I walked to the 17th tee just wanting to get the round over with as I was all over the course for most of the round. As my buddy and I arrived a golfer on another tee adjacent to 17 fairway to our left splashed one in the water 20 yards to the front left of our tee box. No "fore" or warning of any sort. It's a good 250 yard carry for them to reach the water. No big deal.

I walk to the right side of the tee box to set up for a little faded hybrid. I bent over to tee my ball and for some reason a low hanging branch in my peripheral vision caught my eye and I figured I'd move toward the center of the tee box to avoid it for sure. As I stood back up something caught my attention and I lurched backwards to get upright and out of the way very quickly. When I did I heard "voooosh!" A golf ball zipped right in front of my face and smacked my golf bag and dropped right beside my push cart. It sounded like a major league fastball when it hit my Bridgestone staff bag.

I was in shock. The ball was within a foot of drilling me right in the side of the head. I don't know what kind of ball speed a ball needs to carry 250-270 yards, but I figure if it hit me in the head I would be lucky if I weren't killed or hurt very badly. My initial thought was "what the f*ck!!??" I think I yelled it. No "fore" no warning whatsoever. After the first one landed at the edge of my comfort zone I should have been more aware the next player's shot. I simply figured it would be dumb luck if another ball landed that close. I guess I'm dumb for thinking that.

When the foursome approached I saw that they had a younger girl with them, maybe 12 or 13 years old so I really tried to maintain my composure. I told them that they should warn with a "fore" when they hit at someone. They said they yelled but I didn't hear a thing other than the contact then the ball buzzed my tower. I simply told them in a not so nice tone that they need to sound off in a man voice before they kill someone. I said there is no reason to be embarassed of a wayward shot and a "fore!!!" would be appreciated the next time.

I am still shook up. It was like getting shot at. I don't think anyone involved understands the severity of the situation the way I do. Not even my buddy. They didn't see the ball so they don't understand how close it was to taking my head off. I got very lucky. If I had stayed bent over to tee that ball in the original spot I probably would not have stood to hit the shot. It would have rolled me. I guess it was dumb luck on my part that that tree limb caught my eye. It probably wouldn't have affected my shot, but it in hindsight it may have saved my life. I am a combat vet and I've been in the mix. That is as scared as I have been since my time as an infantryman in Iraq.

My point is if someone hits a wayward shot they should sound off at the top of their lungs. THey shouldn't be embarassed and shouldn't hesitate. They shouldn't wait till it's too late. They should sound off early and loud so everyone in range and even beyond range can hear the warning. Like I said, I don't know how fast that ball was moving. Probably well over 100mph, but I am darn sure that it was getting along with enough velocity to kill a man.

Jennings, sorry to hear about this close call, many people don't understand how lethal a golf ball can be. It might not kill you, but it certainly can take an eye out or break your cheek or jaw bones. I hope your words to the other golfers sink in.

Oh yeah, and thanks for your service to our Country, it is much appreciated.

Cheers!

thats crazy. Its really sad when a player cant even yell a simple word like fore. its not rocket science lol

Glad you were not hit. I have had two close encounters without warning. One shot hit the top of our cart and one hit my bag, both from another fairway.

In these days of 270-300 yard drives it's very important to sound off when you yell FORE.... I give it a good bellow whenever necessary... Not that I drive that long all the time, but the distances balls go these days, it's important to be sure you are heard...

My friend was hit in the eye socket with an errant 3-wood shot from an adjacent fairway... It crushed his eye socket and he had to have reconstructive surgery. He regained full vision in his eye after about 3 weeks but it was sketchy for a while whether he would ever see properly out of that eye again. The guy never yelled fore.

Very good post. On average, people have no respect for one another, as from what I have witnessed. This has leaked into golf. And, your experience really has become the norm now a days. It's despicable. I am happy to hear you are alright. I hope your story helps people better understand the situation.

Pretty common, errant shots happen, but not yelling fore is pretty poor. I make sure to give a good hearty scream if I think theres any danger. I've been on the recieving end of a ball before, and seen the damage it can do, it hurts!

