Like many of you on this forum, I take care of my clubs as if they were my kids. When this guy knocked over my stand bag (which was well out of the way), my clubs landed on cement and my new (1 week old) wedge was dented.

My question for all of you is "What is the proper response?" I did not swear at him because there were small kids around. But, I definitely feel that I was wronged and some sort of response was required.

The initial thought that went through my head was John Belushi smashing that guys guitar in the movie Animal House. I was upset. The guy said he was sorry and ended up leaving the range.

What would you guys have said/done?

excuse me.. you dented "your" wedge.

I appreciate your quick response. Please elaborate. Are you saying this was my fault?

in other words he just bought himself a dented wedge. Charge him for a new one and give him the wedge he damaged.

Accidents happen... It was just an accident, right? The guy didn't do it on purpose? He said he was sorry and obviously was embarrassed.

IMO you can't treat golf clubs like you would a car - if someone dents your car you are definitely entitled to reimbursement for repair.

Golf clubs are instruments you purposely smash into sandy, rocky, grassy earth.... You can't expect them to stay shiny like a car. If someone knocked over my bag by accident I would be mad, but that's life. I am not going to demand compensation, honestly.

Don't make too big of a deal out of it.

(On the other hand if I knocked over someone else's bag and damaged their clubs I would definitely offer to replace them.)

I think he is saying - that's what you should have said to the guy. i.e... He just bought your wedge.....


How the heck did he hit your stand bag? Mine is pretty hard to knock over. For me, I guess it depends on how bad the dent was. For a bad dent, I would be looking for some compensation in the form of cash. If I did that to someone, I would pay to make it right.

I dont know how he could have knocked it over. I was concentrating on my practice and when I turned around it looked like he tackled my bag.

not much you can do about stuff like that, i'm sure the guy felt bad. How bad was the dent? My bag has fallen over a couple of times and it's never been that bad, can't imagine it being unplayable. You'd have to really slam it to truly damage the club

its a wedge. its gonna get nicked and dented. if it was a new $500 driver than I would have beat his a** for it.

I would have gotten completely irritated, looked at the guy like he was some kind of idiot, accepted his apology, then gotten on with my practice. In the grand scheme of things that can go wrong in life this just ain't worth getting worked up over. That's just me though.

Pls tell me you are kidding.

Dented wedge?

I've hit many a rock with wedges in my days of playing. Nothing a little time in the basement with a grinder can't fix. Only club I would be bothered about being damaged would be the putter

Trauma counselling. Hopefully in a couple of years or so I could get some sort of closure on the incident with the help of professionals and the love and support of my family to help me get through the sheer hell that would follow. I'd then ease myself back into everyday life, try to start doing more things for myself, and ultimately start back at work again - obviously on light duties at first - and then gradually rebuild my shattered confidence and self-esteem by working towards a semblance of normality in my routine. It would be tough, and very much a case of taking things slowly and literally one day at time, but I wouldn't let this one incident destroy my life entirely. I'd dig deep, fight back and, God willing, find a way to get back to how I used to be, pre-knocking over of the golf bag.

Honestly, I'd be a bit annoyed, even if it was a genuine accident, but then I'd place it into context and cease worrying about it after a suitable interval of perhaps a day or two. Unless the clubs were knocked over a fifty foot drop and onto concrete at the bottom of it, I can't imagine it's that bad a dent or that the club's been rendered unusable by the impact.

Sorry if I sound a hit complacent, but it's a golf club. And worrying about it too much, particularly in the case of a wedge that's probably going to meet a stone or two in its lifetime, will make your hair turn grey and give you wrinkles. Call me less than a gentleman if you like, but if I knocked over a golf bag, wholly by accident, as sorry as I'd be I wouldn't feel beholden to the owner to such a degree that I went to the nearest cash machine for 70 quid or so. I'd obviously apologise to the owner, but to have someone ranting, raving and offering violence or other silliness wouldn't generate a particularly welcome response for them. And it certainly wouldn't get them that seventy quid that they may feel that I owed them.

As I sat here contemplating my Schleprockian day (dented club, Lakers losing, etc..), the humorous responses of this board have given me the strength to swing on and no longer be annoyed by my little dent.

Thanks guys.

100% correct. Some people seem to conveniently forget that believe it or not, accidents happen. *GASP* The guy could have been looking to the side, talking to someone, and walked square into the bag. From the OP saying "it looked like he was tackling my bag" I'd bet that's what happened.

It was a mistake, and a minor one at that. The guy does not owe the OP anything other than a genuine apology. Really - it's a golf club. BFD.

Honestly its a bummer but as long as it doesnt effect the clubs playabilty then its not worth worrying over. Wedges look like crap in a few months anyways after bunker practice, etc..

Maybe. Or maybe hes saying a combination of the above post.

You took the wedge that shouldnt be treated like a nice car, to the driving range and got it dented. As long as your grooves werent damaged, dont worry about it.

Although it sounds like I'm the odd one out here, my grandfather taught me that a man stands up and does the right thing. If I had knocked over your bag on the range, I would have apologized, sincerely, then I would have checked to see if anything was damaged, and I would have asked you to check to see if anything was damaged. If your wedge was damaged, I would have done whatever you wanted to make it right. I'd have written you a check and taken the wedge if you wanted, or I'd have even waited until after the round to buy it from you.

Just because it was an accident doesn't mean I'm not responsible for what happened. Calling it an accident doesn't absolve you from responsibility. Sometimes it's the pain of taking responsibility that makes you a more responsible person in the future.

Your reaction to this type of situation should be to put yourself in the other person's position and act accordingly, even if your own reaction is that it's not a "bfd"...

Unless it's on the face or sole and will directly affect the performance of the club, let it go. If it bothers you that much, hand him the wedge and tell him you owe me XXX dollars, because you just bought the wedge you damaged.

If he had bent or snapped a shaft, I would definitely expect reimbursement for the cost to repair or replace it.

If you bought it with a credit card that has a product protection plan, see if they will take care of it.

exactly, before and afters.

Broken Camera. It looked like I hit a rock in a bunker (except its on the toe of the club). I had my local clubmaker grind it down a bit. It should help me with those toe-down hardpan chips.