Many people buy property and homes for what is in their neighborhood and what is around them. For some, living in an area with residential experiences is super important.
Many enjoy the ability to go to a golf course or a club with their family close by. For some homeowners, it’s very intriguing to buy a home located close to a golf course.
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Some people actually go out seeking homes on a golf course or with a private club.
Many people actually shop for homes, hoping to find one near a golf club and course, or one on a hole of a golf course. People enjoy the ability to say they live on a private course, or even join the course as a homeowner who lives there.
However, not many consider the downfalls of buying a home off of one hole of a course.
Some do not always anticipate that living off the hole of a golf course can also have some downfalls as well. Not only will you have people constantly in your backyard—total strangers playing golf—but there can be some big mishaps that occur as well.
One Indian Pond Estates family learned the hard way when they realized living off the 15th hole was not the best.
Erik and Athina Tenczar bought their dream home in Kingston not realizing that living on a golf course could lead them to a ton of problems for both their family and their home. When they moved into the home, they said the golfers were coming to the Indian Pond Country Club in “swarms.”
The Tenczar couple are not golfers but fell in love with the home’s property.
Although not golfers themselves, the couple fell in love with the $750,000 home in Indian Pond Estates in April 2017. They decided that the 3,000 square-foot home was perfect for growing their family and made a “quick offer” and moved in immediately .
It was not long after that the golf course had caused problems for their family.
Living off of the 15th hole of the golf course, balls have been causing damage both physically and mentally to the family. Flying balls from the golf course have caused their home to resemble a “battleship in a war zone,” according to The Boston Globe . Flying balls from the course have “shattered windows in their house with such force they sent glass spraying into the next room.”
The windows were being shattered so much, that they stopped fixing them.
After years of shattered windows, the couple stopped fixing them and instead cover the broken windows with thick plastic sheeting. They have had to partition their deck outside to protect their family from flying objects when outside. In addition, their home accumulated dents and damage on the siding.
The couple has three daughters, ages 2 to 5.
Living there and knowing that the golf balls can come at full force any time, they are “constantly on edge.” The golf balls are so strong and dangerous, that their kids wear helmets when they are playing outside in the area where they can be in the range of the balls.
In the four years that the couple has lived there, they have collected over 700 golf balls on their property.
The couple was tired of being in constant fear and decided to sue the Indian Pond Country Club for trespass over the continual bombardment. After a six-day trial in Plymouth Superior Court, the couple won the case against the Country Club.
The couple was awarded $3.5 million.
The jury awarded the Tenczars $3.5 million for damages and mental and emotional suffering. After collecting interest, the total will come out to be around $4.9 million total. This is a huge win for the family, who has been fighting the club for years.
Since the lawsuit, the Indian Pond Country Club has “reconfigured” the 15th hole.
The country club has “reconfigured” the 15th hole on their golf course so that the balls wouldn’t fly directly over to the Tenczars’ property. The couple also reports that they have not found any golf balls in their yard or hitting their home since this.
However, the country club is looking to appeal the ruling.
“I’m extremely confident that the injunction will be struck down. In my opinion, as a matter of law, the verdict of $3.5 million for alleged emotional distress is against the weight of the evidence,” the club’s lawyer, John Flemming, told The Boston Globe .
