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Concerns about stray golf balls
FOX 13's Carla Bayron reports.
SUN CITY CENTER, Fla. - A 55+ senior community in southern Hillsborough County being inundated with golf balls isn't the only one.
What we know:
Staff at Cypress Creek Assisted Living have bags full of golf balls they collect daily.
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"They have been hitting cars and smashing windows," said Pat Jaworoski, a receptionist. "It’s very dangerous. As you can see, our residents sit out in rocking chairs. They sit and walk with their pets."
Jaworoski said that for years, golf balls have been flying onto the property from the Cypress Creek Golf Club across the street. The problem worsened when the golf course removed a row of pine trees in 2024.
The club has installed a tall net, but it doesn’t stop all the errant balls. The facility has collected nearly 1,000 golf balls over the span of one to two years.
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A retiree living at Fairway Pointe, a 55+ senior community also next to the golf course, told FOX 13 he has collected more than 100 golf balls since moving in two months ago.
"It’s a life safety issue," he said. "If one of my grandchildren got hit by one of these balls, I’d be dead or lose an eye."
What they're saying:
A spokesperson for Hillsborough County tells us, in part: "The County is working with driving range management toward possible solutions, such as expanding the existing netting to help prevent balls from traveling beyond the driving range boundaries… and this should hopefully benefit all neighbors, including the nearby assisted living facility."
Jaworoski’s biggest concern is a resident or visitor getting seriously hurt.
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"This is our extended family," she said. "And just as anyone would want, they don’t want anything to happen to them. They feel they’re in a safe environment, and that’s the way it should be."
The other side:
On Friday, FOX 13 tried speaking with the golf club’s general manager, who said she had no comment. On Tuesday, we tried again; however, she was not available.
The Source: The information in this story was gathered by FOX 13's Carla Bayron through an interview with a staffer at the assisted living facility, a statement from Hillsborough County and previous FOX 13 News reports.