‘It’s a Philadelphia story:’ A look behind the scenes of the Cobbs Creek documentary and what’s next for the historic course

For years, Justin Tupper has been interested in the history and architecture of golf. Now, the 51-year-old South Carolina native is combining the two in his latest film project, Cobbs Creek Rising: Headwaters to Horizon.

The three-part docuseries will follow the $150 million restoration of Cobbs Creek Golf Course in Philadelphia, turning it into a destination for learning. For a number of years, Tupper has been in conversations with Will McIntosh, the president of NBC Sports and Fandango, about a golf project.

But it wasn’t until about a year and a half ago, when Tupper got the call from Tim Schantz — the CEO of the golf management company, Troon Golf — that his plan was set in motion. After Schantz brought up the Cobbs Creek project, Tupper hopped on his computer and started his research.

“I started to dig into Cobbs Creek and the story and the history of it and that’s just when I really fell in love with this story because it was so much more than just moving dirt,” said Tupper, the executive producer of the docuseries. “The history of the place made it really fascinating.”

The course — designed by Hugh Wilson, with contributions from other notable architects A.W. Tillinghast, George C. Thomas Jr., William Flynn, George Crump, and William Fownes — opened to the public in 1916.

The course was recognized as the “great uniter,” welcoming everyone from different backgrounds to enjoy the game of golf, including Tiger Woods’ mentor Charlie Sifford, who became the first African American to play and win on the PGA Tour.

“Without Cobbs Creek, this young man doesn’t really have an opportunity,” said Enrique Hervada, the chief operating officer of Cobbs Creek. “I like to say he had a work ethic and he had some talent. He just needed an opportunity. Cobbs Creek provided that opportunity for him to go on and become the Jackie Robinson of golf. So, we kind of embraced that story.”

After the renovation, golfers can get a glimpse of Sifford’s history in the course’s new museum, the Heritage Center.

But despite its rich history, the course faced a lot of environmental setbacks. By the early 2000s, Hervada said the course was in bad shape, but the damage really started in the 1960s. Eventually, the course was forced to shut down in 2020 because of frequent flooding and safety concerns.

Now, the course has begun its renovations, funded by the Cobbs Creek Restoration and Community Foundation, with plans to begin its first stages of reopening in September. The news of the renovation was announced in 2022, and it was originally priced at $65 million.

Tupper’s docuseries will cover the full renovation over the next two years, with the final episode set to be released in 2027.

“It took a lot of thought and a lot of going back and forth because it’s difficult and expensive to shoot a show like this,” Tupper said. “But we thought it would only do it justice [to make it a three-part series]. I think you need to lay the foundation of history and the challenges to get to where we’re going. To tell such a story, it does take time.”

During renovations, the course has become a home to the nation’s second TGR Learning Lab, the Smilow Woodland TGR Learning Lab (aided by Woods’ foundation). The renovations replaced the clubhouse, fixed the floodplains, and created wetlands around the creek to prevent further flooding. The first episode will feature the creators of the Cobbs Creek Foundation, and the historians who founded the Friends of Cobbs Creek, Mike Cirba and Joe Bausch.

“Just getting that lease done was a major hurdle, major challenge,” said Jeff Shanahan, the president and CEO of the Cobbs Creek Foundation. “It took several years. And then from there, you know, raising all the money and then getting all the permits to actually build the campus has been a monumental task. We’ve been working on the stream itself way before my time, and I started in 2020.”

Part one of the series is set to premiere on the Golf Channel on June 17. Part two will debut on GolfPass in 2026, focusing on the construction and restoration of the course — getting more into the “nerdy stuff.” Part three is scheduled for early 2027, once the 18-hole championship course is set to open.

“It’s a Philadelphia story to me,” Hervada said. “Listen, the city could have just let this thing go and sold off the property, or just left it open and let this historic golf course go away. But people have decided that was not a good idea and not something that we thought was in the best interest of Philadelphia.”

Tupper added: “I also think there’s a story here of perseverance of the property, of the people who have gotten together to go restore this place. … I hope people see a great history and a story of folks that love the city of Philadelphia, that love what Cobbs Creek stands for.”