Players at a North Bondi golf club have been forced to skip a hole after complaints from the daughter of one of Australia’s richest men forced a drastic change to the course.
The closure came after billionaire property tycoon Harry Triguboff’s daughter Orna Triguboff sent a legal complaint to the golf club.
She claims stray golf balls from the 91-year-old venue have been landing in her nearby garden, posing a serious safety risk.
In a letter from her lawyers, she demanded both the first and second holes at the course be shut until ‘appropriate and aesthetically acceptable’ measures are taken.
A notice currently reads that the second hole is ‘temporarily closed until further notice’.
The decision has disrupted play at the nine-hole course and left players frustrated.
The daughter of property tycoon Harry Triguboff, Orna Triguboff (pictured) sent a letter to the Bondi Golf and Diggers club demanding they close their first and second holes due to safety concerns
Despite club members paying for a fence to protect nearby properties in the past, the club decided to close the second hole in response to Triguboff’s complaint
The course (bottom right) is one of the most picturesque in Australia
Triguboff said she ‘seriously’ feared for the wellbeing of residents after a number of incidents in which errant shots had cleared the current protective measures, according to The Daily Telegraph.
The dispute between the property tycoon’s daughter and the golf club reportedly stretches back as far as 2011 when she first bought an $11.5million property next to the course.
Club members had previously paid to build a fence that was designed to block errant shots from entering local houses.
Long-time club member Lawrence Ferguson told the publication, ‘The fence we put up last year catches 95 percent of the balls.
‘She’s been arguing with the club for a while – it’s sad as everyone uses this golf club. Kids use it to ride their bikes, families use it for walks and club members love it.’
But the fence wasn’t enough for the property tycoon heiress.
‘I believe I am one of many local residents affected by errant golf balls from the golf course impacting the safety and wellbeing of occupants of my property and others in my street,’ she said.
‘This is a serious safety concern that has the potential to endanger the safety of innocent occupants.
‘I welcome the golf club’s decision to take decisive action to protect me and other locals in this way; a decision which the club reached independently and hopefully in the spirit of ensuring all people, whether members of the golf club or local residents neighbouring the golf club, can go about their daily lives without interference and safety concerns.’
Golfers have voiced their frustrations at the closure of the picturesque second hole of what is now an eight-hole experience.
One visitor told 10 News Sydney it was ‘disappointing to know the true story’ with them believing it was just ‘maintenance’.
Another took aim at Orna Triguboff, saying: ‘[To] think that because you’ve got a lot of money and renovated a house, that you can close down what is a public space , is pretty outrageous.’
Despite the course sitting on community ground and being leased by Waverley Council, the council has said it is not involved in the escalating row.
