Outrage: UK golf club 'devastated' as quad bike vandals cause £100k damage at course

Outrage: UK golf club ‘devastated’ as quad bike vandals cause £100k damage at course

Posted by author January 22, 2025 Golf

Essex Police is investigating after a pair of vandals spent approximately 30 minutes tearing up greens and fairways on quad bikes at Thorndon Park Golf Club in Brentwood, England.

The incident is said to have happened at around 4.30pm on Sunday 19 January.

Essex Police is currently investigating following reports of criminal damage as six greens (3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 16) and more than half of the fairways were torn up by a pair of vandals on quad bikes.

Thorndon Park GC has stated on its website that its course remains open for play but that holes 3 to 7 and 16 are closed to due to “extensive vandalism of the greens.”

It is estimated the damage caused by the vandals could surpass £100,000.

The full figure will not be known until further inspection is made of the course.

Members of the club and locals are said to have offered their support in a bid to help clear the debris.

“We are all obviously devastated as a lot of hard work goes into preparing the golf course for members to enjoy,” Thorndon Park GC general manager Iain Evans told BBC..

A video of two quad bikes spinning around doing doughnuts on one of the greens was captured on social media.

Watch the shocking footage here:

CAUGHT IN THE ACT — Essex Police are investigating after a pair of vandals on ATV’s obliterated Thorndon Park Golf Club in Brentwood, UK, Sunday evening. The vandals spent around 30 minutes completely destroying seven greens and 65% of the course’s fairways. The current… pic.twitter.com/maf9MMl6Z4

— NUCLR GOLF (@NUCLRGOLF) January 22, 2025

The golf club has since released some images of the damage caused to the course:

The damage caused by vandals

The current state of the fairways

Thorndon Park GC’s greenkeepers X / Twitter account wrote “devastated doesn’t even cover it” in their latest post following the vandalism.

The account added the club greatly thanks the support of its members and the wider turf community who have reached out to offer their help.

The club concludes “we will recover”.

“Well, this is very much out there now so let’s talk facts,” wrote the club’s X / Twitter account.

“Two quad bikes got onto the course Sunday afternoon and decided to do there best to destroy 6 of our greens and a number of tees. Devastated doesn’t even cover it. Like all things, this can be repaired, and we will have it back asap.

“Thank you to all our colleagues in the wider turf community who have reached out to offer help and support. It’s greatly appreciated.

“Thank you also to our members who supported the team with the clean up Monday morning. We won’t be beaten and we will recover.”

Well, this is very much out there now so let’s talk facts. Two quad bikes got onto the course Sunday afternoon and decided to do there best to destroy 6 of our greens and a number of tees. Devastated doesn’t even cover it. Like all things, this can be repaired, and we will have… pic.twitter.com/Wx8vWAQ4bv

— Thorndon Park GC Greenkeepers (@GcThorndon) January 21, 2025

The club’s general manager Mr Evans told the BBC: “The initial thoughts were a little bit of anger and then just astonishment that someone can cause that much damage. Just mindless damage to what is effectively a natural environment is just awful.

“Maintaining the surface and caring for fine turf is an art. We employ greenkeepers and now they’ve got the unenviable task of trying to recover those areas, trying to make them fit for play.

“There has been vandalism on the golf course before with motorbikes but certainly not to this extent.”

Watched our latest video?