Resident accuses us of being out of bounds

: Jun 06

Out of bounds stakes do not protect the homes at the North Shore Country Club unless they are well behind the greens.

   One of our readers, a resident of the community that surrounds North Shore Country Club in Sneads Ferry, NC, has taken issue with our review of the golf course a year ago. Below is her note to me and my response. For my original review of North Shore, click here.

Her email to me:
    I saw your review about NSCC and noted your objections to the OB markers and "homes being built too close to the golf course". Hello - without the homes there would be no golf course. Our home is on the fairway and we have had our share of golf balls hit the house, break windows, etc., all by golfers who do not get it that when they pay their greens fee they are paying to play on the GOLF COURSE and not in and around homeowners' property. The fairways here are generous (I am a golfer) and your criticism of obtrusive OB markers is pathetic. If you can't play your ball in bounds (or at least be courteous if you do make an error - we all do) than you need to go hit balls on a public range and stay away from decent courses like North Shore Country Club. Feel free to respond although I doubt you will.

The response I sent to her:
    First of all, thank you for reading Golf Community Reviews and for taking the time to respond to my review of North Shore. I appreciate the passion many people feel for their home course and community. You certainly feel that way about North Shore. I wrote about North Shore twice in the space of a couple of days a year ago, and my overall review was strongly positive. I recall receiving a complimentary email from your club's general manager a few days after I posted the article. I am a fan of North Shore, but no golf course or community is perfect, and it is the job of a reviewer to indicate the warts as well as the beauty marks for those who have not had the opportunity that I have had to play the course.
    Given your obvious anger toward golfers whose shots hit your home or land in your yard, I wonder why you purchased a home directly adjacent to a fairway. Although there is no excuse for

Golfers make the occasional bad swing, but a homeowner who chooses to live along the fairway and expects to be free of incoming golf balls has made a bad lifestyle decision.

bad manners by golfers (or homeowners, for that matter), stray golf balls are a fact of play. The other day at Pawleys Plantation in South Carolina, my son pushed a tee shot well out of bounds and off the roof of a home at mid fairway. Tim is a 2 handicap golfer who plays for his college golf team. I have watched Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods launch errant shots that would have put a severe dent in your house. I have played thousands of rounds of golf in my life, and I can say that I have never played with anyone who purposely aimed to hit a house. If misguided golf balls are stressing you out, I think you have only one recourse. Golfers make the occasional bad swing, but a homeowner who chooses to live along the fairway and expects to be free of incoming golf balls has made a bad lifestyle decision.
    After having spent virtually every day of the last five years talking with developers, researching, learning about and writing about golf communities, I know full well that many golf courses could not have been built without the homes. In many cases, though, developers provide the golf course architect with a footprint large enough that homes are set well back from the course, eliminating the need for out of bounds stakes. In some cases water hazards or other natural barriers provide buffers between the homes and the course. I understand compromises sometimes are necessary, but before one of my readers chooses to visit a golf community, they should be aware of how the real estate and the golf course fit one to the other. I see that as a fundamental part of my job.
    I am sorry you doubted I would respond to your note. The points you raise are worthy of debate, even if your tone is more harsh than necessary. I intend to publish your note at my web site, with my response.
    Thanks again for writing to Golf Community Reviews.