Tiger Woods' TGR Foundation opened a new science education center at the Cobbs Creek Golf Club in West Philadelphia on Tuesday by inviting students from St. Francis de Sales School to attend its first classes.
The TGR Learning Lab is part of the $150 million plan to restore the historic golf club along Lansdowne Avenue, which closed in 2020 following decades of disrepair and flooding from the creek that runs through it. The club once played an instrumental role in promoting integration in the sport, hosting tournaments that welcomed all ethnicities during an era when most major courses in the U.S. were still restricted to white golfers.
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The 30,000-square foot learning lab — the first completed phase of the restoration — has nine classrooms, music recording and podcast studios, a golf simulator and other amenities.
"We will provide opportunities for thousands of kids to learn, grow and chase after their dreams for many years to come," Woods, 49, said in a statement.
This week, 5th to 8th grade students from St. Francis de Sales in West Philly are attending science courses on food chemistry, circuity, microbiology, rocketry and photography. Next week, the center will start offering six-week after-school programs for middle and high school students.
Moving forward, the learning lab also will host school field trips, workshops, lunches, tutoring programs, college and career readiness programs, and other social events that are free to local youth.
The restoration of Cobbs Creek Golf Club is being led by the Cobbs Creek Foundation, which began work on the 340-acre grounds two years ago. An 18-hole championship golf course (the former Olde Course) is slated to open next year, and a 9-hole course (the former Karakung beginner's course) is set to open in 2027. Additional plans include a two-tiered driving range and a new clubhouse and restaurant.
The Cobbs Creek Foundation also is restoring the banks of Cobbs Creek and surrounding wetlands to prevent floods from damaging the course. The original layout of the Olde Course will be maintained with support from a new reservoir and pump house for irrigation.
The new education center is the second in the country to be opened by TGR Foundation. The first, in Anaheim, California, has served more than 200,000 students since 2006.
Woods, who emerged as the face of golf in the late 1990s, is one of only five men to complete the sport's career Grand Slam — winning the Masters, U.S. Open, Open Championship and PGA Championship. He called the opening of the Cobbs Creek Golf Club's learning lab a testament to the trailblazers who once competed there, including Howard Wheeler and Charlie Sifford, the first Black member of the PGA Tour.
Woods' TGR Design firm is developing a short course at Cobbs Creek that is expected to open this summer. That course will be used to introduce students and visitors to golf by teaching them fundamental skills.
Golfer Jordan Spieth's foundation also invested $250,000 last year to build a 20,000-square-foot putting green that will open later this year outside the TGR Learning Lab.
The Cobbs Creek Foundation is hopeful that the restoration project will put the course back on the map for PGA Tour events in Philadelphia, which has lacked the quality of facilities found in the surrounding suburbs. The 2026 PGA Championship will be played at Aronimink Golf Club in Delaware County. The region last hosted the U.S. Open at Merion Golf Club in Delco in 2013 with plans to host again in 2030.
Jeff Shanahan, president of the Cobbs Creek Foundation, said the opening of the TGR Learning Lab speaks to the far-reaching goals of the restoration.
"Cobbs Creek has always been more than just a golf course — it's a place where history, community and opportunity intersect," Shanahan said.
