(CBS DETROIT) – This year marked the sixth year that the Detroit Golf Club has hosted the Rocket Mortgage Classic, but the history of the course goes back much further.
We went behind the scenes to see what 125 years in Detroit looks like.
The inside of the 125-year-old clubhouse is off-limits to most spectators during the tournament, but CBS News Detroit was able to get a closer look.
In the beginning the course had only six holes.
When the club first opened, dues were only $10. The course added three holes within a year and by 1916 it had two 18-hole courses that we are more familiar with today. That was also about the time they completed construction of this historic clubhouse.
The club hosted several big names long before the Rocket Mortgage classic arrived, including Alec Ross, the US Open Champion and one of the first club pros, and Horace Smith, the first Master’s Champion. They also hosted the Wartime Ryder Cup in 1941 during World War II.
“When it first opened, it was kind of a who’s who of Detroit. The Fords, Mr. Rackham, Fred Wardell, the president of Eureka Vacuum. He did a lot here,” says club historian Keith Studinzki.
The course has come a long way in its 125-year history, and some big changes are on the horizon. The club will begin renovations to the course, which has remained relatively unchanged for more than a century, following the conclusion of the 2025 Rocket Mortgage Classic.
The club is investing $16 million to remodel and rebuild the greens, upgrade irrigation systems and modernize everything from the tees to the bunkers and tree layout.
It shared a rendering showing what the course will look like once all that work is complete. That’s just for the north course, which is expected to be ready for the 2026 Rocket Mortgage Classic.
When the club remodels the greens, its goal is to restore them to their original state when Donald Ross, the original course architect, built them.
“The architect we work with, Tyler Rae, has done restorations on Donald Ross courses. He is familiar with it, but this is a major undertaking as we are doing tees, bunkers, greens, drainage and irrigation in that short period of time time, but we are confident that we can make it happen,” said Studinzki.
It’s good news for the Rocket Mortgage Classic as they will still be playing on this current course in 2025, but once that last pit drops, it’s down to business.
