128 replies to this topic

[divotbeltran]

moved

Edited by divotbeltran, 09 April 2013 - 06:25 AM.

[Simp]

Damn dude! I've been hit but nothing like that. I certainly hope it doesn't involve surgery bro. Best wishes.

[kiteman]

wow, that is terrible man.  sorry to hear.  people need to slow the eff down.  if play is slow, ask to play through.  i always give people an extra shot before i hit, or at least wait until the cart is in motion to their next shot.

[sgniwder99]

Oh man, that's awful. Hope you're okay. I think if I were your friend that guy would've gotten an earful for not yelling (or at least not yelling loudly enough). Maybe you were directly beyond the green and the guy had no idea he'd hit it that far over, or something understandable like that. But he would've only gotten the chance to tell me that after hearing it.

I haven't had anything like that happen to me, but a friend of mine did get hit right in the temple by a shank hit by one of his playing buddies while on vacation in NC. He dropped unconscious and had to be rushed to the hospital, where he stayed for a couple of weeks before he could fly home. It was actually quite scary at the time, I was told.

[MadGolfer76]

Haven't been hit in the face, although I have been hit. There is no way you should be footing the bill for your medical expenses, friend. I would ask the course for help in tracking that dude down.

[Drijver]

Too bad you didnt get some details and info on the guy who did this. Hope you recover asap!

[One_Putt_Blunder]

MadGolfer76, on 24 July 2011 - 04:38 PM, said:

Haven't been hit in the face, although I have been hit. There is no way you should be footing the bill for your medical expenses, friend. I would ask the course for help in tracking that dude down.

Divot I feel terrible that you got hit like that and hope you get better soon.

I would also like to clarify the previous post, as crappy as it may sound the guy who hit the shot has zero liability unless you can show he intentionally hit at you.

Edited by One_Putt_Blunder, 24 July 2011 - 04:45 PM.

[QWKDTSN]

Oh, man.  I am so sorry to hear this.  Sounds awful.  A good friend of mine was hit near the eye by a hooked 3-wood shot from an adjacent fairway.  It crushed his eye socket and he needed reconstructive surgery, and almost lost his career (need 20-20 vision, military aviation) but his vision returned to normal after about 3 weeks.

[divotbeltran]

sgniwder99, on 24 July 2011 - 04:12 PM, said:

Maybe you were directly beyond the green and the guy had no idea he'd hit it that far over, or something understandable like that.

#3 tee is actually not behind #2 green but to the left of the #2 green about 40 yards or so from the point of #2 tee, you know how most courses have a zigzag design from hole to hole. So he was trying to hit his shot about 50 yards to my left of my position, and the green was about 30 behind me. So the only conclusion I came up with is that he hit a pulled line drive of the heel of his club.

Edited by divotbeltran, 24 July 2011 - 05:00 PM.

[MadGolfer76]

One_Putt_Blunder, on 24 July 2011 - 04:44 PM, said:

MadGolfer76, on 24 July 2011 - 04:38 PM, said:

Haven't been hit in the face, although I have been hit. There is no way you should be footing the bill for your medical expenses, friend. I would ask the course for help in tracking that dude down.

Divot I feel terrible that you got hit like that and hope you get better soon.

I would also like to clarify the previous post, as crappy as it may sound the guy who hit the shot has zero liability unless you can show he intentionally hit at you.

I find that difficult to believe. People don't intentionally mean to rear end your car, but are still expected to pay for damages. Poor analogy, but I can't believe this person has no liability.

[sgniwder99]

divotbeltran, on 24 July 2011 - 04:47 PM, said:

sgniwder99, on 24 July 2011 - 04:12 PM, said:

Maybe you were directly beyond the green and the guy had no idea he'd hit it that far over, or something understandable like that.

#3 tee is actually not behind #2 green but to the left of the #2 green about 40 yards or so from the point of #2 tee, you know how most courses have a zigzag design from hole to hole. So he was trying to hit his shot about 50 yards to my left of my position, and the green was about 30 behind me. So the only conclusion I came up with is that he hit a pulled line drive of the heel of his club. I'm also guessing that he had about 2-5 seconds to react to wear the ball was going.

