If you are a right-handed golfer, a slice can cost you dearly on the scorecard. Errant shots from members of the famed Quaker Ridge Golf Club in Scarsdale, NY, are costing their club hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees, a number that could go way higher if appellate courts continue to agree with a homeowner who lives beside the club's second hole.
The homeowner is suing the club for golf ball invasion of his property; the club claims fewer than two balls leave the golf course each day, but the homeowner claims considerably more land in his yard or against his house. Recently, four Westchester County appellate court judges agreed with the homeowner.
After offering to sell his $3.7 million home to the club and after the club planted trees and erected a net, the homeowner says balls are still getting through and he fears for the safety of his family. He is also suing the developer of his small upscale community for not having warned him that he would be at ground zero for golf balls. He, his wife and children have lived in the home since 2007.
Other golf clubs in Westchester County are nervous that, in the end, the homeowner might win, causing additional club expenses wherever real estate and golf courses encroach on each other.
I've been following the story at a LinkedIn discussion group, Club Advisory Council Internationale. One participant added this piquant observation: "The golf course was there for a hundred years and now that a greedy developer squeezes in a lot where it probably should not have been, the club is going to have to pay a price. What a country!!! Makes perfect sense to me."
You can read the full article about the controversy by clicking here.
