Terrified Residents Sue Over "Dangerous" Golf Balls Pelting Their Homes From Nearby Course

Residents of a California mobile home park are teed off at the golf course next door because of changes they say send errant golf balls raining on their property, breaking windows, pelting people and presenting a threat to life and limb.  The complaints are contained in a lawsuit filed last month by the Casa Hermosa Mobile Home Park against the city of Anaheim, California, and owners of the Dad Miller Golf Course in Orange County Superior Court. The golf course leases the land owned by the city, the lawsuit says.  "The errant golf balls arrive with force, are dangerous, and have a potential to cause grave bodily injury, as well as property damage," resident Patricia Kezios declared in the lawsuit.  Here's what you need to know.

What Changed at the Golf Course

Residents lived for years without "substantial interference of errant golf balls" next to the golf course, which was separated from the mobile home park by a flood channel, a fence and several trees, the lawsuit says. Golfers can't see the mobile home park from the 15th hole. Things changed in late 2020 or early 2021, the lawsuit alleges. That's when the golf course moved the tee box for the 15th hole closer to mobile homes and removed trees along the border between the course and Casa Hermosa, the suit says.  "The alterations resulted in a dramatic increase in errant golf balls hit from the Dad Miller Golf Course and landing in the Casa Hermosa Mobile Home Park, primarily in the area of spaces 21-28 of the Casa Hermosa Mobile Home Park, causing physical damage to the homes and property of the residents of the Casa Hermosa Mobile Home Park and threatening the safety and well being of the residents of the Casa Hermosa Mobile Home Park," the suit says.

Why It Was Moved

The 15th hole tee box was moved to accommodate work Orange County needed to do along the flood control channel, the city says.  The city told the mobile home park that it would put up netting to protect it, but that it would take months to install the netting because of a supply shortage, and no netting has been put up, the suit says.  The city also said it would change the tee box of the 15th hole to decrease the number of errant golf balls, the suit says. That hasn't happened yet, the suit alleges.

The Damage Is Real

Resident George Kezios told KTLA he replaced a window after a golf ball broke it and said balls punched holes in his mobile home. Kezios said a ball also struck him: "It hit me … right on my shoulder."  Several residents filed sworn statements as part of the lawsuit alleging damage from errant golf balls.  "I currently find 6-8 golf balls on my property per month," resident Van Glagola said in a sworn declaration. "On September 8, 2022, a golf ball hit my storage shed while I was in the kitchen with a friend."

 "I also saw an errant golf ball hit the car of space 49 while he was backing out of his residence," resident Jeanne Ployer alleged in a sworn statement.

 "I observed the golf balls hitting homes, yards and the streets," said resident Thomas Raub in a sworn statement. "This primarily occurs along Spaces 21-28, but I also find errant golf balls along the street containing spaces 68-75 and 60-75. I typically find 2 or more golf balls per month in the gutters of the streets by these homes; I do not search the individual properties for golf balls."

What Do the Residents Want

The lawsuit asks the golf course to cease use of the 15th hole until it eliminates the threat from errant golf balls.  Among other things, the suit also asks the golf course to install netting, fencing, trees or other barriers to keep golf balls from landing in the mobile home park or to redesign the 15th hole to direct balls away from it.

"We are asking for them to cease the operation, and they can do that by closing down the 15th hole, putting up netting," mobile home park lawyer Don Diebold told KTLA. "That's the nature of the lawsuit, that we're seeking to prevent any catastrophic injury in the future to residents, the employees or any of the guests."

What's Next

"We are just learning about this lawsuit," Anaheim spokesperson Erin Ryan told KTLA. "We really think that it's unnecessary. We want to work with the residents and that's been our goal from the very beginning."   Golf course owners did not comment to KTLA.  Neither the golf course nor the city have yet responded to the lawsuit in court.