Tag Archive for: Damage

Vandals Damage 16 Golf Greens

Vandals Damage 16 Golf Greens: Within the next few days, test results should reveal the chemical that vandals used to damage 16 greens at a popular golf course in Skagit County.

A swear word was also spelled out in the grass on one of the holes at Swinomish Golf Links.

Vandals Damage 16 Golf Greens

Employees believe the vandal or vandals picked their targets here carefully. The greens closest to the clubhouse are covered by surveillance cameras and were not hit.

“It’s stupid. I don’t why people vandalize. It doesn’t make sense to me,” said golfer Walt Matye.

“Very disgusting. Just like graffiti and that, there’s no point. It doesn’t accomplish anything except make matters worse,” added his cousin, Marshall.

Sometime within the past week, the vandals trespassed on the 100-acre course overnight and sprayed some type of grass-killing chemical on most of the greens, investigators told KOMO News. A swear word was also left behind on hole 11.

“It had to be a very involved process. One that was thought out. And for them to have access to the course by either driving or bringing this stuff with them is something that was well planned out,” said Chairman Brian Cladoosby, Swinomish Indian Tribal Community.

Tests are now being performed on the damaged grass and soil to try to figure out what chemical the vandal or vandals used.

If the chemical damaged the soil, it’s possible the course may have to temporarily close until expensive repairs can be made, employees said.

A temporary closure would be a huge hit considering the time of year.

“These individuals knew what they were doing. They know golf. They know the peak season. They know that the majority of the income produced by golf courses in the northwest is right around Memorial Day to Labor Day,” Cladoosby said.

Right now, this course is still playable.

Employees have drastically reduced rates for players because of the damage left behind.

“It just takes a few people to ruin it for the majority of the people to have a good time,” said Marshall Matye. “I guess the only thing they think about is themselves.”

The course does have insurance, employees said. But it’s possible the damage could climb to more than $500,000, they added.

The Swinomish Indian Tribal Community is offering a reward of up to $10,000 for information that leads to an arrest in the case.

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Tree Causes Pitch Damage

Tree Causes Pitch Damage: It should have been a case for the Special Branch, but solving the most recent tree problem at Romsey Town’s Bypass Ground was far from a laughing matter.

The Sydenhams Wessex One club face a bill of around £350-£400 to repair the damage caused when a giant poplar was uprooted in gale force winds last week, crashing through the barrier next to the goal and damaging part of the pitch in the process.

Tree Causes Pitch Damage

It took two tree surgeons the whole of last Saturday to chop the tree up and move it bit by bit.

The next job was to call out the groundsman to tend to the damaged turf.

The first club secretary Clare Crossland knew of the fallen tree was when she got a call from the chairman’s wife last Thursday.

“I asked her if she thought we could move it and she said ‘let’s put it this way, you and I couldn’t do it,” said Crossland.

“I then had the bright idea of asking if the players could be diverted to the ground on their way back from training on a 3G pitch to see if they could help.

“There were 15 of them and I thought we might be able to move it with pure manpower, but when I put the lights on there was raucous laughter going on. The tree was absolutely massive!

“There was no way even 15 of them could have shifted it.

“Even the tree surgeons said it would have to be cut into very small chunks to enable them to move it.

“I’ve not had the bill from the groundsman yet, but I’d estimate that altogether it will end up costing us in the region of £350-£400. It’s also severed the pitch-side barrier and bent it.”

It’s not the first time a tree has caused havoc at Romsey.

Two years ago a root was discovered growing under the pitch, forcing a first-team fixture to be postponed.

Last weekend Romsey had been due to play away, although their match at Fawley AFC was rained off.

On Saturday Andy Samuels’ men travel to Totton & Eling, while the shadow squad will host Brockenhurst in the Wyvern Combination League.

Romsey, who have not played since December 23, are fifth in the Wessex table, nine points adrift of leaders Andover New Street with two games in hand.

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Damage To Green And Missing Flags Frustrates Golf Club

Damage to green and missing flags frustrates Timaru’s Highfield Golf Club: Highfield Golf Club wishes people would just leave their course the way they found it – in a nice tidy manner.

A number of flags used for on the greens have been going missing, while damage was also done to the green on the par 5 third hole on November 2.

Damage To Green And Missing Flags Frustrates Golf Club

The club’s greenkeeper Damian Rodgers said he couldn’t understand why people take the flags and hack at the greens.

“It’s just silly. I can’t understand why they’d do that. I mean why would you take a golf flag, what are you going to do with it.

“Some weeks we’ve had two or three flags go missing, other weeks none and at about $100 each to replace they’re aren’t cheap. It’s costing the club money.”

An insurance claim was looked into but with a steep excess the club opted against the idea.

Rodgers, who noticed the divots when he arrived to mow the third green about 8am on November 3, said the damage to the green was the first he’d since he started there 18 months ago.

“We’ve had plenty of flags go missing but that’s really the first bit of major damage to the greens.

“It’s honestly just a pain, it puts your day out and it meant I took a couple of hours trying to repair the green.”

The hole was out of action for most of the day on Friday and while it is now playable again, the divots from where the vandals hacked the green can still be seen.

“They’ll take a bit to fix completely but they hacked all round the holes and a couple of other parts on the green but we have fixed them so people can play the hole.”

Rodgers said they have an idea on who may have done it but isn’t certain.

“It’s in a secluded area the green, most of the stuff happens down this way because they often can’t be seen.”

He couldn’t understand why people would do those things at a golf club.

“It’s here for people to play. I don’t know why you’d do that it hasn’t done anything to them, it’s just really disappointing.”

Rodgers said they hoped this sort of stuff wouldn’t continue to happen.

This vandalism follows damage to the sports fields in Pleasant Point and at the Celtic club in Timaru that were badly damaged back in May and the smashing of war memorial panels at Caroline Bay on November 3.

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