What if you went out searching for a house, and settled on one right next to a golf hole? The benefit is that you're close to a fabulous golf course, with the drawback being the unlikely event of a broken window. It might not happen often, but it will happen. Now, imagine getting so frustrated with this that you decide to sue the golf course, even though you are the one that moved onto the course!!!
Meet Anthony Pecora, a restaurant owner who lives off the 6th hole at Winged Foot's East Course. Pecora has decided to sue Winged Foot, causing a State Supreme Court judge to issue a restraining order on the hole, making the East Course 17 holes of pure beauty and the 18th being some sort of nice, cold beverage.
Mr. Pecora has suffered $14,000 in damage to his home from errant golf balls, including five broken windows this year alone, said Julius Cohn, his lawyer. He said Mr. Pecora, who moved into the house in 2003, began complaining about the errant shots in 2006, when the club cut down several trees between his house and the sixth green.
Yes, living that close to a golf course with the chance of a ball coming through your window is a bad thing, but again, you moved there. Didn't this cross his mind?"Since they cut down the trees in 2006, my client has been getting bombarded with golf balls," he said, adding that Mr. Pecora fears for the safety of his children, ages 6 and 11, who often play in the backyard. "He has golf balls raining down on his home - his children can't even walk on the property."
The solution to this seem fairly simple. First, they need to put up a net. The report says the the club refuses to do so, but I'd much rather have a net up than a closed golf hole (especially one as a great as the 6th on the East).
Second, maybe Pecora should invest in non-breakable windows. Honestly, I didn't even know people lived on golf courses without these things.
Third, the people that are doing this need to take a little responsibility. Sure, admitting to smashing a window on a par-3 is rather embarrassing, but it's better than having to skip one of the holes because you're being sketchy.
Also, if Anthony wants to make a little of that moola back, why not go to this website and sell some of the balls he keeps finding. That or just embrace the "charm" of having balls hit your house.
Classic.William O'Shaughnessy, who owns a pair of radio stations in New Rochelle, and is a member at Winged Foot, said, "If you buy a house on a golf course, you have to assume there may be a couple of errant shots that are going to land in your yard."
"It's part of the charm of living on one of the most famous golf courses in the world," he said.
Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Five broken windows and some other un-named damage has equaled $14,000 in damages??? Me thinks I smell a rat. And a spoiled brat. And a vulture attorney at bat for him. And we wonder why this world is the way it is ...
When teh guy bought his house, it was not a problem and didn't become one until the course cut down the trees. Sounds to me like the course caused the problem and should be responsible for fixing it.
I live at a golf course and love it. First of all, I did consider that there will be balls flying and that there are people driving in carts and walking as well as some foul language. So I built my house on a lake across from a par three tee box. No way in hell can a bad shot hit my house and I have a great view across the lake. Location, location, location. Otherwise I would not have built on a golf course.
Peace
PCD
When he bought the house the trees were there and he assumed the risk of living on a course but under those circumstances. When the course management changed that, if it had a significantly negative effect on his home then they should be responsible. The question is do more balls hit the property now compared to when the trees were there? If not, then there is no change resulting from the tree removal and likely no course liability. If there are now more balls pelting the property, and it sounds like that is the case, the course should put trees back (versus unnatural and unattractive nets) to protect the house. I'm sure they can figure out how to do that and still maintain the integrity of the course.
If you decide to live on a golf course you have to assume that there will be golf balls on your property. It is the down side of some of the locations on golf courses. I live on a golf course and we regularly get golf balls (and golfers) in our back yard. It is just part of the deal. If he didn't want that kind of thing going on he shouldn't have bought on the course. There are many ways he can remedy the situation. It is not the golf clubs responsibility. He should just suck it up, install whatever combination of fixes will give him relief and move on.
I also live on a golf course and frequently traverse the yard for errant balls ... and have been hit by a ball from an ignorant moron who claimed "you shouldn't be out here when we're golfing.".
Two things need to be considered. First, the property owner, although he did purchase his property ADJACENT (not on) to the golf course, has a right to privacy and a right to challenge in court anyone who does harm to him or his property.
Second, most problems can be resolved. I had the president of the club come over so we could hopefully come up with a solution that would benefit both the club and myself. We walked to the tee box and then both realized the tee box lined itself up with my house. The next day the grounds keeper realigned the tee box just by cutting the lawn at a different angle.
I don't find as many pro v 1's as I previously did, but my house has not been hit since.
The big plus for the golfers, they're not losing as many balls.
EASY fix. Put up a very high WALL. On top of that put up a net. Make sure nothing gets through, even light and sight. That way he doesnt have to worry about a window breaking or his kids getting hit by errant golf balls. Of course it would behoove the course to ban him from playing there, since they want to keep him SAFE right? I mean errant shots happen even on good courses...and heaven forbid he walks the fairway..who knows how often he might get hit...
Only $14,000? That's petty cash for anyone who can afford a multi million dollar home on Winged Foot.