Vandalism a burden at Lickey Hills Golf Club
As vandalism increases across the industry, Pitchcare spoke to Dave Collins about bike damage at Lickey Hills Golf Club.
As a head greenkeeper, you never want to see tyre marks on your greens. Dave tells us about how the club aims to rescue the surface.
How long has this been happening?
Unfortunately, Lickey Hills has always been victim to vandalism. The course is a council owned public right of way which makes it difficult for Dave and his team to reduce the number of times this is happening. “Last year we had five greens vandalised; one of which was on Christmas Eve. Then, this year we had further damage just before Christmas which we managed to rescue.”
“Back in March, we had six greens damaged in two nights. Some of them were superficial damage and we were able to rescue them, however, a couple of them were a lot worse. Given the time of year, it was really hard to achieve germination, but we had to stay positive we would get the greens back. Usually, vandalism only happens once a year but, when they do five or six greens in one night, it can hamper the course for months.”
Repair and restore
Due to the damage happening in the winter; Dave was limited to the amount of recovery the club could do on the greens. He explained: “We cleaned off all of the debris, then seeded and topdressed to fill in the scars, which seemed to be the most effective method. For some of the deep damage, we had no choice but to re-turf, but unfortunately we can’t do that on all the greens.”
Golfer reaction
To the golfers, the damage on a green always looks worse than the job needed to fix it and the team are usually able to restore the greens quickly. Dave told us about some of the player reactions to the damage: “We are a pay and play, which means we get a lot of visitors, but generally people are always supportive when things like this happen. Some of them want to come in and be vigilantes, but we can’t allow that, obviously. You get golfers who support you more because you are having these problems, but it’s hard to stay positive.”
It’s mentally exhausting
As well as the physical damage that vandalism causes, it also has a mental knock on those trying to produce the best playing surface. Dave reflects on how it has made him feel: “It is your sweat and tears and it’s heartbreaking. You have worked on the greens all year in preparation for the season and someone’s idea of fun has ruined that. If it was a one off, I would be really angry and upset, but when you have it as much as us, it’s in your head. The anxiety increases because you are always thinking about the damage.”
“When it happens over and over again. You start to become numb and it never gets easier. You still have to go out and repair it. We want to come in and undertake jobs that we’re here to do, but when you come to work and the first thing you check is to see if there has been more damage, that is quite sad.”
He highlighted the impact on his staff: “They have a huge amount of pride in their work, so when this happens, they are on edge. We pick each other up and go and get the job done.”
Matchday relief
As well as being head greenkeeper at Lickey Hills, Dave also works part-time at his beloved Aston Villa. He describes a match day as an anxiety relief: “It is a blessed relief to go and help down at Villa. You get a complete break from the worry of damage, which has been a major bonus to my mental health.”
Educating the wider audience
According to police information, the individuals causing the damage are teenagers. Dave thinks that education is the way forward: “We are going to do the BIGGA First Green initiative to educate youngsters about greenkeeping and we use social media to widen the awareness and implications vandalism has.”
Police advice
- Identify areas of your property that may be vulnerable to forced entry and have them made more secure, paying particular attention to windows and doors
- Consider reinforcing back doors, windows and weak points where entry could be gained
- Make sure any service doors are locked and secure when not in use
- Make sure you have a monitored alarm and that it’s fully operational
- Ensure your CCTV works and that it provides facial recognition and good quality images, while covering any vulnerable areas. Twenty-four hour digital CCTV is also highly recommended
- Bins should be stored away as these can be used to climb on to gain access to buildings, especially via the first floor
- Sufficient lighting around the premises can be used to deter criminals and help to improve CCTV images that are captured
- Cut back any overgrown bushes or trees that surround buildings as these can provide cover for anyone who is trying to hide from view
- In the absence of external shutters or attack-resistant laminated glass in sturdy frames, film can be applied to glass to make it more resilient.
- Consider ways to prevent ram raiders from striking by putting large rocks, piles of soil or other obstructions in front of buildings
- Make sure storerooms are locked and, where possible, keep equipment out of site
- Store buggies and other ride-on equipment inside your facilities
- Put up curtains or even large sheets of paper to stop people peering in through windows
- Make sure keys are not left on the premises and that only designated staff have access. In case of emergency, make sure there’s a list of keyholders who can be contacted
- Add signage to say you have removed all handheld equipment from the premises