Two greens at Detroit Golf Club vandalized with Rocket Mortgage Classic looming

Detroit — Two greens at Detroit Golf Club, where the PGA Tour will hold the annual Rocket Mortgage Classic next month, were severely damaged recently, apparently by vandals.

The greens on the North Course's 11th and 12th holes suffered significant damage, and remain closed to members as club groundskeepers work to restore them by the time the PGA Tour tournament starts June 29. Practice rounds start June 26. The recent stretch of cold weather has complicated the process.

The Detroit Police Department is investigating, it confirmed.

"The length of time the greens will take to recover will continue to be weather dependent," Sam Moynihan, head superintendent at Detroit Golf Club, wrote April 29 to members in a letter obtained by The News. "The colder the weather, the slower the recovery. I will be working in conjunction with the PGA Tour Agronomy Department to develop an appropriate plan for optimal recovery. I will continue to keep you updated with progress pictures, treatments, and recovery plans moving forward."

The Detroit Police Department said the suspected vandalism occurred between April 16 and April 17.

Pictures shared by Moynihan with members show wavy lines all over one of the greens. The lines are lightly colored, and a result of glyphosate — or a grass and weed killer — according to test results that came back to DGC. In his letter to members, Moynihan said the damage is "very severe" on the surface of the greens, but not at the root level.

Moynihan told members that his grounds crew has been able to mow the two greens using walk-behind mowers, and he's applied a foliar plant protectant spray in addition to fertilization as he starts reviving the greens.

He's already started to see some progress, he told the club's approximately 750 members.

"Each day I am seeing more and more green shoots filling the damaged areas," Moynihan wrote.

Rocket Mortgage Classic officials didn't immediately have a comment.

The two greens are on Detroit Golf Club's North course — at the par-3 11th hole and par-4 12th, which are bordered by houses on the north side of the property. Both holes are used in the Rocket Mortgage Classic.

This is not the first time Detroit Golf Club's grounds crew has been put to the test. In 2021, several inches of rain fell on the property during tournament week, but the crew still had the course playable when it wasn't raining, and the tournament ended on time Sunday evening. Detroit Golf Club called head superintendent Jake Mendoza "a magician." Mendoza left Detroit Golf Club for the same job at Rich Harvest Farms outside of Chicago in March.

Detroit Golf Club, one of legendary architect Donald Ross' many gems which opened in the early 1900s, is set to host the prestigious Michigan Medal Play tournament next week, May 11-13.

The fifth annual Rocket Mortgage Classic will be June 29-July 2, and feature the likes of defending champion Tony Finau, two-time major winner Collin Morikawa and Rickie Fowler, among other names yet to be announced. Club officials soon will show off its renovated Albert Kahn clubhouse, at a cost of more than $5 million.

tpaul@detroitnews.com

Twitter: @tonypaul1984