Tuesday
14Oct
Judge Reduces Winged Foot East To 17-Holes
You think I'm kidding...Corey Kilgannon reports in the New York Times. But not to worry, The Donald is on the case.
Last week, a State Supreme Court judge in Westchester issued a temporary restraining order against the club, banning play on the sixth hole until further notice. Outings have been disrupted, as has competitive play among members at what has become, in effect, the most famous 17-hole championship golf course in the country.There's a lot I could say here, but I won't. Hopefully we'll learn more about this in the coming days.
“Everybody at Winged Foot is very surprised, and people want to fight it,” Mr. Trump said on Tuesday. “I’m very surprised something couldn’t have been worked out. To close a hole, it’s a sad day for the club. I’m thinking maybe I’ll visit the gentleman. I’d love to go and mediate it.”
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.
“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 club spent $70,000 to plant three large trees in September, but Mr. Cohn said the club refused to put up a net protecting Mr. Pecora’s house. He said golfers routinely walk onto Mr. Pecora’s property to hit a ball back onto the course.
“He has pails and pails of golf balls,” he said, adding that Mr. Pecora’s 14-year-old dog ate a golf ball last year and required emergency surgery, costing $3,344.40.Ouch.
Unfortunately, this statement just doesn't fly anymore...at least in the eyes of the courts. Yet another reason why the technology issue has been on the minds of architects.
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.
Tuesday, October 14, 2008 at 09:53 PM
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Reader Comments (33)
and that hole is a par 3 ! imagine what goes on off the tees of par 4's and 5's !
i would put in heavy duty glass and enjoy the lifetime supply of balls.
frankD
The lack of trees both allows people to hit onto his property and it seems as though it emboldens people to think they can walk onto his property (i.e. "trespass") to play their ball back to the course (not only breaking the law, but likely the Rules of Golf, as I doubt his property is in bounds).
Without pictures it's tough to say, but it seems as though the club tried to do what's right by putting up new trees. Why not put an end to the whole thing and install a net behind those new trees? The trees can then hide the net for golfers and this guy will have to look at the net the whole time.
Beyond that, it sounds like some awfully bad golf shots are being hit at that hole.
Their beautiful course had a net at the end of the driving range and adjacent to hole #8 on the East course -- I say 'had' because it was no longer there when the Merchandise Pavillion for the 2006 U.S. Open replaced the member's driving range (and the fairway of #9 East became the range).
I don't know if that net went back up once the Merchandise tent left town.
Glyn, what do you think the people in Bensenville and Des Plaines are trying to do to the City of Chicago? They bitch and moan to their Congressmen about the "noise" from O'Hare, and we end up paying for noise abatement soundproofing in their friggin schools. Why? Because those planes are loud?
This very same issue has resulted in an injunction against Makray Memorial in Barrington, a nw burb of Chicago. They redid their course, and a neighbor along the 12th hole began experiencing damage from golf balls. He got an injunction, and the hole is now played from a tee box in the middle of the fairway some 80 yards in front of the actual tee.
Pathetic lawyering in my view. Move to a golf course and it's buyer beware. I say put up the big ugly fence and see how this clown likes that view. . .
P.S. I also believe the worst golfers are at this place. Every time I take a leak in the woods I find 5 or 6 prov1's. Usually find enough per 18 to last 3 weeks until I play with my Uncle again haha.
And "outings" at Winged Foot? Methinks I've been playing the wrong outings.
Seems to me that re-planting of some appropriate shank-blocking trees is all that is needed in this case, and not a Temporary Restraining Order. Who the hell would want a net between their home and the world-renowned Winged Foot Golf Club?
So where's Lon Hinkle when you really need him?
1. If I damaged someone's property, I would feel responsible and leave a note.
2. If I had my ball land in someone's yard, I would not jump their fence and wander through their flower bed looking for my ball.
Watching their behavior, I can see how a homeowner could eventually lose his/her temper.
Having said that, I think it is sad they couldn't work something out. How hard would it have been to put up a screen?
matt and his uncle give the best assessment above and with all the golf course architectural brainpower available i cannot see how a solution to this matter isn't possible
Looking at the Gooooooooogle aerial photo, those last two houses should never have been built.
Nets are very expensive, much more expensive than most people think. They are also very ugly (probably the reason WF does not want to install nets). Also, installing a net is an admission by the club that there is a problem, this admission is a very important factor in liability should there ever be some terrible event where someone is seriously hurt by an errant shot.
Unfortunately every case I have witnessed results in the golf course losing it's arguments and having to make concessions ranging from nets or tree planting, to redesigning the hole, all the way to permanently closing the hole......
The only problem was a judge disagreed, and one of the factors was the club didn't try to fix the problem. The judge wanted the club to be proactive. So the club got hit with the legal fees and still had to fix the problem. They put up a large fence (about 90 feet high) to cover the area. Of course the guy in question also hates the fence and is threatening to sue again..
What I got out of this in Ontario is the club needs to proactively try to deal with these matters.
I personally have been hit by a golf ball while mowing my lawn...I'd like to see something done since 10 years ago my yard was not in reach from the teebox or fairway...new technology with golf balls and clubs has now put our entire neighborhood in a demilitarized zone.
And a net. What will the other homeowners say? Think they might object-you betcha!
You can bet there is much more to this story then reported so far.