Golfers have issued a plea to skaters to keep off their greens, with one Tayside golf club claiming their actions are “vandalism.”
A continued deep freeze has tempted skaters out to frozen parks and golf courses but there are now fears they could damage the greens, which could cost thousands of pounds to put right.
Forfar Golf Club and Caird Park have both attracted ice skaters, to the worry of golf club members and officials.
Recently a group of people were spotted playing a game of ice hockey on the 15th green at Caird Park golf course.
Fraser Henderson, golf shop manager at Forfar said it was “extremely disappointing” to catch three people ice skating on the 10th green at the weekend.
He said: “As a small business we spend a large amount of time and money maintaining our course to a high standard.
“This reckless activity can cause irreversible damage. Anyone is welcome at Forfar, but we are asking the public to please show some respect for our facilities.”
Fraser added: “We spend hundreds of thousands of pounds a year looking after our golf course and the last thing we need right now is for it to be damaged by people deciding to go ice skating on the frozen greens.
“We have actually just spent £20,000 on a new system at our greens and it is galling to see people using them for skating.
“The course is closed for a reason and icy conditions also present a treacherous hazard
“We are pleading with the public to please not skate on the course and not risk causing damage.”
He added: “Ultimately, however, it’s a matter of respect. We are the first to advocate community participation and have a thriving junior section, but this is tantamount to vandalism for a golfer.”
Secretary and former Captain at Caird Park, Mike Tidcome said: “We had a group playing ice hockey on the 15th green and we have also had people skating on the 4th green.
“While no damage has been caused to date, and we are fairly confident that the ice has been thick enough to prevent damage from ice skates there is still a risk of potential damage from this.”
He said he had been up himself to take a look and was confident that no damage had been caused so far but the club would much prefer if people stayed off.
He added skaters and others have also left a huge amount of discarded rubbish and litter and they have even left behind sledges.
“We would ask people not to use our golf course for skating because of the risk of damage. At the end of the day this is a golf course and not a prepared surface for skating and sledging.
“We would also ask them to take all their rubbish home with them.”
Dundee City Council, which owns Caird Park golf course, has been approached for comment.
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