Michelle Wie West joins forces with Candyroot Lodge to design her first golf course

U.S. Women’s Open Champion and five-time LPGA Tour winner Michelle Wie West will design her first golf course at Candyroot Lodge, an emerging public golf destination in the Carolina Sandhills. Named Sweet Tooth, the course will be a challenging yet playable par-3 layout designed in collaboration with architect Mike Koprowski, marking a significant milestone in her career beyond professional play.  

The course reflects Wie West’s deep familiarity and appreciation of the Sandhills landscape from a player’s perspective, shaped in part by her 2014 U.S. Women’s Open victory at Pinehurst Resort.

Set across approximately 25 acres within the broader 1,210-acre property, Sweet Tooth will blend traditional Sandhills design with modern playability. Wie West and Koprowski will bring to life a terrain-driven course rooted in inclusivity, creativity and multi-generational play. Night play, along with a routing where holes crisscross and converge, will foster a social, communal atmosphere.  

“My golf journey began on par-3 courses, so this project feels incredibly personal to me,” said Wie 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.” 

Sweet Tooth will feature elastic tee boxes and irregularly shaped greens with multiple pin positions, allowing holes to play at dramatically different yardages and angles depending on the daily setup. Two distinct scorecards will offer varied course experiences — one preserving a traditional par-3 format for more advanced players and another that reimagines select holes as par-4s and par-5s to better suit beginners and juniors. Designed to emphasize a firm-and-fast ground game, Sweet Tooth will encourage creative shot-making, from low skippers to bump and runs, reinforcing a dynamic and engaging experience for every golfer.