Owning a residence near a golf course can cut the traveling distance to the club, save you some other resources, and provide a beautiful landscape to gaze at.
Whether you are a professional golfer or fan, you wouldn’t easily miss an opportunity to live close to one.
So, Is It Bad To Live On Or near A Golf Course?
Yes. While you may benefit tremendously from not having to stare at a neighbor’s unkempt yards, a stray golf ball can easily fracture a skull, smash the car’s windshield, or break a home’s windows.
Six Reasons Why You Shouldn’t Live Near A Golf Course
There are more demerits. Let’s look at them more broadly:
1. Golf Courses Are Bad for Your Health
Save for the exercise you get for swinging the golf club, the grounds are a significant health hazard in their own right.
Golf courses demand a lot of labor and a fair share of pesticides to look neat and healthy as usual.
The larger the field, the more the pesticides – in terms of variety and quantity – it will gulp down weekly, sometimes daily.
These pesticides need to be mixed by people and sprayed from the air, sometimes with planes.
A cocktail of pesticides in form of mist normally lingers around a little longer after a spraying session.
The vapors may be invisible but can spread wide and far.
Golfers who descend on the course immediately after the spraying exercise can be exposed to this invisible toxic mix.
Some pesticides tend to run off the fields or seep into the soil and may eventually end up in your local water supply chain.
All these are reasons why golf superintendents are susceptible to more than four types of cancers – a study found out.
The four most prevalent cancers in this cohort are
- brain
- large intestine
- lymphoma (NHL, non-lymphoma)
- and prostate cancer.
2. High Property Values and Cost of Living
This can be a benefit or disadvantage, depending on if you’re a property seller or a buyer.
Let’s say you are a buyer – properties in and close to golf courses are never cheap.
That’s because these places are frequented by high earners, meaning the quality of homes and social amenities must be made to appeal to them.
And because the land is often costly in these places, don’t be surprised to find a mid-sized home valued at over $700K or even $2 million.
You could pay anything between $200 and $325 a square foot in some places like Dallas (Lakewood Country Club, Brook Hollow, etc.).
Unless you are rich, living close to a golf field may be unsustainable for you if affordable at all.
3. Safety and Privacy Concerns
As we mentioned earlier, those little white dimpled balls can course serious damages or injury if they fall on the wrong surfaces.
And because those who live close to these establishments are known to be moneyed, streets are more likely to be prone to robbery and similar problems.
Obviously, you are less likely to be in the path of a wayward golf ball if your home is situated behind the tee box.
Also, if it is located in between any two holes, you are not going to have less to worry about.
However, if you are anywhere on the right-hand side of the hole or at the corner part of a dogleg, be prepared for plenty of golf balls raining into your yard.
No need to be alarmed though – just a fistful of individuals gets hit by golf balls on the head every year. The chances of being seriously injured are extremely slim. But broken windows are more likely.
Another major concern is privacy.
You may never have a chance to sunbathe in your own backyard.
To put it plainly – if your home is close to a golf course, you are forced to live with almost no privacy.
During the day when the grounds are buzzing with activities, there’s very little you can do on your fence or apartment to avoid golfers and their assistants ogling your home.
4. Course-side Properties Can Be a Hard Sell
The real state on and in a golf course is one of the trickiest.
Investing in it comes with unique risks.
While properties in these places rarely lose their value due to quality and well-kept surroundings, very few people will ask to buy your property other than those with the same tastes as you and those looking for the same perks you got after purchasing a home with uninterrupted golf course view.
This means you will have a hard time finding the right buyer for your home if you ever think of leaving because not many people would want to live in or close to a golfing community.
5. Noise and Similar Issues
The one moment you could seriously regret living in or close to a golf course is the tournament day.
Large tournaments can attract large crowds, meaning more activities and noise.
On the tournament day, a trip that would take you an hour around the place or to the groceries will take a bit longer due to traffic. Roads may end more crowded as well.
6. Legal Liabilities, Responsibility, and Protection
Judging from the legal precedent regarding the protection of property close to golf courses, you can be almost certain that your property won’t enjoy protection from damage.
If your home sustains damages as a result of activities taking place in the course, chances are very slim you will successfully sue anyone and get compensated.
That isn’t to say that it’s entirely impossible to get compensated in the event of injury or serious damages like if a golf ball smashes the windows of a pricey car or home.
We already know of several instances where golfers volunteered to help or replace damaged items on a property.
However, there are no overarching statutes or laws that place these golfers at the center of sole responsibility for any damages inflicted on property situated outside the gold course.
Unless you identify the specific golfer behind the damages (a hard thing to do), the owner of the golf course is almost protected from the liabilities arising from such situations.
Related: What Are The Pros And Cons Of Living Next To A Cornfield?
Golf fields aren’t all gloom and doom though…
You can purchase a home close to one and live happily thereafter.
In fact, you stand to benefit from a few perks that come with it such as beautiful landscapes and amazing views.
Playing a round or two of golf is considered to be one of the numerous valuable things you could pursue in any golfing community.
Today, most golf clubs feature a central clubhouse complete with a space for few indoor sports, a sauna, a gym, and an assortment of entertainment facilities.
Thus, you will have access to a range of essential amenities that you would have had a hard time finding if you didn’t settle in or close to golfing grounds.
Related: Can You Put A Manufactured Home On Your Own Land In Ireland?
Final Thoughts
It certainly is inappropriate to live on or near a golf course.
Besides toxic and carcinogenic pesticides, you also might find yourself worrying about roof damages and other delicate outdoor-based items such as the car.
Homes in such areas can be a hard sell and still expensive to acquire because of the standards of living.
For a buyer to show interest in your home, they almost certainly need to be interested in the golfing activities occurring in the region.
