Golf course scarred after brazen grass theft

A four-metre-long strip of pristine grass was dug up and stolen in a brazen theft at the Oudtshoorn Golf Club in the heart of the Klein Karoo.

Club committee member Willem Burger said he was doing his rounds on a golf cart‚ checking that all was in order‚ when he noticed that someone had marked off sections of a patch of grass on the course.

“I was riding in the golf cart on Monday late afternoon‚ driving through the lanes. I saw marks on the grass as if someone was marking it out. Tuesday morning I went to go and check on that patch of grass and saw that the grass had been stolen‚” said Burger.

“My suspicion was spot on. Someone had in fact stolen the grass. I suspect they first marked out the grass and after we left for the day they came back that evening.”

Burger said theft was a huge problem faced by the club‚ which put a strain on their finances and ability to beef up security.

“We have a huge problem with theft. The fencing around the golf course has been stolen over the years so there is no way to regulate people coming onto the course‚” he said.

“The club is not in a financial position to replace the fencing. It would cost us a few million rands which we don’t have. Flagsticks and rakes have been stolen. You cannot leave those things unattended on the course for too long.”

Despite the seriousness of the situation‚ he did see the humour in the grass being stolen.

“It is actually a compliment that someone would come all this way to steal our grass. That means we actually look after our grass‚” he quipped.

Burger said the incident was reported to the police.

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