Extensive damage was caused at the club which will take resources of time, manpower and money to repair
A small Co Antrim golf club was vandalised last week after repeatedly having yobs ride e-bikes and e-scooters on one of its greens
Now the resulting damage has led to The City of Belfast’s fourth hole being closed while repairs are being carried out and temporary measures are put in place at the course in Mallusk, Co Antrim.
The club which was formed over 30 years ago has over 200 members, and according to staff has experienced repeated damage to its course in recent times. This has led to officials at the club having to close off areas of the course to have repairs carried out, which means more work for the site’s greenskeepers.
Karen McDowell, who is the club supervisor, said: “This happens quite frequently but the damage has not been this bad before. This is the worst it has been and it is upsetting because they have specifically targeted the golf club.
READ MORE: Yellow weather warning issued for Northern Ireland by Met OfficeREAD MORE: Two men arrested in connection with an arson attack in Co Tyrone
“This area has access from the nearby playing fields and the damage is extensive. It is going to take months to repair it because there is no easy fix. This green will need to be closed off and a temporary green put in which is going to cause our greenskeepers a lot more work, plus the cost involved will be expensive.”
Karen, from Glengormley, said the repairs will come out of the club’s pocket and added that the incident was reported to police. The incident will also have an effect on club play with competitions and other events planned being impacted. She stated that a committee of around ten people voluntarily give up their time every weekend to help the club run effectively.
Karen added: “The people that did this probably don’t understand the impact this has on the business. There is a passion for the club and this is really disheartening. We hope that local parents see this and realise what is happening. We are a small golf club so it is a close-knit community that does a lot of positive things. Everyone knows everyone so it is a lovely place to work and we are a very friendly club.”
The club has received a lot of supportive comments from social media after receiving tens-of-thousands of views from their TikTok and Facebook accounts.
Club captain, Simon Gardiner from Ballyrobert has been involved with the club for 14 years.
He said: “All the members and staff were shocked by it, there is a lot of work and effort go into maintaining the course.
“This means the green is now out of action until April and it goes to show how just one act can cause a lot of frustration.
“Instead of a par 4, that hole will have to be turned into a par 3 and a temporary green will be installed. I don’t know if this is because it is so close to the playing fields but it has been damaged before.
“It is a frustrating thing because we have to deal with the weather and now this, it makes people think what is the point. It has been great to see all the members come together and making people in the area aware of what it is going on. But it is something we don’t want a repeat of and we hope people think twice before doing it again.””
The club asked that anyone with information about the vandalism contact police.
For all the latest news, visit the Belfast Live homepage here and sign up to our daily newsletter here.
