Golfer banned from club poured weedkiller over course green causing nearly £16,000 damage

He was given a three-month jail term, suspended for 12 months, and was ordered to pay £10,000 compensation

A disgruntled golfer banned from his local club took revenge by pouring weedkiller over a course green and caused nearly £16,000 worth of damage, a court heard.

Glen Newton, 55, was spotted on CCTV wearing a balaclava pouring the fertiliser across the green on the third hole of Woolley Park Golf Club in Wakefield, West Yorkshire.

He was chased off by the owner and groundskeeper, Leeds Crown Crown Court heard.

Newton, a former miner, had “issues” with the club owners that led to the termination of his membership in 2020, the court was told.

Charlotte Noddings, prosecuting, said Newton had clashed with the owners over his behaviour towards club staff and that no other members wished to play golf with him.

On 19 April, the groundskeeper spotted a masked man on the green on the club’s CCTV, and quickly jumped into his car to reach the golf course a few hundred metres away.

Newton tried to run off but slipped into the path of the vehicle, causing a collision.

The groundskeeper then got out and chased him on foot, catching up with him and managing to rip the balaclava from his head while filming him on his phone.

Newton was later arrested and admitted what he had done, the court heard.

He pleaded guilty to causing criminal damage, but he did dispute the repair costs presented by the golf club, which came to £15,837.

The judge, Recorder Dafydd Enoch QC, dismissed his claims and described him as a “difficult member” who had simply “made a nuisance of himself and went too far”.

Recorder Enoch told Newton: “I do not know what possessed you to behave in that way.

“I’m sure there’s two sides to every story, there almost always is.

“But the fact is you took the law into your own hands and in a completely planned and premeditated way, you decided you were going to seriously damage these people’s green.

“You obtained the equipment and you disguised yourself. You caused great distress to the person who faced you.

“The result is that you did what you set out to do, which was to cause serious damage.”

Newton was given a three-month jail term, suspended for 12 months, and was ordered to pay £10,000 compensation.