Yeah, something like that is what I would've expected. I believe there's a "Pet Peeves" thread somewhere where someone put down "People who don't yell 'fore.'" I can't believe people don't understand how dangerous that is.

[Allen Robertson]

Are you sure he has no liability? There are signs all over the courses i play that says "you the golfer are responsible for any damages caused by your ball" i would guess that means houses, cars, people, golf carts, etc... Hope all turns out well for you divot. Worth a shot to get some info on the guy

[One_Putt_Blunder]

MadGolfer76, on 24 July 2011 - 04:51 PM, said:

One_Putt_Blunder, on 24 July 2011 - 04:44 PM, said:

MadGolfer76, on 24 July 2011 - 04:38 PM, said:

Haven't been hit in the face, although I have been hit. There is no way you should be footing the bill for your medical expenses, friend. I would ask the course for help in tracking that dude down.

Divot I feel terrible that you got hit like that and hope you get better soon.

I would also like to clarify the previous post, as crappy as it may sound the guy who hit the shot has zero liability unless you can show he intentionally hit at you.

I find that difficult to believe. People don't intentionally mean to rear end your car, but are still expected to pay for damages. Poor analogy, but I can't believe this person has no liability.

Not to take anything away from what happened to Divot, but this has happened numerous times and the decsion comes down to the fact that there is implied risk whenever we set foot on a golf course.  here is the most recent decision in Kapoor vs Anand
The only way a player could be held liable is if there were proof that he hit a shot intentionally at some one or someones property, this is why it is never a good idea to hit a ball back at someone if they hit into you.

http://www.law.com/j...rn=1&hbxlogin=1



Edit if the person who hit the ball wants to take responsibility for the result of his shot and pay medical expenses etc he can. If he does it would be on his own free will as he has no legal obligation to pay.

Edited by One_Putt_Blunder, 24 July 2011 - 05:11 PM.

[divotbeltran]

The only way I know I can get info is from the list players sign with the starter. I signed my name my signature for me and my friend in the list before we teed off. I know for a fact that the guy who hit me was in the group that signed after me. It is probably going to be hard to find out exactly who did it, but I just wanted to get help as soon as possible. Now I know what to do if something like this ever happens again.

[golow]

The man who hit the shot is not liable unless he hit the shot with a reckless intent to injure. The golf course assumes no responsibility as well. Unless you can prove that a flawed course design/layout put you at risk, you have no case. Precedent was set a few years ago in Hawaii Supreme court.

As opposed to a friend of mine (girl) who was playing a private course in a scramble. Some guy took a full practice swing with a wedge to warm up along side the practice green. Said friend walked into it and broke he maxilla and lost a boat load of teeth. Surgery followed by 4-5 dead teeth followed by implants. All paid by this guys insurance (umbrella policy). $250,000 was later awarded through arbitration settlement. She may have assumed reasonable expectations of getting hit with a errant ball during a round, but not a irresponsible swing. She's hot again ... good surgeons.

golow™

[SpinMill75]

Wow......sorry man.  

Hope things get better soon.  Best wishes.

-spin

[One_Putt_Blunder]

golow, on 24 July 2011 - 05:17 PM, said:

The man who hit the shot is not liable unless he hit the shot with a reckless intent to injure. The golf course assumes no responsibility as well. Unless you can prove that a flawed course design/layout put you at risk, you have no case. Precedent was set a few years ago in Hawaii Supreme court.


golow™

Here is the Hawaii decision
http://www.state.hi..../2006/26271.htm

Some additional ones
http://www.sjschwartz.com/golflaw.htm

One more out of California
http://www.sfgate.co...1/BA90RSOPT.DTL

[divotbeltran]

I do agree with it being a complete accident, I do not wish to sue anyone. I have already talked this over with my mother/lawyer. I don't agree with the guy hitting, and knowing that people were in front of him and that his game can indeed put anyone in front of him in danger. I believe people who have even a single doubt in their ability to hit a correct shot onto the green, should wait for anyone in front of them to move to a more safe place. Basically, if you know you tend to hit some line drives/mishits with your hybrid/or other club, and there are people even 80 yards to the right or left to where the hole is, just wait for a minute to let the other people leave a potential dangerous area, or just let them know to watch and and prepare before you hit.

