She Won the OPEN! Now She's Building Sweet Tooth!
- Tony Golden
- May 23
- 3 min read
Michelle Wie West's first course design is everything golf should be — and it's coming to Candyroot Lodge.
There's a version of retirement that looks like a slow fade. Press conference, farewell round, the occasional charity appearance.
And then there's Michelle Wie West's version.
Where It All Started
Before the majors. Before the LPGA wins. Before the historic attempts on the men's tour that made the whole world pay attention — there was a par-3 course in Hawaii.
Michelle Wie West grew up playing the Hawaii Kai Executive par-3 course, just ten minutes from her house. Her mom would pack a lunch and they'd play it over and over again. If she played well, she got a Snickers bar.
Those rounds didn't feel like training. They felt like childhood. Like joy. Like the game at its purest.
That's exactly what she's bringing to her first course design.
Meet Sweet Tooth
Michelle Wie West is designing a short course at Candyroot Lodge in Jefferson, South Carolina — and it has the best name in golf.
Sweet Tooth.
"I'm personally a big sweet tooth," Wie West told Golf Digest. "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."
That's not a marketing line. That's a philosophy. And it's the right one.
What Sweet Tooth Is
Sweet Tooth is set across 25 acres on Candyroot's 1,210-acre property — an hour from both Charlotte and Columbia, South Carolina. It features two different routings: a traditional par-3 layout and alternate routes that accommodate par 4s and par 5s depending on how you want to play it. It will also be lit for nighttime play, turning a short course into a full evening experience under Carolina skies.
This isn't a pitch-and-putt afterthought tucked in a corner of the property. This is a thoughtfully designed golf experience built by someone who understands — from the inside out — what it feels like to stand over a shot with everything on the line and what it feels like to just be out there having fun with your mom and a Snickers bar.
Both versions of golf matter. Sweet Tooth honors them both.
Why Wie West. Why Now.
Candyroot Lodge was built with a deliberate "NextGen" philosophy — giving the next generation of architects a platform rather than defaulting to the same established names. First course architect Mike Koprowski is already turning heads in design circles. Now Wie West joins the project bringing something no traditional architect can offer: the perspective of a champion who's played the game at every level, on every kind of course, in every kind of pressure situation imaginable.
"We are leaning into making Candyroot more female friendly," said Candyroot co-founder Aaron Oberman. "We think Michelle is great because she embodies what we want Candyroot to be — fun, laidback and focused on accessibility."
As a mother of two who now loves taking her kids to the course, Wie West is building for the next generation of golfers the same way her mom built those memories for her.
"The barriers of entry into golf are very high. Intimidation is very high," she said. "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."
That's the whole game right there. In two sentences.
The GRIPIT Take
At GRIPIT Golf Society, we were built for exactly this moment.
Not the country club version of golf. Not the velvet rope, members-only, dress-code-enforced version. The version where your mom packs a lunch and you play the par-3 course until the sun goes down and the only prize is a candy bar and the memory of a great day outside.
Sweet Tooth is a par-3 course named after a childhood snack, designed by a major champion, built at a publicly accessible resort in the Carolina Sandhills that's going to be lit up at night for anyone who wants to play.
That's not just a golf course. That's a statement about what this game can be when the right people build it with the right intentions.
Michelle Wie West just drew up the blueprint. We can't wait to play it.
Candyroot Lodge — Jefferson, South Carolina Preview play begins November 2026. Grand opening Spring 2027.
Sweet Tooth. Under the lights. See you there. ⛳🍬🌙
GRIPIT Golf Society — Est. 2026 Smooth Stroke. Embrace the Mulligan.
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