When Golf Balls Keep Crashing Into Their House, This Family Finally Reacts

The Tenczars finally realized their aspiration in the spring of 2017. They had just purchased their first home, and things looked promising for their future. That perfect arrangement, however, quickly devolved into a nightmare after they moved in. Why? 

Before they purchased the property in question, Athina, Erik, and their three children (collectively referred to as the Tenczars) had no genuine cause to suspect the danger that loomed over their future residence. Even though the location was newly constructed, they had already had conversations with the builders regarding the property.es.

As a result, they decided to purchase the house and then relocate. They could see a bright future ahead of them in their brand-new, picture-perfect home, so it was natural for them to feel excited and hopeful. And throughout the first several days and weeks of settling into the house, everything appeared to be functioning properly. 

The culprit was a golf ball, as you suspected. It is common knowledge that these have the potential to do a great deal of harm. They are usually struck with a great deal of force due to their extreme hardness.

It became immediately apparent that this was not going to be a random occurrence of any kind at all. In point of fact, it seemed like golf balls were drawn to the Tenczar residence like magnets. Repeatedly, the horrifying sound of these things crashing into their property caused it to shake and was really disturbing. 

The Tenczars were put in a terrible dilemma as a result of the scenario. They could not keep up with the number of golf balls hitting their house. They didn’t even make an effort to repair the damage caused by the crashes because it had caused so much damage over and over again.

The entire family was in a bad pickle because of the dire situation. Because of the circumstances, selling the property was not going to be easy for them, despite the fact that they had invested a significant amount of money in it.

If the Tenczars had intended actually to sell the house, they probably would have needed to engage in some deception in order to do it. They would probably have to avoid notifying potential purchasers about the truth of the situation because nobody would willingly spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on a house like this. 

So, the Tenczars would have to continue living in their unfortunate home. And to make matters worse, they did not have a lot of support. They actually looked for workable answers to their issues, but in the end, nothing was ever done to improve the situation significantly. 

In the most recent few months, the tragic story of the family has actually gained a significant amount of traction. In April of 2022, the newspaper known as the Boston Globe published an article about the Tenczar family, which discussed the struggles each family member had faced.

The article in the Boston Globe not only introduced us to the setting but also filled us with details about how the family had found themselves in the scenario they were facing. It all started in April of 2017 when Athina and Erik decided to start looking for a new place to call home.

The couple invested $750,000 of their own money towards the purchase of this mansion, but they were of the opinion that it was money well spent. This really did feel like the ideal spot for them to establish their growing family, especially with all of that space and the gorgeous views that could be seen from the windows.

Before the first event, the family had been living happily in their dream house for almost a month. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, a golf ball came crashing their way, barely missing them, and fell to the ground at their feet onto the driveway. 

After that, things got worse. Additional golf balls began to land on the estate, with some of them actually plummeting inside. Finally, when the first window was shattered, the gravity of the rapidly deteriorating situation was brought into high focus for everyone to see.

Unfortunately, this was by no means the last time that the couple’s children were put in harm’s way and potentially exposed to danger.

According to the Tenczars’ account to the Boston Globe, over the course of those four terrible years, their house was hit by almost 700 golf balls. As was mentioned, it had occurred so frequently that the family had even stopped replacing broken windows. 

It would be irresponsible to minimize the dangers posed by this circumstance. Glass would splinter whenever a ball would go into one of the window panes in the building. Broken pieces would fly in every direction, causing damage to the inside of the building. 

The golf-ball impacts that Athina and Erik mentioned were submitted to the Boston Globe. Athina shed some light on the occurrence by stating, “When it hits, it sounds like a gunshot.” Athina added, “It’s very scary.”  

In case it wasn’t already obvious, the house that belonged to the Tenczar family was situated next to a golf course. After reading that, you probably feel less sympathy for the family than you did before reading it.

In an email that he sent to the internet site of Golfweek magazine, the Tenczars’ attorney, Bob Galvin, discussed the condition that his clients faced. He went on to explain that perhaps the pair had, in all actuality, been given false information when they purchased their home. 

