NEW SMYRNA BEACH, Fla. — Police in New Smyrna Beach are looking for the driver of a vehicle that drove onto the 2nd hole green at The Club at Venetian Bay early Sunday morning and caused $161,000 to the grounds.
Investigators say the incident happened at 2:45 a.m. one green which is just south of the 2900 block of Monaco Boulevard.
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Police in New Smyrna Beach are investigating vandalism done to the 2nd hole green at The Club at Venetian Bay early Sunday morning
Officials say a vehicle drove onto the course and “did approximately eight donuts,” which damaged an estimated 7,000 square feet of turf
Investigators say the cost of the damage is estimated to be $161,000
Police say golf course officials estimated that 7,000 square feet of turf was damaged, with a replacement cost of around $23 per square foot.
The Club at Venetian Bay general manager Ben Herring said that while the damage is severe, he views it as only a bump in the road for the golf course.
“All right, so what you can see here is we have the ruts that damaged up where the vehicle entered the green and once the vehicle was on the green, did approximately eight donuts tearing up and rutting two thirds of the green,” he said.
“Regardless of all the damage that was done, we’re going to get this fixed,” he added. “This golf course is in tremendous shape.”
While it Herring said it will take some time to completely restore the green, the course’s 2nd hole is still currently playable.
No information was immediately released on the potential make and model of the vehicle involved in the incident.
Officials with the New Smyrna Beach Police Department say the case is still under investigation.