Teed Off : It’s Raining Golf Balls, He Says in Million-Dollar Claim Against City

Golf balls keep raining on his house, Barney Feldman says, and he blames his neighbor, the nine-hole Roosevelt Golf Course in Griffith Park.

So Feldman, who lives within a 150-yard hook of the eighth tee, filed a $1-million damage claim Wednesday against the City of Los Angeles.

“This is like living on a police firing range,” said Feldman, sporting a blue hard hat as he picked a muddy ball out of the grass in his backyard. “My gardener was mowing one day and broke his lawn mower.”

Feldman, who bought the house in 1963, estimates that as many as 200 balls crash on his property every year.

But, so far, in the parlance of the battlefield, none has had his name written on it.

“I haven’t been hit yet,” Feldman said, stroking his white walrus mustache thoughtfully, “but I don’t want to have to wait until it happens and I’m on a life-support system for a lawsuit to be filed.”

Feldman maintains that he asked the city several years ago to erect a protective fence as well as a sign asking golfers to be careful. He says the city ruled out the fence as too expensive but promised to post a sign, which it never did.

Al Goldfarb, a Recreation and Parks Department spokesman, said he had never heard of either the fence or sign proposals.

“Golfers are erratic enough as it is,” he said. A sign like that might make them more nervous and then they’d knock more balls out of bounds. I know I’ve hit some balls into people’s yards myself.

“But not his (Feldman’s yard),” Goldfarb quickly added, laughing. “Please make that clear. I don’t want him to sue Al Goldfarb, too. I’m talking about other courses.”

Parks official Sheldon Jensen noted that Feldman’s backyard is at a 90-or-so-degree angle to the tee and “would require a very difficult, if not impossible, hook (for a right-handed golfer). What might be happening is that some ill-mannered patrons of ours may just be turning south and, out of spite or whatever, hitting the balls directly into his backyard, violating every rule of our park.”

Jensen noted that, in the past, Feldman has filed complaints on several other matters--including loud noise at the Greek Theater and the vehicle-use fee for entering Griffith Park, “but he never called me on this (the golf balls).”

However, Jensen said a Recreation and Parks Department representative will be dispatched to Feldman’s house, and “we’ll see what we can do--perhaps realign the tee.”

Feldman’s claim alleges “discomfort, annoyance and mental distress.” He is also demanding that the eighth hole on Roosevelt be closed down until an adequate barrier can be erected, which would temporarily make Roosevelt the nation’s first eight-hole course.

Meanwhile, several groups teed off from the eighth without incident while reporters stood bravely in the impact area with Feldman. One of the reporters wore a hard hat that had been lying nearby.

Feldman, who admitted that he gave up playing golf several years ago, said he bears no grudge against the sport or against duffers.

“I quit playing because I just didn’t have the time for it,” he said. “But I was pretty good--shot in the 80s or 90s.”

However, Feldman had no old score cards to verify that claim.

A real estate broker, Feldman said he was not aware of the golf course when he bought his acre-sized property, because the upper portion--nearest the course--was shrouded by trees and brush.

Sounds Like Pounding

“When we cleared it away, the trouble began,” he added. “Sometimes it sounds as though someone’s pounding on our house. I think some balls have broken the slate on our roof.”

Feldman, who gives seminars on how to deal with real estate brokers, said that from now on he is going to advise would-be property buyers that they should find out “not just where the sewer lines are, but where the golf courses are.”