I hear you. People not yelling fore makes me plenty angry.

I had a similar incident happen to me years ago. Me and my buddy were finishing on 18, a par 3 which parallels the par 4 1st hole. I'm standing on the 18th tee watching my buddy get ready to hit and some dude on the 1st tee hits a slinging hook that hit me right in the jaw. The ball ricoched off my jaw and hit my collarbone, cutting the skin on my collarbone. The 1st tee was about 190 yards from where I was standing. It hurt like a mofo for a minute, but I was fine. Of course the guy didn't yell fore and didn't offer an apology when he came over and found out what happened. Things got pretty heated and we decided to leave (after we putted out on 18, of course) as we were greatly outnumbered.




Edit: my horrible spelling

I made a comment in another thread that one of my biggest fears is getting hit by a golf ball on the course (someone told me I should "man up," still not sure if they were kidding or not). When I was 9 years old I saw someone get drilled by a golf ball hit by a fairway wood around 150 out. The guy ended up losing his right eye and most of his vision in his left. I don't know why, but whenever I hear someone yell fore or I see a ball flying near me, that thought always comes to mind.

It always blows my mind how reluctant people are to yell four. Most of the time I'm the one that yells it for my playing partners -- I feel like I have to watch everyone hit because no one bloody yells. People always comment about how I yell so loudly and I have to shake my head at the idiocy of it.

I just think people are embarrassed. They already hit a bad shot so they don't want to attract any more negative attention to themselves by yelling "fore" to warn others that they've hit a wayward shot. I wonder if he would have been embarrassed if he drove up and my temple or my eye socket was caved in.

I'm quite glad they had a child with them because that is probably the only thing that kept me from blowing a gasket. I was pumped so full of adrenaline. I really wanted to put my hands on the guy. I think they could sense it as none of them came within 30 yards or so. I could feel it. The fight or flight type of adrenaline pump. I was so scared and so angry. My heart was pounding and my hands were shaking. I was ready to move, my hands felt so light. That young girl would have had to go home and tell mom that she saw the tasmanian devil today. But I held it together, for that I am proud of myself.

This reminds me of something that happened a couple of weeks back. I went out as a single and the pro shop paired me w/ two other players. They weren't the friendliest two in the world, but no big deal, I decided to just play golf and let them do their thing, all good.

Few holes in, one player hits a screaming low push slice that was making eyes for a player a couple of holes ahead on a green about 100 yards in front of and 100 yards right of the tee box. It was like slow motion, I saw that ball just making a bee line for the guy on the green and I bellowed "FOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORE!!!!!!!!!!!!" The two guys on that green hit the deck like Marines, just belly flopped flat on their stomachs.

It turns out the drive kept bending right so it screamed over the fringe area and was probably 10 or 20 feet away from beaning one of the players. I looked at the two guys I was paired with and was going to say "whew!" and then maybe some nervous laughter. Before I could say anything one of the guys lays into me: "WTF are you doing? Yelling FORE when I'm hitting? Trying to embarrass me or something?"

I was speechless, didn't know what to say. I took a moment to gather myself and decided not to say anything. No reason to argue with that guy, and I damn sure was not going to play eleven or twelve more holes with these knuckleheads. I grinned a bit, shook my head, put my driver head cover on, and walked into the clubhouse.

Life is too short to play with guys like that. No thanks. I expect to enjoy myself when I play golf, and that was just nuts. I went to the pro shop and explained the situation, asked him if he could pair me up again w/ another group, which he was happy to do.

All's well that ends well, I ended up playing 24 holes for the price of 18.

As long as those two jackasses didn't kill anyone on the back nine, it was a good day for everyone.

This so horrifying, its honestly scary.



I know EXACTLY how you feel. I was on th 9th hole today when this almost happened to me! I parked our cart just before a greenside bunker about 15 yards short of the green. There had to have been literally 30 miles of wind today, and on the 9th hole its was straight into our face. So a ball can get blown just about anywhere, I wouldnt even trust Tiger hitting into me on a day like today.

