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Committee seeks fixes after golf balls threaten Greenshore Park courts
Summary
Lago Vista Parks & Recreation advisory members discussed safety risks from balls leaving the Greenshore driving range and proposed short- and long-term fixes including a vendor trajectory study, additional netting or fencing, and possible relocation of pickleball courts.
Committee members spent the opening portion of the meeting on multiple proposals to reduce golf-ball strikes at Greenshore Park's pickleball courts. The group debated installing a second net at the back of the driving range, adding lower fencing at the range's base and, in the longer term, relocating the pickleball courts to reduce risk.
A committee member, identified in the transcript as "Committee member," noted an earlier netting project of about $14,000 and recommended staff contact the contractor who performed that work and any firm that conducted a trajectory assessment. "We'll talk to Charles and ask at least why we landed where we did, on the $14,000 project with the netting at the height that it currently is," a staff speaker said.
Several members argued the underlying problem stems from course design and improved golf equipment; one said, "This is a golf course issue," and that it may be more cost-effective to separate the two amenities than to try to engineer a full mitigation at the current location. Others warned that moving tee boxes down previously helped but did not eliminate errant balls.
Practical short-term steps drew the most support: staff promised to collect vendor contacts and past assessments and to ask a netting company for an informal trajectory study. Committee members also discussed temporary work-arounds such as lowering tee boxes again or installing modest fencing that would catch rolling balls while acknowledging that high bounces might still pass over low barriers.
The group also raised operational questions adjacent to the safety issue: restroom access is controlled by a Little League concession building that requires a keypad, and the driving range's token system governs all-hours access to range balls. These access constraints complicate simple scheduling fixes such as restricted driving-range hours.
Next steps: staff will gather vendor and assessment information and return with recommendations; members urged prioritizing an initial assessment before committing to higher-cost options such as rebuilding or moving the driving range.
