Damage caused by driving an ATV on five holes between December 23-27, shortly after the club closed for the season, will cause tens of thousands of dollars to repair. But the club’s new owner said this spring’s opening will not be delayed.
The owner of Uniontown Country Club said on December 31 that extensive vandalism to five golf course greens caused by a small all-terrain vehicle will not delay the club’s spring opening, the Pittsburgh Tribune Review reported.
Brian Boyle, who purchased the club in 2010, said the vandals caused damage in the tens of thousands of dollars at five separate greens between December 23 and December 27, shortly after the club closed for the season.
State police at Uniontown, which is in Fayette County 50 miles southeast of Pittsburgh, said the damage apparently was caused by someone driving the ATV in circles, the Tribune Review reported. Grass was separated from the greens, and three of the greens will need to be replaced, police said.
Police listed the replacement cost of the three greens at $10,000. Boyle said he expects it to be significantly higher, the Tribune Review reported.
“We will need a professional to go out and make an assessment,” he said. “We are properly insured. It’s the cost of doing business.
“It’s a shame someone would take the time to do something like that to something that is of benefit to the community,” Boyle added.
The club closes during the winter months and is set to re-open April 1, though an early spring could move up the date, the Tribune Review reported.
“If the weather is conducive, we will be good to go,” Boyle said.
Boyle sold his engineering company, Advanced Acoustic Concepts of Lemont Furnace, Pa. and purchased the financially troubled country club in 2010, the Tribune Review reported.
“I enjoyed hanging out at the club and I acquired it,” he said. “It was a lot of work for myself and my family. We brought it back to life.
“The club has come a long way. We now have almost 400 members,” Boyle added. The club reported 300 members when Boyle purchased it, the Tribune Review reported.
The club has a “fair amount of [security] surveillance,” which is under review, Boyle told the Tribune Review.
The vandals were playing “Russian roulette,” he added. “I don’t know what purpose they had.”
The 105-year-old club is an important asset in the Uniontown area, Boyle said, with a golf course that is considered one of the best in the area and that serves as a site for “high-end” golf tournaments.
“That’s why I bought it. I couldn’t see it going away. It’s too important to the community,” Boyle said.
“You get notification of [vandalism] at something you have put your heart and soul into, it hurts,” he told the Tribune Review. “But we will be ready to go in the spring. We won’t miss a beat.”
Boyle said he had already fielded calls from club members who said they were disappointed and saddened by the vandalism.
“My commitment to the community was to save [the country club],” he said. “The message now still is: We will be fine.”
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