Anyways, the 4 of us are getting of the green putting our clubs back in our bag when all of a sudden I hear "fore". I am like "What the f&^%," we are barely of the green and this a$$hole rips some type of fairway wood. I cover my head, and after about 3 seconds I didnt hear anything, then all of a sudden the ball shoots down about 7 feet from me.

Then... I flipped! I screamed "What the F*&% are you doing! We are 5 yards off the F#$%ing green you F&**ing A$$hole!" Also some other words too but I cant remember what they were. I am shaking I'm so mad now. I take my wedge and swing one handed and hit his ball about 20 yards the wrong way (at this point I have went to far, I know). But when there is like 5 groups on the whole front side there is no reason to hit into anyone especially when this is the first time we have seen them is on this hole.

This has happened to me 3 times now in the last 5-6 weeks. Unfortunately I have reacted the same way. But I have seen what a golf ball can do, it can do some damage. I hate getting so mad, but I dont want what happened to the guys QWKDTSN friend in post happening to me or my friends.hit someone before like 7 years ago when I was like 20 years old. I felt horrible when it happened.

Did anyone see a few weeks ago when Reteef Goosen hit that guy in the face? HORRIFYING!!

Glad you are OK.

Rant over
Ryan

glad to hear you are okay though

I'm not making excuses by any means, but It seems like nobody yells "fore" these days...I blame it partly on the PGA Tour...you always just see them launch one into the gallery and just hold out there arm in the direction it is going for the spotter to see where it lands. They don't give a damn if it is heading towards a pack of people. I'm sure people adapt this principle when they play their local course. Regardless, it is horrible etiquette and DANGEROUS...Again, glad you are okay

That's a good point. My wife and I went to the Valero Texas Open couple weeks ago and Mark Wilson almost hit us with a tee shot on the 8th hole. Nobody yelled fore and the doofus marshal at the tee actually motioned that the drive was going down the fairway.

I've been hit a few times in the last couple of years including a shot in the neck...Trip to the emergency room for that one...after finishing the round of course.

Here's one from today and with God as my witness, it happened just like this.

We're on a par 5 putting and the group behind us is standing at the 150 marker. Just as I finish a stroke I hear a "whomp." One of the guys in the group behind us hit it while the 4 of us were in complete view right in front of them. The ball landed just behind my arse. No fore...nothing until the ball was behind me and then a very weak...fore.

I waited for them and when they got to the green the guy says...geez I'm sorry I've never hit it that far before. Somehow I think he was serious.

I'm still a bit jittery and this crap happened at like 12:30 this afternoon. I know I take a chance every time I step on a golf course, but for that clown not to YELL "FORE!!!" just makes my blood boil. If I'd have had my 7-year old boy with me I'd have given him a lesson on a**kicking. That's the bottom line.

Wow! Something similar happened to me a year or so ago. Was sitting on a bench by the tee box waiting for the green to clear. The driving range runs perpendicular to my tee box. I was just randomly sitting there, singing a tune, and whooooooooosh! A ball dropped right between my legs. Laughed so hard, because I just avoided something worse than death haha.

Had a ball land no more than 2 feet away from me yesterday while I was standing on a tee box. Guy never yelled Fore. I'm the guy in the foursome who screams it if it is even halfway close. You never know if a ball is going to take a weird bounce or something. Better to be safe than sorry. Can never understand why someone would be too embarrassed to yell fore. Anyway the guy comes to get his ball and he says he is sorry and he never hits the ball that far right. I kid you not he takes his next shot and slices the ball another two fairways over and just walks away. I had to laugh at the guy while he was walking away.

This seems to be happening way to much. Like alot of you guys said, people are probably to embarrassed to yell "fore". But yelling "fore" is less embarrassing then being the guy on the news who killed someone w/ a horrible shot.

