In the early hours of Sunday 27 September, Bondhay Golf Club was targeted in a deliberate act of vandalism that caused severe damage to seven of the greens on the Devonshire Course.
It appears that this strategic and targeted attack was intended to take the surfaces out of play for the foreseeable future, with patterned ‘holes’ of varying sizes dug out of the greens with spades or other tools. This is a deliberate and malicious act. To add to the devastation, the turf was then chopped up and thrown around to create further mess and to make it more difficult to conduct effective repairs. They have caused thousands of pounds of damage to the 18 hole course and disrupted the bookings for at least the upcoming days.
The two greenkeepers already on duty were swiftly joined by members of the team who assessed the damage and got to work immediately in conducting initial surface repairs. This was just the beginning of a process to return the greens to as high a standard as possible, with work continuing daily.
Damage of this severity undoubtedly will now cause severe disruption to our members and visiting golfers, and to the wider business as a whole. We will do everything in our power to make the recovery as swift as possible, but the impacts could last for a number of weeks.
We are incredibly grateful for the messages and calls of support from the golf community and beyond since we first reported the incident. Thank you to College Pines Golf Club for sending a member of their team to assist, and to Shirland Golf Club who have kindly offered an extended period of courtesy rounds to our members. Further thanks to all of our members who have offered their support either in words, their time, or through offers of a monetary donation.
The incident has been referred to the Police who are conducting initial inquiries. We are keeping an open mind as to who is responsible for this mindless act of vandalism. This is without doubt an intentional act done to frustrate and disrupt the day to day business at Bondhay Golf Club. Further security measures will be put in place which includes further CCTV cameras and surveillance equipment and other preventative measures.
Bondhay Golf Club is a family owned business who welcome members, visitors and members of the public. We hope that our members and visitors will continue to support us as we conduct these repairs.
We have offered a £1000 reward to anyone who can provide information that will lead to the identification and prosecution of the person or persons responsible for this damage.
ENDS