[stiffdogg06]

Damn man. Hope all goes better...

Edited by stiffdogg06, 24 July 2011 - 06:30 PM.

[larrybud]

MadGolfer76, on 24 July 2011 - 04:51 PM, said:

One_Putt_Blunder, on 24 July 2011 - 04:44 PM, said:

MadGolfer76, on 24 July 2011 - 04:38 PM, said:

Haven't been hit in the face, although I have been hit. There is no way you should be footing the bill for your medical expenses, friend. I would ask the course for help in tracking that dude down.

Divot I feel terrible that you got hit like that and hope you get better soon.

I would also like to clarify the previous post, as crappy as it may sound the guy who hit the shot has zero liability unless you can show he intentionally hit at you.

I find that difficult to believe. People don't intentionally mean to rear end your car, but are still expected to pay for damages. Poor analogy, but I can't believe this person has no liability.

It's been settled in case law.  Unless you can show an intentional motive, a golf shot is in essence an "act of God".

http://blogs.forbes....mpaign=20110227

Edited by larrybud, 24 July 2011 - 06:42 PM.

[konagold]

damn, right when i was about to say "pics or it didnt happen"

that looks so painful. hope everything works out for you man. i always have that fear on a course for some reason. thats why anytime i hear "fore" im usually the guy overreacting and diving behind a cart.

[ted_ray_jr]

geez man, just be thankful it wasn't the nads

[MadGolfer76]

I don't think anyone is in favor of random lawsuits (certainly I am not), but seeing those pics of OP, it is initially hard to believe that there isn't liability involved in an incident where someone was that seriously injured. I appreciate the case postings from other members. I didn't know what the precedent was.

[honketyhank]

divotbeltran, on 24 July 2011 - 06:23 PM, said:

I do agree with it being a complete accident, I do not wish to sue anyone. I have already talked this over with my mother/lawyer. I don't agree with the guy hitting, and knowing that people were in front of him and that his game can indeed put anyone in front of him in danger. I believe people who have even a single doubt in their ability to hit a correct shot onto the green, should wait for anyone in front of them to move to a more safe place. Basically, if you know you tend to hit some line drives/mishits with your hybrid/or other club, and there are people even 80 yards to the right or left to where the hole is, just wait for a minute to let the other people leave a potential dangerous area, or just let them know to watch and and prepare before you hit.

Oh man. I feel for you.

I have been on both ends of the equation, at least almost. I know I have hit at least one bad shot that went right, then sliced, if you will, toward a group on an adjacent fairway. I remember thinking, No, no, no way, when I should have been yelling "Fore". Fortunately, I missed. And fortunately my golf buddy yelled "fore", even if it was only a bit before impact near the group.

And just two weeks ago, I got hit by a blocked right drive from the club pro. I remember hearing "fore" about 0.1 seconds before impact. Presumably he was in the same state of denial. Actually, my cart buddy got the worst of it as it glanced off my arm and whacked him square in the lower ribs. Sounded like a 2x4 slapping an empty beer barrel.

As far as I am concerned (and my cart buddy too), if we had heard "fore" 3 or 4 seconds earlier, what would we have done? Looked around to see who was yelling. Then got hit.

Let us know how you are doing, how you are healing,how your treatment is proceding. That is a nasty wound and I wish you a speedy recovery.

[Bobbyf]

Sorry you got hit. Over 20 years ago a person was killed by a golf ball from his own foursome that was behind us. The twosome with the guy that died went ahead of the twosome off to the left side. The guy hitting hit a beeline pull. When he yelled "four" the guy in front looked around, instead of covering up, and it caught him square between the eyes. His glasses vaporized and it split the skin with an almost perfect cross. We rushed back from the green up ahead and convinced them to take their buddy directly to the club house. By the time the ambulance got him to the hospital he had died, bleeding on the brain IIRC. Ever since that day I have been overly cautious about hitting if anyone could be reached with an errant shot.

Bobby

[divotbeltran]

Simp, on 24 July 2011 - 04:04 PM, said:

certainly hope it doesn't involve surgery bro. Best wishes.

sgniwder99, on 24 July 2011 - 04:12 PM, said:

Oh man, that's awful. Hope you're okay. I think if I were your friend that guy would've gotten an earful for not yelling (or at least not yelling loudly enough).

