The par-three Sweet Tooth layout is the first foray in golf course design for five-time LPGA Tour winner
By Laura Hyde |
Five-time LPGA Tour winner Michelle Wie West is working with architect Mike Koprowski on her first foray in golf course design – the Sweet Tooth short course at Candyroot Lodge in the Carolina Sandhills.
The par-three layout is being built on approximately 25 acres of land within Candyroot’s 1,210-acre property, and will join the club’s 18-hole course, Koprowski’s first solo design, which is expected to open in 2026. There are plans for as many as four courses at Candyroot.
“My golf journey began on par-three courses, so this project feels incredibly personal to me,” said West. “I grew up playing on a public course, and that shaped my love for the game. With Sweet Tooth, I want to create that same kind of environment, where families can connect, kids can discover golf for the first time, and players of all levels feel welcome and excited to play.”
A rendering of the Sweet Tooth short course, designed by Mike Koprowski and Michelle Wie West (Image: Candyroot Lodge)
West and Koprowski’s design will feature serpentine fairways, ridgeline greens and holes that crisscross. The course will have irregularly shaped greens with multiple pin positions, enabling holes to be played from different yardages and angles.
There will be two scorecards, one that preserves the traditional par-three format and another that reimagines select holes as par fours and fives.
Koprowski’s 18-hole design is currently under construction and is expected to open for preview play in November 2026.
Koprowski’s 18-hole design for Candyroot’s main course (Image: Candyroot Lodge)
“Candyroot is turning out to be a really old-school test of golf, more than I ever imagined during the pre-construction stages,” said Koprowski. “Every time I think about adding a feature, I realise the land doesn’t need or want it. The greens are small by modern standards and significantly tilted. There’s a relative economy of bunkering, as the native grasses and serpentine fairway lines create most of the strategy. Some drives and approaches are semi-blind, as the landforms are just too beautiful to knock down with a bulldozer. With the entire course benched into the side of a descending sandhill, your eyes constantly lie about what’s uphill and what’s down. The visual misdirection is intense, and I think it’s going to enthral golfers.”
Candyroot is owned and being developed by brothers Aaron Oberman and Ethan Oberman. “The Sandhills offer some of the most compelling natural golf terrain in the country, and we recognised a clear opportunity to create a publicly accessible destination inspired by the land,” said Aaron Oberman.
The Hart Howerton design firm is involved as the project and landscape architect, masterplanner. In addition to golf, the destination will have walking trails, lodging and wellness amenities.
A visualisation of the thirteenth hole from the main course (Image: Candyroot Lodge)