I hear people talk about a ball landing a few feet away or whatever, but this ball was on the fly off a driver and I was 250+ away and it buzzed my tower within a matter of inches. What would that ball speed be? 150mph? I heard it before I saw it. My wife thinks I'm exagerating and some of you may too, but a ball that carries approximately 270 on the fly (give or take) is carrying some serious velocity. He was a righty so it was a overcooked hook. I really am lucky. I know for a fact that if that ball hit me in the head I would not have walked off that tee box. It wasn't like it came bouncing in or anything. It was a friggin' rocket!!! I'm still not over it. The bloomin' idiot could have killed me or blinded me or deformed my pretty face. Hell, it could have hit me right in the back or neck and shattered a vertebrae. For goodness sake SOUND OFF LIKE YOU'VE GOT A PAIR!!!

I just can't quit thinking about it. I should have watched him tee off, that's my fault.

I appreciate all of you guys sympathizing with me. It really shook me up and I'm not easily shaken. It was just so stinkin' close.

Had this happen to me about a month ago. Buddy and I decide to walk 9 on a Monday late afternoon after work. We had just finished the 8th hole (par 3) and were walking down the cartpath toward number nine. The cartpath runs back parallel with the 8th hole for about 40 yds then cuts left to go around the lake.

As we are walking and talking, in mid stride, a ball goes wizzing of the cartpath through my legs, just brushing the crotch of my shorts. At first I couldnt believe it happend. We looked over at the 8th tee and the guy had apparantly hit a dead shank. He refused to even look at us and was clearly embarassed. At the time all I could do was laugh as it was clearly not intentional.

After the round, it sunk in how close I had come to being seriously injured.

Me too! I got hit on the left leg right beside the shin bone, I swear I could see "top flite" etched into my leg! Glad you are ok and thanks for you for serving this great Country. Much appreciated.

That's keeping the game of golf to a high standard. I don't believe anyone should act out their fantasies on the golf course.

I can second the yelling like you have a pair sentiment. I was hit in the head by a drive of about 250 yards last Wednesday evening. The guys yelled a little but it was too little too late. Scary stuff, but luckily I am okay.

I think I may be an over fore yeller, but it makes me feel ok... Not that I'm too loud, but if I'm playing a course that has holes running side by side I yell it if my ball is heading into the thin woods that separates the holes. I hate the excuse that they don't see you there, so I'll yell if there's a possiblity someone is there.

But even aside from teaching people to yell fore, I think a lot of folks need to be taught what to do when it's called out. Seems a lot of people nowadays turn around to look for the ball flying at them. Not the safest move around.

I think some of the non use of fore may be relevant to the idea of messing some one's swing or putt up. I have and still do yell fore, but I do wonder if I broke someone's focus. I play a small 9 hole par 36 course mostly and you can see most people at most times. The word Fore is NOT the F bomb and should be used when appropriate.

No, not nearly 100 mph. If the ball carried that far, and it were going 100 mph, it would have had to have an inital ballspeed of around 250 mph. The slowdown is logarithmic too, so it slows the most in the beginning. The ball was likely traveling about 55 mph or less by the time it got to you.

It might have killed you if it hit you dead on in the temple, but I've never heard of anyone being killed by a golf ball. When I looked it up, the closest I could find is a little girl being hit in the head by a ball, then dying at the hospital, but the report said she died from the doctors giving her too much endone and codeine.

Golf balls are rubber, and they weigh only 1.6 oz. Traveling at 100 mph, they have 33 ft/lbs of energy. A .22 cal bullet has over 140 ft/lbs of energy.

Holy cow.

I'm glad your not hurt.

Well, I don't know, but I looked and most of you guys live in non-golf oriented places. I was born in Ft. Lauderdale, and my whole life have been surrounded by golf, and where I am from, everyone yells fore. The whole "fore"some will yell it here. I am amazed at some of the stories I hear about golfers from other parts of the country.

The best "fore" story I know is not the action, but the yell. This German guy shanks one from the range into the fairway of #1, and he yells "Fore", but with his accent, it comes out as this "foo-ah!" I tried so hard not to laugh. I've heard a few Germans yell "foo-ah", but never that close and with that voice!

