Careless Golfers Destroy 10th Green At Pine Hills By Doing Donuts

Anyone who has ever golfed before knows a course is only as good as its conditions. Golf course owners and maintenance staff work tirelessly to make sure every inch is as perfect as possible. For one local golf course owner a nightmare became a reality.

Pine Hills Golf Course is nestled on Jones Road off Higby Road in Frankfort. The 18-hole course has been in the Grygiel family since 1954. One of the most important elements to a golf course are the greens. On Pine Hills' 10th green Thursday night someone decided to have a joy ride and do donuts. The golf club took to Facebook in frustration and disbelief that someone would do that.

The post reads,

To the golfer(s) responsible for the damage done to our golf course last night:

We know who you are and hope that you had fun doing donuts on #10 green. With one careless action, you have ruined months of hard work and maintenance. You are being a granted a window of time (that you do not deserve) to apologize for what you did, before further action is taken.

Erin Grygiel spoke to WIBX regarding the incident. Grygiel says the damage was done Thursday by someone riding in one of the courses' golf carts. Grygiel says she knows who did the act. Grygiel says, "My husband Clayton and I have decided to let the person(s) responsible for this remain anonymous, in hopes that they will offer us a humble apology."

She added, "The last thing any business owner should ever have to worry about, whether they are year-round or seasonal is someone vandalizing their property. It seems like having respect and compassion for others has become a thing of the past for WAY too many people. If we could all start to put a little more effort into being kind, the world would be a much better place!"

Those who golf have a mutual understanding about the delicacy and respect that needs to be given to any golf course someone plays on and the biggest rule of all is to respect the greens especially. The months of work the Facebook post mentioned is no exaggeration. With Central New York weather being what it is, making sure courses are in prime shape is no easy task. There are people who go to school specifically for golf course landscaping and maintenance. Most would say, there is an art to it.

Gyrgiel tells WIBX, "We are a small, family-owned and operated business and golf is not a year round industry in New York. Essentially, we have a limited number of months each year to “make it”.

The type of damage done by those who ripped up the 10th green is damage not easily repaired. To try and put a dollar amount on that damage would be difficult for someone like me. The real question here is, why? Why would someone ever feel it is okay to do such a thing. As if small businesses weren't hurting enough as it is, something like this can really put added financial strain on even a business doing okay. I hope the owners of the course find whoever did this and that the people responsible come forward and accept responsibility for their actions. This was truly an unbelievable act.