GREENKEEPERS at an Edinburgh golf course have been left heartbroken after yobs on e-bikes wreaked havoc on the property.
Over a dozen thugs were filmed riding roughshod over the fairways and greens of Braid Hills Golf Course in the Morningside area of the capital.
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Braid Hills Golf Course in Edinburgh was ripped up by the bikers
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The greens will now need weeks if not months of work
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The greenkeepers have shared their despair at the damage
And the footage has prompted outrage on social media, with some urging the course to install cameras to capture them if they commit the act again and others calling for a change to the laws on e-bikes.
Braid Hills was designed by famed course architect and former Open Championship winner James Braid and is 136 years old.
We also named Braid Hills as one of the best courses you can play for under £45 in July last year.
It is a public course run by the council via Edinburgh Leisure and its south Edinburgh location makes it popular with visiting golfers to Scotland.
Greenkeeper at the course, Gary Rodger, posted a video of the damage being done on Twitter (X).
It showed several bikers driving across a fairway in the distance, with two golfers looking on in shock.
Other pictures showed the devastation that they left behind.
Rodger said: “Absolutely heartbreaking, we’ve been working flat with only 50 per cent staff for last three weeks trying our best to keep the standards high only come in to this, dreading more damage this week.”
He expanded in an interview with the Daily Record, exposing his fears that the problem will only get worse.
Rodger said: “One of our boys made a video of the young boys coming over a fairway and you could count around 15 of them against the skyline.
“It was a grim sight, when you know what was going to happen next. I don’t know if they are setting out to cause the damage or whether they just like the hills and contours, which cause natural ramps for them.
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“But they are ripping up all our good work and it’s soul destroying for us.”
He added: “We are literally dreading this going on and on.
“My first thought is to appeal to the better nature of those responsible in the hope they can accept that what they are doping might be having consequences way beyond what they ever intended. But we really just need it to stop.”
Councillor Marie-Clair Munro of the Morningside ward in Edinburgh called out the “anti-social” behaviour on her Facebook account.
She posted: “Anti-social dirt bike behaviour at the Braid Hills Golf Club.
“Hope the greens aren’t too damaged.”
People from far and wide shared their horror at the images in response to the video post.
One said: “Maybe an unpopular opinion, but I am done with e-bikes. There needs to be an age limit to ride them.”
Another said: “Felonious! Straight to jail! Right away!”
A third wrote: “Sorry to hear and see this. Kids doing this don’t realise the work and effort that goes into taking care of the course. Hopefully you can find them, I would post pictures and utilise local social media. Having them come back and fix it or work the summer is the best life lesson.”
Another observer said: “Deer cameras work wonders. Surprised you haven’t already done that. A course near me had similar issues and put up the cameras and caught the kids in less than two weeks.”
A fifth asked: “Awful. Why would they do that?”
Before a sixth said: “That’s heartbreaking Gary, every greenkeeper’s worst nightmare.”
One man said the shocking footage convinced him to make sure he pays the course a visit to play it when he’s next in the area.
He said: “Disgusting. Next time I’m up in Edinburgh I will make sure I come a play this course. Best of luck with the repairs.”
And one man went further, who said he’d patrol the course for the greenkeepers.
He wrote: “I’ll fly to Scotland to help with the repairs or just patrol the course throughout the night like Paul Blart. Dead serious. This is devastating.”
Read more on the Scottish Sun
Nearby club Craigmillar Park have offered their services after seeing the video.
The course manager there posted in reply to Rodgers: “Nightmare mate! Let me know if you need a hand! We are Just down the road!”
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The bikers can be seen off in the background here
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