I'm glad to hear that you're all right. I've noticed how many people don't yell fore anymore. I don't know if you're religious or not but maybe it was your guardian angel that pointed that branch out to you.

Also bravo for not flipping out. (I know many of us would have!)

That's a shame that the other 2 clowns have no common sense nor care about the well being of others.
Even thought it was gonna be a losing point, just wished u could have let them know it's better to make sure others are safe when it comes to the proximity of high flying golf balls than end up actually hurting someone.

The only acceptable time to get hit is when Natalie Gulbis blocks one and it catches you where the sun don't shine. Then when she comes over to apologize, you can tell you friends that Natalie Gulbis made "contact" with you in ways they wouldn't understand.

Good math man!!! Being hit in the temple was the thought that scared me so much. I was standing as I would address the ball so the incoming ball was approaching from my left. It passed me at eye level just a matter of inches in front of my face. Had it struck me in the head it surely would have been a temple shot or very close. I took a fastball to the jaw when I was 14 and suffered some damage to my sinuses and teeth so I feel fortunate to have escaped unscathed.

I am hoping I can sleep this off and I won't be jittery and gunshy when I get back on the course. I think I'm going to try to squeeze 9 in sometime tomorrow just to shake the cobwebs.

A 100 mph fastball carries 104.5 ft/lbs of energy, much more than a golfball, which you recall has 33 ft/lbs at the same range. So, the baseball is more than 3 times more powerful when it hits you. Plus, the golf ball is not traveling nearly so fast when it hits you. I've been hit by a baseball, it's much worse.

The point is that a golf ball will likely not kill you, even a direct hit the temple will probably only cause a huge bump and maybe some unconsiousness. Recall the time Mickleson hit that guy's watch? The watch face broke, and the band came off... Imagine if that were a baseball, the guy's hand would be broken, or severely wounded, but the guy's hand had 0 damage, it was just a crack on the watch face.

And a 16 ounce hammer swung at 31 mph has 32 ft/lbs of energy.. You wanna get hit in the head with a hammer?

Good call Homer. I couldn't agree more.

Bones, Glad you're OK. You're not overstating the danger. Any ball still flying in the air could cauase serious damage in hitting the head. In reality the balls speed was probably only in the neighborhood 30MPH or so, think about it. How many of us would want to be hit in the head or anywhere else by somehing moving 30mph. The 150 mph balls speed is rare off the tee is rare for most amatuers and that is right after impact, the speed decreased greatly the further it gets obviously.

In anycase I know the feeling as well. As once I was about 40 to 50 yards ahead of the other twosome in our group, but I was pulled way off to the side in the cart, even right of the cartpath under trees (they were in the fairway) but they guy hit a cold hard shank right at our cart. I ducked in time, and the ball ended up hitting the top of the cart and boucing away from us. But it still got my heart pumping pretty fast. Like you I probably should have been more careful and since then, in the rare occassion I am ahead of anyone, I make sure I'm way out of the way and standing out of the cart so I can move even faster if it comes my way.

Glad you lived to tell us the story, instead of your friend having to "write about a tragic incident"

Its kinda scary, you CAN get seriuosly hurt by a golf ball.

Please someone who is good at finding stuff on the internet find the guy who got hit by Retief Goosen. That poor guy guy got it in the side of the face w/ a pulled snaped hook. By far the scariest thing I have ever seen in golf. The sound that ball made when it hit him haunting.

I work alot of split shifts at work so I get to play alot too, but time is a factor. After seeing that guy get hit I will never risk playing through a group a head of me by hitting when they are near the green.

In conclusion a golf ball CAN do serious damage, wheather its 20 yards off the face of the club or, 260 yards down the fairway. IT WILL HURT!!

it definitely is scary and gets your adrenaline up after a close call. I had some friends in college who were chipping in their yard and one skulled a shot and hit this kid right in the face, breaking his orbital bone i think. i think if the ball had been like one inch over it could have killed him or blinded him or something. his face was f***ed up for awhile. that incident made me aware of how serious getting hit with a golf ball can be.

