Police say two people drove stolen golf carts across several parts of the course, leaving visible tire marks.
To replace the green alone could cost up to $25,000, golf course management said. And there are seven more spots where damage was done.
"It looked to me like a crime of passion," said Bill Sullivan, Evans at Canal Shores executive director.
Evanston police say two people stole golf carts from nearby Northwestern University around 3 a.m. Saturday morning and then rode around the Evans at Canal Shores Golf Course before crashing into a tree.
"They broke one of the golf carts, with a tire coming off, and a windshield apparently falling over and the windshield broken," Evans at Canal Shores President Matt Rooney said.
Rooney said, even one tire down, they kept going, abandoning both carts about a mile up the road. He says the damage to the greens and watering irrigation system is in the tens of thousands.
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"It's this hole. It's the next hole. It's the next hole; it ended up being eight holes that were damaged," Rooney said. "People refer to this as a gem in our own back door."
It's a gem, he says, that took his team two years, fundraising $6 million to renovate the 82 acres. The nonprofit course, that's only been open for a few months, supports youth development in the sport, including a caddie program that helps send them to college.
"Ultimately, some of them will apply for and earn a scholarship that will change their lives," Sullivan said.
That's a big reason volunteers from the community have helped to build gardens, a full hiking trail and were out this past weekend to help save a place they call home.
"There's been a lot of sweat equity from volunteers around that; we all feel it's our course," volunteer Howard Gartzman said.
This is the place that made Gartzman truly fall in love with golf. Rooney says the course is meant to be a safe space, one that's open to all.
"It's disheartening, and we have to try to figure out a way to be able to, you know, keep this place safe, yeah, and keep it open to the community," Rooney said. "We feel like they're a part of us, and we're a part of them."
Evanston police say those who are responsible for the vandalism could face felony charges.