Judicial commissioner Aimi Zaini Azhar cited overwhelming evidence, comprising police reports, authenticated photographs, WhatsApp messages, a local authority directive and testimony from eight witnesses.
PETALING JAYA: A government pensioner won RM100,000 in damages after nearly seven years of stray golf balls landing in his home, damaging property and causing anxiety to him and his family.
At the Alor Setar High Court today, judicial commissioner Aimi Zaini Azhar ruled that the operator of Darulaman Golf Resort and the owner of the golf course’s land were jointly and severally liable for private nuisance.
He also ordered the defendants to take further measures to stop golf balls from entering the pensioner’s property.
The judge said living next to an open green space should mean enjoying a peaceful home, but that Nazli Ahmad Mahyadin instead faced recurring problems due to errant shots from Tee Box 7.
“Operating a golf course is a lawful business, (but) it cannot be conducted in a manner that unreasonably infringes upon the basic safety and property rights of neighbouring homeowners,” he said in his 21-page judgment.
The court gave BDB Darulaman Golf & Resort Bhd and BDB Land Sdn Bhd 60 days to raise and extend the safety netting near Hole 7, review the positioning of tee markers and the line of play, install prominent safety warning signs and implement any further measures necessary to stop golf balls from entering Nazli’s property.
Nazli, 61, bought his bungalow lot in Bandar Darulaman, Jitra, Kedah, from BDB Land in 2004 and moved into the property in December 2018. The home sits close to Tee Box 7, which serves a par-four hole.
According to the judgment, golf balls began landing in his compound almost immediately after he moved in. Between August 2019 and January 2026, Nazli lodged 16 police reports and made repeated complaints to the golf club’s management.
The balls allegedly cracked roof tiles, punctured the roof of his poultry coop, struck exterior walls and shattered a glass window. Seven neighbouring residents also testified about similar intrusions.
The judge said the evidence was overwhelming, comprising police reports, authenticated photographs, WhatsApp messages, a local authority directive and testimony from eight witnesses.
“The invasion was not an isolated or passing inconvenience; it was a persistent, multi-year state of affairs,” he said, adding that operating a golf course immediately beside a residential boundary carried an “obvious, foreseeable risk of off-target shots entering private yards”.
The court rejected Nazli’s claim that the repeated golf ball intrusions amounted to trespass because the balls were struck by individual golfers rather than directly propelled by the defendants or their agents. However, it found that private nuisance had been established.
The defendants installed safety netting near Tee Box 7 in December 2020, measuring 28ft by 80ft. This was raised and expanded in 2024 to 40ft by 122ft. However, the judge said the measures were “reactive, delayed and demonstrably ineffective”.
BDB Land was also held liable despite its argument that it was merely the landlord and had no day-to-day control over the golf course.
The judge noted that BDB Land was the operator’s immediate holding company, had participated in discussions over safety netting upgrades, and had itself developed and sold the residential lots adjoining the golf course.
Nazli was represented by lawyers Nashitoh Kassim and Nurin Ayuni Nazira Nazri.
Claims for special, exemplary and aggravated damages were dismissed. The defendants, represented by K C Ang and Norlaili Aziz, were also ordered to pay RM20,000 in costs.