[Photos: Courtesy of Candyroot Lodge]
Michelle Wie West’s first golf course design is a perfect homage to her childhood.
Many of her earliest rounds took place at the Hawaii Kai Executive par-3 course just 10 minutes from her house. Her mum would pack a lunch, and they’d play the par-3 course over and over again. If she played well, she got to have a Snickers bar.
Those fond memories have led to the perfect partnership with one of American golf’s new public destinations, Candyroot Lodge, with Wie West designing a par-3 course to be called Sweet Tooth.
“I’m personally a big sweet tooth,” Wie West says. “I think some of the best experiences on the golf course are the golf-course snacks. Those days at Hawaii Kai are some of my fondest memories. So we’re going to have sweet treats and create a fun golf experience.”
Fun will be the predominant theme across the entire Candyroot Lodge, where its first course, designed by Mike Koprowski, is slated to open for preview play in November. Wie West’s short course, which will feature two different routings – one a traditional par-3 layout and other alternate routes of play to accommodate par 4s and par 5s, is set across 25 acres on the 1,210-acre property in Jefferson, South Carolina, which is an hour from Charlotte in North Carolina and Columbia in South Carolina.
Michelle Wie West will partner with Mike Koprowski, who has designed the first 18-hole course at Candyroot Lodge, to build the Sweet Tooth short course.
The short course will also be lit up at night, providing a great alternate opportunity for more golf for players of all skill levels.
Wie West, the 2014 US Women’s Open champion and a five-time winner on the LPGA Tour, says she’s always wanted to get into course design. The opportunity presented itself at Candyroot Lodge, founded by Aaron and Ethan Oberman, who have made a concerted effort on partnering with “next-generation” architects. That’s certainly true with Koprowski, whose work with Kyle Franz at Broomsedge put him on the map as an up-and-coming architect, leading to his first solo design at the first 18-hole course at Broomsedge.
“We are leaning into making Candyroot more female-friendly,” Aaron Oberman said. “We think Michelle is great because she embodies what we want Candyroot to be – fun, laidback and focused on accessibility.”
Now as a mother of two, who loves taking her kids out to the course, Wie West gets to provide the same opportunity she had – spending fun days on a par-3 layout for kids of the next generation at a new publicly accessible facility focused on bringing positive experience to golfers of all levels.
“The barriers of entry into golf are very high. Intimidation is very high,” Wie West says. “And I get really excited for projects like this to really be inclusive to kids, beginner golfers, but I also want it to be fun for scratch golfers as well, too.”
Koprowski’s first course will have a grand opening in the northern spring of 2027 with the soft launch this November.
