Golf superstar Jordan Spieth donates $250K to introduce young people

The money will go towards building a junior putting green.

The historic Cobbs Creek Golf Course in West Philadelphia, already undergoing a multimillion-dollar redevelopment by the Cobbs Creek Foundation, has added another golf superstar to its team.

The Jordan Spieth Family Foundationsaid last week that it donated $250,000 to build a junior putting green to help introduce more young people in that part of the city to golf. Junior putting involves a number of drills and skills that help young golfers develop confidence, skills and technique.

The 30-year-old Spieth, a three-time major golf champion, knows something about young people and golf. He turned pro at 19 in 2012. A native of Dallas, Spieth was 21 when he won the Masters and the U.S. Open.

In 2014, he founded the Jordan Spieth Family Foundation to raise awareness and provide financial support to nonprofit groups in four areas: junior golf, individuals with special needs, pediatric cancer and U.S. veterans and their families.

Jordan Spieth’s wife, Annie, head of their foundation, said in a statement, “We are very excited to support the Cobbs Creek Foundation in their mission to grow the game of golf and support the youth of Philadelphia.”

Cobbs Creek Foundation, a nonprofit created to redevelop the golf course, is already partnered with golf legend Tiger Woods and his TGR Foundation, which said in 2023 that it would bring its TGR Learning Lab to Cobbs Creek.

The TGR Lab manages the educational program at Cobbs Creek Golf Course. The program is modeled on its lab in Anaheim, California. TGR Lab focuses on science, technology, engineering, arts and math. The lab teaches high-tech subjects, including artificial intelligence, cyber security, robotics and video game design, along with golf course design and management.

In addition, the TGR Lab at Cobbs Creekprovides tutoring and guidance for college applications and financial aid. The lab will operate out of a 30,000-square-foot building scheduled to open in 2025. In July, Meredith Foote, a former teacher who was principal of the nearby Overbrook Educational Center for about a decade, was hired as TGR Lab’s executive director.

Currently, the lab provides after-school math tutoring to second, third and fourth graders at two neighborhood elementary schools.

The 20,000-square foot Junior Putting Green will be built near the TGR Lab and is expected to be completed the same year.