In defense of the errant shot! How likely were you to hear a shout of 100 decibels from 270 yards away? I yell fore when I hit an errant shot & I am not loud enough to be heard from 270 yards away! People just can not hear me from that far away!

I got hit at the 2000 PGA Championship at the Atlanta Athletic Club we were in between two holes and Goosen hit a hook and it hit into me and my buddy standing with our backs to his fairway watching the action on another hole. Luckily it hit a few branches and bounced into us so it didn't hurt but there was no one yelling fore. I understand we are standing out on the course watching but it is still a good thing to yell fore even if you are a pro.

I grew up as a golf caddy and have been hit by balls taking a hard kick off a tree and let me tell you it HURTS. I've never been hit on the fly (other than bladed wedges, which smart too!) It would have to be a one-in-a-million shot to kill someone, but I wouldn't want to risk being that "one."

There is someone on this forum who saw someone get hit in the eye. The next thing he heard from the person who was hit was "Help me find my eye!" Frightening stuff.

If you sound off with your man voice there is no reason someone 270 yards away can't hear you, unless they are hard of hearing. It's just a matter of attracting attention to yourself. When I yell fore everybody takes cover. Now, I understand you may have a slight voice and I am not knocking you for that, but there was 3 other men with him. One of which hit his ball within 20 yards of us too. It's okay to sound of for your buddy too. I can appreciate your perspective though. Perhaps they yelled and I just didn't hear them. Then again, maybe they should have been a bit louder!

I won't lie, I was a bit sketchy today. Any time there was someone hitting a shot that had even the slightest odds of coming my way I was staring them down. I think I got it out of my system now, but I will never forget it. My first 9 was fair as I carded a 38 (+2), but I fell apart on my second 9 and I will not post my score here for the sake of preserving my dignity.

Remember, sound off if you hit it wayward and if you hear "fore" hit the deck!!!

First off thank you for your service to our country. I am sorry this happened to you and you where right to be angry. There is no excuse for not yelling fore if your think your even close to hitting someone. We need to get this game back where it needs to be and stop making excuses for stupidity.

First off thank you for your service to our country. I am sorry this happened to you and you where right to be angry. There is no excuse for not yelling fore if you think your even close to hitting someone. We need to get this game back where it needs to be and stop making excuses for stupidity.

If he could yell @ 100 dB at 1 yard, then the result would be 51.4 dB @ 270 yards away, audible.

I guess all those years of concert sound reinforcement taught me something.

A 16 oz hammer swung at 21 mph is not enough to kill anyone, save maybe an infant. I'm not saying it doesn't hurt, I'm saying it won't kill you. A .22 wouldn't kill you if it didn't penetrate your internal organs or you didn't bleed to death.

I wish I had that 16 oz. hammer on the course that day. I could have had a little field experiment. I could have told 'ol dude "I'm going down there 270 yards and I want you to yell 'fore' as loud as you can. If I don't hear you I'm coming back up here with my handy dandy 16 oz. hammer and I'm going to beat you with it so you better sound off like you've got a pair!"

I'd be willing to bet a fairly substantial amount of money that I would hear him!

I'm not a doctor or scientist or anything, but a golf ball to the dome can kill a man, period. It could also cripple you or blind you.

I'm not normally one to come off as a Woods fanboy, but I will give him credit, he does in fact yell "Fore!" when he mishits one. At least I have seen him do it often enough. "Fore RIGHT!" in particular.

I know I yell like crazy if there is a chance, but sometimes a strong wind in your face makes it nearly impossible. One time I was playing with 2 other guys, and one of them hit it way right, on to the next fairway towards some guys walking up. All three of us were yelling at the top of our lungs, but when the ball landed, the guy still put up his hands, like "WTF?" We had probably a 20 mph headwind in that case, and they couldn't hear us. Had it been downwind, they probably hear us no problem.