A Costa del Sol golf course has installed protective fencing behind a row of homes after a Spanish Eye investigation exposed how residents were living in fear of golf balls crashing into their properties.
The towering safety net was erected at Alhaurin Golf, just weeks after this newspaper revealed claims that golf balls were repeatedly smashing roof tiles, patio doors and gardens, leaving families afraid to use their own outdoor space.
Residents have credited The Spanish Eye’s reporting with finally prompting action after years of complaints.
‘First of all, I wanted to thank you personally,’ one homeowner wrote to the newspaper this week.
‘Thanks to the article you published several months ago, the golf course finally installed the protective netting behind our properties.
‘This has significantly reduced the danger of golf balls landing in our gardens and homes, something that had been putting residents at risk for so many years.
‘We genuinely appreciate your help in bringing attention to that issue.’
The original investigation featured residents who said they were ‘living a nightmare’, with one Dutch father claiming a golf ball narrowly missed his wife before smashing into their patio door.
‘We have two young children and can’t even use our garden out of fear of someone getting seriously hurt,’ he told The Spanish Eye.
Residents also claimed they had spent years asking the club to install better protection, only to be repeatedly ignored.
Photographs shared with this newspaper showed cracked roof tiles, damaged patio doors and golf balls strewn across private gardens, while homeowners warned it was only a matter of time before somebody was seriously injured.
The installation of the new fencing marks a significant victory for the affected residents, who had feared they would be forced into an expensive legal battle to make the golf course act.
‘This has significantly reduced the danger of golf balls landing in our gardens and homes,’ the homeowner added. ‘We genuinely appreciate your help.’
Read more Andalucia news at the Spanish Eye.
