Golf course vandalism has become an increasingly troubling phenomenon in recent years. Most of these acts appear driven by thrill-seekers who cause deliberate damage to the course and threaten the viability of local and historic courses. It was just yesterday, we saw a juvenile being arrested for vandalising the Valley View Golf Course in Utica. The juvenile, among many others, attempted to enter the fenced area where the carts were kept and drove them through the fenced area, causing significant damage. It was just earlier this year when a statue of Tim Morris, who was known for his incredible contributions to the game, was vandalised at St.Andrews. And the damage happened twice, not just once, to the iconic statue, which was sculpted by David Annand.

Even in 2024, we saw several incidents, including at Mission Trails Golf Club in San Diego. The images showed someone deliberately driving a golf cart recklessly on the course, and even damaging the greens with stomping foot marks. Several suggested the miscreants should spend some ‘jail time,’ and be punished ruthlessly. And a similar incident has now taken place at the Skenandoa Golf Club in Clinton, New York.

The owner of the golf club, Michael Intartaglia, took to Facebook to share photos of the torn-up grass on the golf course due to muddy tire tracks. Between Tuesday night and Wednesday morning, someone drove what appeared to be a truck through the 9th hole fairway and even on the 8th green.

“Awoke this morning to reports of vandalism and damage done to the course. Last night, someone decided to drive their car/truck on to the course, doing significant damage to the tees and fairway on hole 9, through the bunker and over number 8 green. I’m literally sick to my stomach. We work so hard to keep our course immaculate. If anyone has any information about who might have done this, please let me know,” Intartgalia wrote. There was also damage done to the trees around the holes.

Fans react to latest case of golf-course vandalism

Like the reactions from past instances, fans were disgusted by the incident and demanded strict action to be taken against the vandal. “Shame on whoever did this,” a fan reacted angrily. Beyond the financial toll, it takes a lot of effort by the course management team to maintain a property as big as a golf course, and an immature act like this hurts their morale. “Sorry to hear about this Mike. Sickening is the only applicable word,” another fan joined in to support Intartgalia and implied that there was no other word suitable to describe this heinous crime.

While some fans were disgusted beyond belief, some demanded immediate and strict punishment for such vandals. “Hope you catch them and prosecute them to the full extent. The amount of damage here will certainly exceed felony limits,” a fan added, stating that the damage done is huge. The estimated damage done would require at least $10,000 to $20,000 to fix. This accounts for a possible civil suit, and even felony prosecution, as in New York, any damage exceeding $1500 is regarded as a Class D felony.