The Clarendon Hills, Ill., club has offered skeet shooting during the winter since 1943, which is authorized and regulated by municipal code. Residents call the noise an annoyance, and have suggested changing the setup so that shots and noise are directed away from homes.

Skeet shooting, an annual tradition of more than 70 years at Hinsdale Golf Club, has some residents in Clarendon Hills, Ill., complaining about the noise, the Chicago Tribune reported.

Some residents have contacted village staff with complaints, said village manager Kevin Barr. The activity has taken place during the winter since 1943, according to information from the club. Typically, 20 to 30 people per day shoot, but no more than four to five at a time, the Tribune reported.

“It’s an annoyance,” said neighbor Jack Chamberlin. “We’d prefer that they didn’t do this anymore; they say they’ve been doing it since 1943, but it’s surrounded by residences now, which wasn’t the case when they started.”

Barr noted that while homes had not yet been built next to the golf club in 1943, homes in the Stonegate area, north and east of the club, have been around for 40 to 50 years, the Tribune reported.

“We definitely want to look into something when residents express concern, but I think there is a difference in a case like this, when something has been there, versus something new someone wants to do,” Barr said. “”We’ll evaluate this under our code and see if there are any solutions.”

Chamberlin suggested that the golf club consider changing the skeet shooting setup so that shots are fired and the noise is directed away from the homes, which are across the street from a northern edge of the golf club, the Tribune reported.

“They could shoot toward the golf club building and use that as a buffer,” he said.

Brian Mulhern, a longtime club member and Clarendon Hills resident, didn’t think Chamberlin’s suggestion would work, but said the club wants to be a good neighbor and is open to making needed changes, the Tribune reported.

“I don’t see that we could reverse the shooting and shoot directly toward the clubhouse,” he said. “The village is going to investigate this more, and we’ll be more than happy to take any suggestions under consideration.”

The Clarendon Hills Municipal Code authorizes and licenses skeet shooting at the golf club and has regulated it for at least 40 years, Barr said. The code limits shooting to 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on weekends from November through February, the Tribune reported.

The code also requires that the skeet range be as physically close as possible to the center of the golf club in an effort to minimize the possible noise effect on surrounding property, the Tribune reported.