Drijver, on 24 July 2011 - 04:43 PM, said:

Hope you recover asap!

Thanks for the good intentions everyone, I will keep you guys posted.

[divotbeltran]

One_Putt_Blunder, on 24 July 2011 - 04:44 PM, said:

Divot I feel terrible that you got hit like that and hope you get better soon.

Ace2424, on 24 July 2011 - 04:55 PM, said:

I feel very sorry for you man and I hope you dont need surgery!!!!
I commend you for not beating him up though!!!! And good luck with everything I hope your alright!!!!!!!!!!!!!

SpinMill75, on 24 July 2011 - 05:20 PM, said:

Wow......sorry man.  

Hope things get better soon.  Best wishes.

-spin

Thanks for the good intentions everyone, I will keep you posted.

[divotbeltran]

stiffdogg06, on 24 July 2011 - 06:29 PM, said:

Damn man. Hope all goes better...

konagold, on 24 July 2011 - 07:01 PM, said:

damn, right when i was about to say "pics or it didnt happen"

that  looks  so painful. hope everything works out for you man. i always have  that  fear on a course for some reason. thats why anytime i hear "fore"  im  usually the guy overreacting and diving behind a cart.

MadGolfer76, on 24 July 2011 - 07:31 PM, said:

OP, I hope you make a speedy recovery. Best wishes.

Thanks for the good intentions everyone, I will keep you posted.

[bignose]

larrybud, on 24 July 2011 - 06:39 PM, said:

MadGolfer76, on 24 July 2011 - 04:51 PM, said:

One_Putt_Blunder, on 24 July 2011 - 04:44 PM, said:

MadGolfer76, on 24 July 2011 - 04:38 PM, said:

Haven't been hit in the face, although I have been hit. There is no way you should be footing the bill for your medical expenses, friend. I would ask the course for help in tracking that dude down.

Divot I feel terrible that you got hit like that and hope you get better soon.

I would also like to clarify the previous post, as crappy as it may sound the guy who hit the shot has zero liability unless you can show he intentionally hit at you.

I find that difficult to believe. People don't intentionally mean to rear end your car, but are still expected to pay for damages. Poor analogy, but I can't believe this person has no liability.

It's been settled in case law.  Unless you can show an intentional motive, a golf shot is in essence an "act of God".

http://blogs.forbes....mpaign=20110227

not just an act of God, but it is a risk you assume when you willingly step onto a golf course.  That is, no one is forcing you to play the game, and it assumed that you recognize that someone else can indeed hit a really poor shot accidentally and you can be hit by a golf ball.  Since you know that this is a possibility going in and you still choose to do it, it is on you if something really bad does happen by accident.  This is also the case with doing other risky behaviors, like rock climbing or camping or race car driving, etc.

[FATC1TY]

MadGolfer76, on 24 July 2011 - 04:51 PM, said:

One_Putt_Blunder, on 24 July 2011 - 04:44 PM, said:

MadGolfer76, on 24 July 2011 - 04:38 PM, said:

Haven't been hit in the face, although I have been hit. There is no way you should be footing the bill for your medical expenses, friend. I would ask the course for help in tracking that dude down.

Divot I feel terrible that you got hit like that and hope you get better soon.

I would also like to clarify the previous post, as crappy as it may sound the guy who hit the shot has zero liability unless you can show he intentionally hit at you.

I find that difficult to believe. People don't intentionally mean to rear end your car, but are still expected to pay for damages. Poor analogy, but I can't believe this person has no liability.

Yeah, no liability unless it could be proven he aimed at the guy and intended to hit him.

Similar in some instances where you could argue that you have a house on the course, and it gets hit. Your broken window is most cases, it's the liability of the course, OR the golfers. It's your liability for living on the course. Fix your window, find a way to prevent it, or get over it. If someone tee'd it up AT your house and intended to cause damage, then it's different. Accidental, is just that.

With that said- if you broke a window, the right thing would be to contact the owner and offer to fix or replace it. The guy that hit him should offer to assist, but will likely never be found.