Judge Refuses to Let Driving Range Reopen

A Ventura County Superior Court judge has refused to lift an injunction shutting down the Thousand Oaks-owned Los Robles Greens driving range due to safety concerns, and the range will close indefinitely in two weeks.

Judge Barbara Lane on Tuesday declined to modify her preliminary injunction to close the driving range, saying the potential hazards caused by stray golf balls are too serious to keep it open any longer.

She issued the injunction last year in response to a lawsuit by nearby landowner Al Dickens, who alleges that an errant golf ball knocked him unconscious and that the projectiles are constantly flying wildly around his office building property.

Dickens just finished construction on the building and is prepared to lease it. He was concerned that runaway golf balls would scare away potential tenants.

City Atty. Mark Sellers had asked Lane to consider modifying the injunction, which he considered too harsh because it does not allow a single golf ball to enter Dickens’ property. But the judge refused, and the range is now scheduled to be closed March 5. The trial is scheduled to take place Aug. 19.

Sellers said the range will still be used for some golf lessons and other activities. The 18-hole Los Robles Greens--one of the most popular golf courses in Southern California--is about to undergo a major redesign, and the driving range will probably be reconfigured to increase safety, he said.

The tee-off sites may be moved to the opposite end of the present location, so that the balls would fly in the opposite direction. Other precautions such as higher safety nets will also be taken, Sellers said.