,” said Parker.
Parker grew up working at the golf course built by his grandfather and operated by his father before going on to play college golf at Johnson. C. Smith University in Charlotte, North Carolina, where he was a three-time all-conference team selection. He later coached the Golden Bulls golf team while working at and managing courses in the Charlotte area.
“We could not be more excited to welcome Chris to the Cobbs Creek team,” said Jeff Shanahan, President of the Cobbs Creek Foundation. “His incredible breadth of experience and knowledge of the game will be a huge asset to our mission of making golf more accessible to all Philadelphians.”
In 2022, the Cobbs Creek Foundation entered a long-term lease agreement with the City of Philadelphia to restore and revitalize the Cobbs Creek Golf Course and create a new education and community center on the site of the storied public course. The Foundation is leading the project to restore the historic course into a high-quality public space for all Philadelphians. As part of the redevelopment, the Foundation is committed to restorative sustainability of the property’s landscape. The Foundation is restoring three miles of Cobbs Creek, Indian Creek, and adjacent tributaries. The creek restoration will include new wetlands for long-term sustainability and flood-risk reduction for the campus and most importantly, the surrounding community.
The Cobbs Creek Golf Campus will open in phases over the next three years with the TGR Learning Lab, TGR Design’s short course, and a state-of-the-art golf entertainment venue all scheduled to be completed in 2025. Renowned golf course architects Gil Hanse and Jim Wagner, who both have strong ties to the Philadelphia community, are leading restoration work on the 18-hole Olde Course and building a new championship 9-hole course. The restored Olde Course is slated to open for play in the summer of 2026, while the new 9-hole course will open in 2027.
Through a partnership with TGR Foundation, the Cobbs Creek Golf Campus will feature the TGR Learning Lab Philadelphia. The 30,000 square-foot facility currently under construction was made possible through the generosity of the Smilow Foundation, the Woodland Family and TGR Foundation. With the goal of reaching 4,500-plus local children per year, the TGR Learning Lab will provide 1st through 12th grade students with free year-round access to Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math (STEAM) education as well as college access and career readiness programs.
Under the vision of Woods, TGR Design is developing a short course at Cobbs Creek. The course will provide a world-class golf experience to the local Philadelphia community and will be accessible to golfers of all ages and abilities, introducing new players to the sport. Programming will be available at the short course for young golfers to build their skills and learn and develop values central to the game of golf.
The state-of-the-art golf entertainment venue, complete with temperature-controlled double-decker practice bays featuring Toptracer technology, food and beverage service and social gathering spaces will also debut on the Cobbs Creek Golf Campus next year. The facility will also house a Heritage Center where guests can learn about the history of Cobbs Creek as well as a golf retail pro shop, restaurant, and community event space.
Cobbs Creek has a storied history. Opened in 1916, the Olde Course’s design is credited to Hugh Wilson, who laid out nearby Merion Golf Club’s famed East Course, and several of the game’s most decorated course architects from the Philadelphia School of Golf Course Architecture, including George Crump, William Flynn, A.W. Tillinghast, George Thomas, and Albert “AB” Smith. From the day it opened, Cobbs Creek has welcomed all, including women and golfers of all backgrounds. When a young Black golfer named Charlie Sifford arrived in Philadelphia in the late 1930s, he found a welcoming place to hone his game. By the 1940s, Cobbs Creek became a home for the United Golfers Association, which provided professional competition for Sifford and other Black golfers. In 1961, Sifford became the first Black golfer on the PGA Tour, winning two professional events in 1967 and 1969, and paving the way for the next generation of minority golfers.