Athina and Erik knew that having a home so close to a golf course might cause some disturbances. Of course, they expected some noise but hoped it wouldn’t be too disruptive. After all, a number of other people reside in the same general vicinity as them.

During an interview with the newspaper, Erik said they should have given the house another thought. “Should we have looked into chances our house would be hit?” he asked. Responding, “Probably. Truthfully, I have no idea.”

Galvin, the family attorney, was sympathetic toward the opinions of those individuals who, after hearing the Tenczars’ story for the first time, have a difficult time feeling sorry for them. However, he is of the opinion that there was no way they could have rightfully known the situation they were entering.

Galvin also gave an interview with NBC, where he discussed his clients and the struggles they faced. He stated, “They thought they were buying a golf-course-view property and what they ended up buying was a golf-course-in-play property… [If] it was apparent to anyone that this house was going to be struck as repeatedly as this one was, they would have never bought this property.” 

The 15th hole on the golf course was the source of the conflict that was at the center of this story. Galvin contends that the webpage for the course really appeared to urge players to try a particular shot that would require firing the ball directly through the Tenczar mansion.

The Tenczars claim that they made multiple attempts to get in touch with the golf club in an effort to find a solution to the problem; however, they were frequently ignored.

On the other hand, the police did not have many other options that were realistic to pursue–besides getting in touch with the golf club. So after making that decision, the Tenczars contacted a specialist to inquire about the possibility of having a protective net installed in their residence.

The family was in a state of utter desperation, and there was no obvious solution, even in the distant future. In an interview with the Boston Globe, Erik recalled the following, “So then a year goes by, and another year goes by, and we’re dealing with this every day during the summertime, until we’re just like, ‘What else do we do?’”

The family made the difficult decision to seek legal assistance and continue down that thorny path, despite the weight of their hearts. Athina told the Boston Globe that they had “never wanted a lawsuit; nobody wants a lawsuit.” 

The attorney for the country club has commented on the Tenczars’ assertion that his clients have been uncommunicative. According to the article that was published in the Boston Globe, John Flemming was quoted as saying, “It’s not true that the golf course didn’t do anything. A suggestion that we were completely unresponsive, I don’t think is accurate at all.”

Because the Tenczars believed they had been led in the wrong direction from the beginning, they first intended to file a lawsuit against both the country club and the real estate business that was responsible for building their family home. However, the real estate business case was dismissed because the family and the construction company were able to reach a deal outside of court.

The Tenczars were called to attest to their experiences. Galvin told Golf Week the story of their ordeal was quite moving to the judge and jury.

A verdict was returned after the conclusion of the trial, which lasted for six days, and it was a noteworthy one. The Tenczars were awarded damages by the jury, who found in their favor and acknowledged the pain and anguish they had been through throughout the experience. 

Even Galvin admitted the fact that this was an enormous sum of money, which may have come as a surprise. However, he believes that it was the right move to make.

Galvin continued by saying, “This was most importantly never about the money: we didn’t sue for $5 million.” They only discussed damage to the property with the jurors and didn’t even attempt to accurately measure or ask for a specific amount in terms of damages for mental distress. 

It should come as no surprise that the golf course did not take kindly to this decision. It presented a plea to the court of law asking to intervene and change the verdict, but the judge denied the request. 

The next major thing that needed to be done for the country club was to file an appeal. This procedure was started in March of 2022, and yet Galvin is fairly certain that it will not accomplish anything.

Flemming, who is known as the legal eagle at the golf course, holds the opposing view. In an interview with the Boston Globe, he stated,  “I’m extremely confident that the injunction will be struck down.”

Irrespective of how it plays out, the Tenczars can finally breathe a little easier now that they have some relief from their current plight. When news of this incident began to spread throughout the media, the number of strikes on the family home with golf balls had already effectively stopped.

Galvin said in retrospect to Golf Week, “The situation was easily remedied by some quick modifications to the tee [box]…. which is all we asked for at the beginning.”