Safety concerns rise around County Oaks driving range
Nov. 22—THOMASVILLE — When Sims Turner of Hahira, Georgia was traveling with his 12-year-old child, the last thing he expected was his windshield exploding. But, that is exactly what happened as he drove down 122 by Country Oaks golf course.
"I was traveling on 122 and as I was driving by the driving range out there, a golf ball basically exploded my front windshield," Turner said. "My 12-year-old hopped down in the back seat, kind of thought someone was shooting at us, it was that loud and crazy."
Turner said that it's not his broken windshield that bothers him. What does bother him is the lack of concern and the potential for serious injury.
"I think the part that bothers me at this point is it doesn't seem that anybody cares about it and what I want to make folks aware of is the way that the range is parallel to the road versus perpendicular to it, with the net not being where it is," Turner said. "Somebody is going to get very injured if a 16-year-old driver is driving west-bound on that road and it explodes their windshield and they run head on to another vehicle. So, what you have is potentially a very hazardous situation."
When asked what safety measures he'd like to see put into place, Turner recommended a higher net along the highway or making the driving range perpendicular to the road.
"In my opinion, I believe that you need a higher net," said Turner. "Now, that may be a regulation net for a driving range next to a highway, but you shouldn't have that many balls."
Turner said that on the section of 122 that runs by the County Oaks driving range, there are roughly 30 golf balls around the road.
Manager of Parks and Recreation for the City of Thomasville Mike Owens was asked for an interview, but was unavailable for comment.
Without proper verification, the Country Oaks netting that runs along the highway is a standard size net. When asked, Country Oaks staff estimated the net is 50 feet tall. Custom Netting, a golf net design and installation company, recommended that ranges that run along a road have nets that are a standard 50 feet high.
However, the standard may not be adequate. According to Graff Golf, a group that specializes in golf data and analytics, the height of a golfers shot depends on swing speed, which in turn influences launch angle and spin.
According to Graff Golf, an average swing speed is between 85 and 95 mph, which can result in a max height of 23 to 29 yards or 69 to 87 feet. Even a slow swing speed at 72 to 84 mph can produce heights between 19 and 23 yards or 57 to 69 feet. Even what Graff Golf refers to as "a very slow swing speed", which is 72 mph, can hit heights of up to 57 feet.
All of those heights exceed the standard 50 foot netting, resulting in a potentially dangerous situation for oncoming traffic.
"It's only a matter of time," Turner said of the potential for a dangerous accident.
