Saint John’s Resort Cardinal Golf Club Reflects the Changing Needs in Golf
Will soon open as metro Detroit’s only golf resort
By Tom Lang
The massive remodel going on in Plymouth – turning the former quaint 27-hole Inn at St. John’s Golf Course property into a championship level 18-hole course, with a 7-hole par 3 short course and a 1.5 acre 18-hole putting course – will totally transform the former Detroit Archdiocese property at Five Mile and Sheldon Roads.
And in the process, resort golf will become a realty in metro Detroit.
The new championship course at Saint John’s Resort will be called The Cardinal – with plans for opening in August 2023.
Award-winning designer Ray Hearn is heading up the project design and believes all the elements are there to attract golfers of all skill levels – people who are just getting into the game, as well as families and friends of wedding parties or corporate outings who just want to have a little fun on the large putting course while they visit the resort for socializing or business.
“The growth of par 3 short courses and putting courses nationwide make great sense, especially with a hotel on property,” Hearn said. “You’ve got a lot of new people entering the game of golf. People want to have some quick fun, and then there’s Carl’s Golfland right there with a driving range and all the equipment. With a set up of 5-tees you can do what you want based on your skill level. Pick the right tees and you’ll have a good time. You’ve got it all there with the longer 18, to play nine – or go to the 7-hole short course or 1.5 acre putting course.
“It’s Southeast Michigan,” he added. “This site is surrounded by buildings and residential and commercial sites to the north and west, yet this property is a beautiful oasis.”
And that’s exactly how I have felt about the property for years. The region’s hustle and bustle surrounding the Saint John’s property is filled with housing and commercial buildings – right off highway M-14 near I-96 and I-275. But once you step on the course, virtually all of those distractions go away. I recall writing a course review for the former 27-holes and referring to it being the perfect place for the then Catholic Monastery because the grounds were ‘surely God’s country.’
Building this soon-to-be-great golfers’ paradise is not just your average construction team.
Hearn said that once the project was announced in 2021 the top three building companies in the country all put in bids – which is highly unusual for a public course. Ultimately the Pulte family, owners of Saint John’s since buying the property back from the Detroit Archdiocese after gifting the Catholic group the 118-room Inn years ago, hired LaBar Golf out of New Jersey.
LaBar Golf constructed the recent Oakland Hills South Course renovation and did Jack Nicklaus’ Muirfield remodel last year. Merion, Shinnecock Hills, Bloomfield Hills, Pinehurst No. 4, and Winged Foot are also LaBar creations.
“Having the chance to transform Saint Johns from its prior state to what it is now was very exciting for us,” said Rich LaBar, adding that his deep Catholic roots has made the experience even more meaningful. “The property has excellent landforms that really contribute to the overall layout and quality of the golf holes. Ultimately it turned out to be an absolutely beautiful dynamic between nature and golf.”
The new course also integrated a lot of characteristics of Oakland Hills South into the Saint John’s build, such as porous ceramics that went into the greens mix and state-of-the-art bunker sand, has all the same specs.
Saint John’s also laid 42 acres of sod to speed the grass grow in but also add special features to the playability and look of the course. The name of the sod is Turf Type tall fescue grass – not to be confused with the kind that grows tall and turns brown, which is called fine fescue grass.
“It is the greatest breakthrough in grasses in the last 20 years,” Hearn said. “It’s often used as primary rough outside the fairways, greens and tees and bunkers. It’s disease resistant, drought resistant, it takes less water and less (chemicals). It’s a super-durable grass and overall it’s better for the environment because it doesn’t need as much fungicides, fertilizers nor irrigation.
“This grass really never goes brown, ever.”
Weddings and Events:
The property’s transformation includes changes to the buildings. A huge outdoor covered area (5,000 square feet) and an even bigger interior ballroom (15,000 sq. feet) is under construction. Those additions will amp up the already in-demand wedding venue, made popular with the incredible and meticulous European-style Saints Mary and Joseph Chapel, and will drastically increase the opportunities for large outings and corporate celebrations.
Even the Putting Course will get a large pavilion for entertaining.
“Truly when you visit here, you don’t have to leave the resort, whether a golf outing, a wedding, a business meeting. We are offering everything in one place,” in addition to the luxury hotel, said Fadi Sibani, VP of Hotel Sales and Marketing. “But the beauty of it is they’ll all be in separate spaces that you will still have your own unique experience.”
Sibani explained how all proceeds of the resort operations are going into The Pulte Family Foundation, as an honor to the legacy of their father and family patriarch, William, who passed away in recent years.
So, when golfers come play the new course – whether the par 3 short course, a putting event, a wedding or a corporate outing – they can leave with a smile caused by the great experience, and knowing that it doesn’t line anyone’s pocket, but rather it all supports charities.
