The Cambridge mashie golf course office was burgled and set alight by criminals earlier this month, bringing to five the number of times the venue has been vandalised over the last two years.
Manager Boet Marais told the Daily Dispatch the nine-hole golf course had been closed for 25 years before he re-opened it two years ago.
“I opened this place because all the other mashie golf courses had closed in our town. The idea was to have a place of entertainment for families and the elderly who find it hard to play at a full 18-hole golf course.”
“The people who come here are not professional golfers; the place is just about fun and relaxation and to let our frustrations out on the ball.”
He said he had spent close to half-a-million rand from his own pocket to repair the facility.
Marais said the thieves stole two wheelbarrows, two lawn mowers, two weed-eaters and a spade.
“They also stole the cold drinks that were in the storage facility and it seems like this will never end. They also set this place alight. I don’t know why and what for, but they seem to want to vandalise everything.”
He said recreational activities were deteriorating in the area. “There is nowhere left in our community and town for families to go to.”
He said criminals were also defecating on the course.
“I do not know what kind of people do this. They also break our flags . We have never caught anyone because this always happens at night.”
An irate Marais currently uses his bakkie as an office.
“This inconvenience is actually worse than the theft.”
He said he had reported the matter to the police who told him there was nothing they can do.
“I reported this at six in the morning and the police only came in the evening. I even went to the police station during the day and all they said was that there is nothing they can do for me.”
Police spokesman Captain Mluleki Mbi said there were no records of Marais on their system.
“If he did open a case then his name would appear on our records.”
When the Dispatch contacted Marais for his response he said he was not interested in what the police had to say because they had failed to help in the past.
“This place has been burgled about five times and we have always reported it to the police and nothing ever happens.”