Golf courses present security challenges that are as unique as the individual courses themselves. Neither private nor municipal courses are immune from risks of vandals, thieves, and trespassers. And did you know that golf courses in locations outside of populated areas might cover more than 150 acres of remote terrain?
The Annapolis-based private security firm, Maryland Security Professionals, understands the security problems that groundskeepers and course managers face in all kinds of locations. We develop individualized security solutions for golf courses to alleviate a manager’s security concerns and to free up his or her time to create the best golf experience possible for the course’s patrons.
Five Golf Course Security Issues
Each golf course will require its own security solutions, but all courses, regardless of layout or location, face five common security threats and problems:
- Theft of golf balls or equipment. One course, for example, reported the loss of hundreds of driving range golf balls that teenagers had taken to use for their own practice. More determined thieves might target golfers’ cars that are left in unmonitored parking lots.
- Vandalism that tears up fairways and greens. Golf courses in urban areas might be perceived as public parks, with expansive lawns that offer opportunities for pickup football or other outdoor activities that can damage manicured fairways. In a more extreme example, an 18-year old drove his care onto a Milwaukee area course in February 2018, reportedly to see how the car handled in the snow.
- Trespassers or interlopers. A South Carolina golf club in 2018 faced the prospect of a man who had barricaded himself inside a clubhouse for more than 8 hours. That standoff ended when local police were able to remove him safely and without further damage to the facilities.
- Damage by golfers. Even the most genteel golfer can lose his or her temper after an errant shot, leading to wild and damaging swings at tee markers, benches, landscaping, and other course amenities.
- Activist blockades and protests. In the current heated political climate, golf courses are increasingly falling into the cross hairs of activists who organize protests at signature events to publicize their messages.
Golf Course Security Solutions
Size, location, and aesthetics often preclude golf courses from erecting large fences and other physical barriers to enhance their security. In lieu of physical structures, course managers can consider other alternatives:
- Installing wireless remote cameras and motion or noise sensors at random locations, and relocating those video surveillance cameras and sensors periodically to foil thieves who have scoped out their locations.
- Retaining experienced security guards to monitor and police golf course grounds, particularly during large events and at times of the year when security problems are greater (for example: Halloween, New Year’s Eve, etc.)
- Adding improved lighting and signage to alert personnel and guests of security risks.
- Enhanced secure storage for course equipment.
Golf Course Security Services by the Maryland Security Professionals
The starting point of every golf course security problem is a thorough analysis of the particular course and the security risks it faces as a function of its layout and location. Maryland Security Professionals has teams of experienced and dedicated security professionals who have honed their analytical skills through years of service for high-risk targets in the private and public sectors. We serve Delaware, Maryland, West Virginia, Virginia, Washington, D.C., and elsewhere in the mid-Atlantic region with personnel who will perform detailed on-site inspections. We can recommend a range of security solutions to fit the needs of your course, including your budget.
Please call us to speak with one of our golf course security specialists about how our services can free you up to focus on providing your members and other golfers with the best and safest recreational experience possible.
Additional “Golf Course Security” Resources:
- Grounds-mag.com: Confronting Course Crime can be Wearisome. http://www.grounds-mag.com/mag/grounds_maintenance_confronting_course_crime/
- JSonline.com: Man Told Police He Drove on Golf Course to See How His Car Handled in the Snow. https://www.jsonline.com/story/communities/northshore/crime/police-reports/2018/02/21/man-told-police-he-drove-golf-course-see-how-his-car-handled-snow/350445002/
- NBCwashington.com: Protesters Target Trump Golf Course During PGA Event. https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/Protesters-Target-Trump-Golf-Course-During-PGA-Event-425028924.html