NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) – The Metro Parks Department is urging the public to avoid sledding on their golf courses to avoid damaging the greens.

Over the weekend, Metro Parks officers responded to a call that a fire had been built on the golf course, which turned out to be true.

Another call in the Shelby Park area came from a caller who said children and adults were throwing large snowballs at passing vehicles and that people were snowboarding and skiing, damaging the newly installed grass/turf.

“The department just spent $2.3 million for the golf course renovation which included new greens, tees, plus a stream mitigation project. There’s a reason golf courses close during snowfalls – to protect the greens. Additionally, there was a fence installed by our maintenance to protect one of the greens from damage – that fence was torn down as well. The cost to repair the greens, if destroyed, is quite expensive and time consuming. With the explosion of growth in that area, turf damage is a real possibility that we are trying to prevent.”

The officer informed the sledders of a city ordinance forbidding them from doing so.

“We empathize with the sledders, but we stand behind the officers who were doing their job, which as you can see is sometimes quite unpopular and difficult,” Metro Parks shared.

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