AusLeisure

Pokémon Go players trying to gather characters at Melbourne’s Glen Waverley Golf Course have been creating problems for golfers, leading the Monash City Council to ban non-golfers from accessing the course.

Listed as a hot spot for finding rare Pokémon Go characters, hundreds of gamers have been trying to access the popular course by day and night, leading to clashes between gamers, golfers and course management.

With golf courses across Melbourne featuring prominently in online Pokémon Go hot-spot lists, Monash became the first to take such measures to keep the gamers away, erecting signs to ask them to stay away and assigning security guards to patrol the course on a 24 hour basis.

As a result, more than 100 gamers ejected from the course over recent days.

Monash Mayor Geoff Lake told media that the a large amount of foot traffic was destroying the course, which, together with its sister club in Oakleigh, cost "hundreds of thousands of dollars to maintain" each year.

Glen Waverley Golf Shop Duty Manager Craig Robinson said the course had seen thousands of people flock to the area in the past month.

Robinson stated “they're vandalising the golf course, they're pinching flags, they're damaging the greens, and they're disrupting the golfers, obviously.

"There's been verbal confrontations, nothing physical yet but it's only a matter of time. And then there's the loss in revenue - we've had people say 'we're never playing here again'.

"Also we've copped so much verbal abuse in the shop that I don't like working here anymore."

"Having more than 500 people congregating at the course at night has all sorts of worrying issues around wear and tear on the course (and) vandalism.

"There have also been complaints from residents who live around the course who are concerned about the noise ... caused by such large groups of people."

Robinson added that he had emailed the Japanese manufacturers of the Pokémon Go app, with the golf course's longitude and latitude, asking them to remove the Pokémon.

The Council sign has prompted a number of comments on Pokémon Go's Melbourne Facebook page, with some players saying they will continue hunting despite the notice.

However, Mayor Lake said he expected people to abide by lawful instructions and they would not "stand by idly" and let a "bunch of geeks looking for Pokémon" affect the club.

He added "Glen Waverley Golf Course is a significant public golf course.

"It is there for the public to play golf on; it is not there for a bunch of gamers to walk around filling their lives with virtual reality fix and having a negative impact on those around them."

Images: A sign at the Glen Waverley Golf Course asking Pokémon Go players to stay away (top) Pokémon charcters as shown on at Glen Waverley Public Golf Course on Friday night (below).

1st August 2016 - SAUDI AUTHORITIES CONFLICTED OVER PLAYING POKÉMON GO AT MECCA’S GRAND MOSQUE

22nd July 2016 - DREAMWORLD LAUNCHES POKÉMON GO NIGHT WALKS

3rd July 2016 - VILLAGE ROADSHOW TO INTRODUCE TOPGOLF CONCEPT AS PART OF REVITALISATION OF ATTRACTIONS

16th July 2016 - CULTURAL ATTRACTIONS REACT TO POKEMON GO PHENOMENA

31st May 2016 - FUTURE OF GOLF PARTICIPATION BASED ON FAN ENGAGEMENT

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