Grande Meadows general manager Bill Lee predicts it won't be until the middle of summer before the course greens will be playable again. (Grande Meadows Golf Course/Facebook)

The general manager and superintendent of Grande Meadows golf course is pleading for information after an employee spotted ATVs motoring through the course, doing doughnuts and destroying the greens on Friday night.

Bill Lee believes the greens were specifically targeted by people who knew their way around the area.

"They knew exactly where the greens were. You have to remember this was 10 o'clock at night. They knew their way around the golf course. They knew trails on the golf course that general people would not even know about," Lee said.

"So my question would be, 'Why'd you do something so stupid as that? Just for kicks?'"

Grande Meadows opened in the spring of 1996 in Frenchman's Cove on the Burin Peninsula, and is operated by its members, making the damage a little more personal for those who spend their time there.

Lee said the fairways were untouched, which he believes supports his view that the damage to the greens was intentional. He said he's reported the incident to the RCMP and hopes police find the people responsible.

Lee believes the ATVs got in through the adjoining Frenchman's Cove Provincial Park. (Grande Meadows/Facebook)

"Hopefully the community in the surrounding area, someone will come forward and relay some information," he said.

"You don't drive around these small communities in the middle of the night without someone knowing you're out there."

Greens a no-go until mid-summer

Lee won't know the extent of the damage until the spring at the earliest, but he's predicting the course will be down at least three greens, and the grass won't be ready until at least the middle of the summer.

Lee says the ATV riders targeted the golf course greens specifically. (Grande Meadows Golf Course/Facebook)

Since the course is operated by the members and is a not-for-profit organization, Lee said money will have to come out of the members' pockets. He estimates the damage to be in the thousands of dollars.

"If you've got no greens at a golf course, then you're out of business," he said.

"We've been here for 25 years, and never before have we had any incidents like this. So yeah, this is serious."

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