Detroit Golf Club celebrates its history and looks forward to a $16.1 million renovation

(CBS) – This year marks the sixth year that Detroit Golf Club has hosted the Rocket Mortgage Classic, but the course’s history goes back much further.

We took a look behind the scenes to see what 125 years in Detroit really looks like.

Most spectators are not allowed inside the 125-year-old clubhouse during the tournament, but CBS News Detroit was able to get a closer look.

At the beginning the course had only six holes.

When the club opened, membership dues were only $10. Within a year, three more holes were added to the course, and by 1916 there were two 18-hole courses that we are more familiar with today. It was also around this time that construction of this historic clubhouse was completed.

The club has hosted several big names long before the Rocket Mortgage Classic, including Alec Ross, the US Open champion and one of the club’s first professionals, and Horace Smith, the first Master’s champion. During World War II, the club also hosted the 1941 Ryder Cup.

“When it opened, it was a who’s who of Detroit. The Fords, Mr. Rackham, Fred Wardell, the president of Eureka Vacuum. He did a lot here,” said club historian Keith Studinzki.

The course has come a long way in its 125-year history, and there are some big changes coming. The club will begin renovating the course, which has remained relatively unchanged for more than a century, after the conclusion of the 2025 Rocket Mortgage Classic.

The club is investing $16 million to redesign and rebuild the greens, modernize the irrigation systems and renew all other areas, from the tees to the bunkers to the arrangement of the trees.

A rendering has been released showing what the course will look like when all work is completed. This is for the North Course only and is expected to be ready for the 2026 Rocket Mortgage Classic.

In redesigning the greens, the club aims to return them to their original state when they were built by Donald Ross, the original course architect.

“The architect we hired, Tyler Rae, has done restorations on Donald Ross golf courses. He knows what he’s doing, but this is a big undertaking considering we have to do tees, bunkers, greens, drainage and irrigation in such a short period of time. But we’re confident we can get it done,” Studinzki said.

This is good news for the Rocket Mortgage Classic, as it is expected to still play on this course in 2025, but once the last putt is in, it’s time to get to work.