By Jason Wesseldyk
Sports Editor
PLAINWELL—Damage done to the sixth and seventh greens at Lake Doster Golf Club will cost upwards of $100,000 to repair, according to head golf professional Matt Townsley.
“The greens were completely destroyed,” Townsley said. “There was no way to save them. We have to start over with them from square one.”
Lake Doster will likely have to use temporary greens for the 2023 season.
The damage took place late on Saturday, Nov. 26. According to a release from the Allegan County Sheriff’s Office, someone was reported to have entered the golf course on an ATV.
“From the best we can tell, (the perpetrators) came in off of Second Street,” Townsley said. “We don’t have any surveillance footage, but it’s clear that whoever did this was trying to do as much damage as possible.”
Townsley said tips have been coming in and he urges anyone with information to contact Silent Observer at (800) 554-3633 or silentobserver@allegancounty.org. Those with potential leads can also call Detective Mark Lytle with the Allegan County Sheriff’s Office.
“The Sheriff’s Office has been working unbelievably hard on this and we can’t thank them enough,” Townsley said. “They check in with us about every other day to give us any updates and keep us posted on what’s going on with the case.”
Lake Doster Golf Club is offering a $1,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible.
“We’ve actually had a lot of our members step up and donate to the reward fund,” Townsley said.
It’s gestures like that, said Townsley, that have helped to make this unfortunate and frustrating situation a little easier to handle.
“The person or people who did this obviously had bad intentions and it’s caused a lot of headaches and stress for us,” he said. “But the other side of that is all the generosity that so many people have shown to us.
“The homeowners in the area, our members, the community in general and other golf course in West Michigan have reached out and asked what they can do to help. The outpouring really has been overwhelming and we can’t say enough how much we appreciate it.”