Turkeyfoot Lake Golf Links in New Franklin is offering a $5,000 cash reward for information that leads to the identification, arrest and conviction of whoever tore up the course’s turf late Saturday night, the Summit County course announced in a social media post on Sunday, Oct. 25.
Course officials said an individual or group drove a side-by-side off-road vehicle across the turn at about 11:39 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 24, damaging the turf. The incident was captured on video with a time stamp, and that footage has been turned over to law enforcement, according to the course, which is located on Point Comfort Drive just south of Akron.
“This deliberate and senseless destruction of private property is unacceptable and will not be tolerated,” the course said in its post. “We are committed to identifying those responsible and pursuing all available criminal charges, as well as full restitution for the damages caused.”
Anyone with information about the incident is asked to contact Turkeyfoot Lake Golf Links at 330-644-5971 or reach out to local law enforcement. New Franklin police dispatch referred questions about the case to the Summit County Sheriff’s Department, whose representatives could not be reached for comment or updates.
The course said the reward will be paid upon the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible, and that information provided must materially contribute to their identification and prosecution. If several qualifying tips come in, the course said the reward may be divided at its sole discretion.
Turkeyfoot Lake Golf Links is an 18-hole public course in the Portage Lakes area, a part of southern Summit County where golf courses, marinas and lakefront businesses draw visitors from across the Akron area through the fall season. Turf damage of the kind described can take weeks of repair work before the affected ground is playable again.
Investigators have not announced any suspects in the case. The course is asking anyone who was in the Point Comfort Drive area late Saturday night and saw a side-by-side vehicle near the property to come forward.