Palmerston Golf & Country Club: Vandals settle in, at least three holes torn up in last week
“There’s not a lot we can do about it, hopefully the kids will get sick of it”: The greens keepers have been run off their feet in recent days after multiple vehicles accessed the greens and made merry.
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Greens keepers at the Palmerston Golf and Country Club have been run off their feet in recent days, with a motorbike tearing up three holes on different nights and a motor vehicle also accessing the course after blowing through bollards.
Overnight on Tuesday, the second hole was shredded by a motorbike, with images shared to social media showing extensive damage to both the fairway and the green, ranging from elongated ruts to gouges created by doughnuts.
A nearby resident told this masthead they were disturbed about midnight.
“All you could hear was a motorbike going around and around,” the local said.
“I couldn’t sleep, you could just hear this noise.
“I thought someone was in the bush, bush-bashing a stolen car, but there was a group on the course doing doughnuts, one on the bike and probably four on foot.
“It looked like there were lights on their phones like they were filming the young fellow doing doughnuts.
“I’m sure the video is out there on Snapchat.”
The resident said they called police about 12.30am, but no officers had been dispatched by the time the vandals decamped about 1am.
Club general manager Matthew Hewer struck a resigned note when contacted about the vandalism.
“Obviously the golf course is way too big to put a fence around it, so it’s just something we have to cop and repair, there’s not a lot we can do about it,” he said.
“It’s pretty senseless, just ruining it for the golfers.
“Hopefully the kids will get sick of it.”
Mr Hewer revealed there had been at least three other incursions in the last week or so – twice previously, a motorbike (it’s not known if it was the same one as the vehicle that tore up the second hole) shredded additional holes, while a motor vehicle also flattened bollards to access the course.
“Our people just try to repair it as best they can,” he said.
“We have a team of six pretty dedicated guys working on course every day.
“But it’s pretty disappointing for those guys to have to go and see that and try and repair it because they do take a lot of pride in their work.”
NT Police were contacted for comment.
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