Duffers Law…

OTTAWA — Errant golf balls that hook and slice their way into people’s yards have officially been declared a “nuisance” by the City of Gatineau.

And golf courses that fail to take precautions against the damage wrought by duffers could be on the hook for minimum fines of $500 for the first offence and $1,000 for subsequent offences. The regulatory change was passed Tuesday by Gatineau council’s preparatory caucus.

“There was a ball (once) that flew over a house and hit a person in the private parts”

The bylaw makes it a “nuisance” for owners, users and operators of golf courses and other outdoor sports facilities to fail to take appropriate measures “to prevent balls or other projectiles from being repeatedly thrown or projected outside of (their) grounds in a manner that could endanger people or property.” Although the regulation does not specify golf balls, the impetus for the move was a longstanding conflict between the Club de Golf Hautes Plaines golf course and residents of nearby streets, especially Rue de la Citadelle, said Claude Millette, councillor for l’Oree du Parc and the driving force behind the regulatory change. “There was a ball (once) that flew over a house and hit a person in the private parts”. There were cars hit by balls,” said Millette. “It’s really dangerous.” Jean Leduc, manager of golf for the Club de Golf Hautes Plaines, agreed that flying golf balls do stray into neighbours’ yards, but blamed the city for the problem.

“The golf club was here, and the city issued construction permits for these houses afterwards,” Leduc said. “Now that it’s a nuisance, they’re washing their hands of the mistake that they made.”

He said the golf course will put up nets and change the layout of some holes to conform to the new regulation. “We don’t have a choice,” he said. “(But) it means very high costs.” Millette said it’s not up to the city to help defray the costs of a privately-owned golf club. To prove the nuisance charge, complainants will have to gather evidence in the form of balls, photos, and a written record to show that the errant projectiles are a recurrent problem. The regulatory change also makes it a nuisance for a person to “willingly throw a ball or other projectile onto a property, without the owner’s consent.”

Martin Potvin, press attaché to Gatineau Mayor Marc Bureau, said that kids playing catch, street football or other ball games are not targeted by the regulation. But Millette said the regulation could capture people playing baseball, tennis or practising their golf drives in city parks, if the balls repeatedly land on neighbours’ property.

“If there’s a ball that hits a house, the question is: is it in a voluntary and repetitive manner?” Millette said. “If it’s just one football, thrown by accident, that’s not it.”

Stolen from the Ottawa Citizen

This post was created by Hoopenfaust, slapped on this page August 26, 2009 at 4:50 am, filed under Ghetto Golf, Golf Etiquette. Bookmark the permalink. Follow any trash talk RSS feed for this post.