No "Good Drive" on this one.

**bethpage caddy** · 09-01-2004

Today my friend and I were playing 9 holes. during the 7th hole, my friend is standing and waiting for me to hit my 3rd shot on a par 5 ( terrible tee shot). Then all of a sudden a ball comes flying out of nowhere and smacks my friend in the cheek. To make a long story short, he had to go to the hospital and fractured a bone in his cheek. The guy hit over a 300 yard drive out to us.

Believe me there was no "Good drive," we didn't compliment him or anything. Think about this the next time you hit when people are in range.

**Slingblade61** · 09-01-2004

.............Ouch!............

**dorkman53** · 09-01-2004

Is the other golfer paying for the hospital/doctor expenses?

**bethpage caddy** · 09-01-2004

no he isn't. When we asked him why he hit up on us he said that he simply didn't "see us."

He sped away on his golf cart, then we were mostly focused on just getting back to the clubhouse.

**dorkman53** · 09-01-2004

The course might have a record of who he was. Most courses take driver's license info when they rent a cart. If they still have their records for that day, you could track him down that way. The sooner the better, since I don't know how long the course will keep their records.

**buddha33** · 09-01-2004

That blows, dude...Could you see the tee box from where you were?

**Corndog_Cornelius** · 09-01-2004

I hit a fat lady in the ass near the clubhouse on the last hole about 10 years ago.

I was freaking out. She was all hollering out: "I am fine, no problem." And that was my drive too...

Broken cheek? Poor bastard may not have seen you, but he needs to pay.

Find him.

**Mikalion** · 09-01-2004

yea, you really need to find him and make him pay the consequenses.

otherwise you are just a punk who got punked.

one time my friend got nailed in the arm in a highschool tournament, and our team got disqualified because he had to drop out.

**dorkman53** · 09-01-2004

Depending on whether the bones are displaced or just hairline fractured will be an important distinction. If there is zygomatic displacement, an ENT or plastics specialist may need to do surgical repair to the fracture. Hopefully the eye socket is intact, so double vision won't be a problem. I really think some legwork is needed to track down this fellow. Obviously, he tried to "get out of Dodge" ASAP after it happened. He knows he's at fault.

**collegegolfer** · 09-01-2004

Well, when golfing, there is an inherent risk of getting nailed with a ball. As horrible as this is, the attacker may not have to pay. For example...if the hole is straight and you guys were in the middle of the fairway and there was no sun in his eyes or something like that, then, more than likely, you would win the case. BUT, if it's a dogleg, or there are trees in the way, or somehow he can prove he did not act out of maliciousness or stupidity, then I would say your friend is stuck with the bill as this is part of the risk you take when golfing. Just my opinion.

**Dave Ireland** · 09-02-2004

Originally Posted by collegegolfer

Well, when golfing, there is an inherent risk of getting nailed with a ball. As horrible as this is, the attacker may not have to pay. For example...if the hole is straight and you guys were in the middle of the fairway and there was no sun in his eyes or something like that, then, more than likely, you would win the case. BUT, if it's a dogleg, or there are trees in the way, or somehow he can prove he did not act out of maliciousness or stupidity, then I would say your friend is stuck with the bill as this is part of the risk you take when golfing. Just my opinion.

Gotta agree with College here, as sickening and all as it is to see a guy getting hit. There is an onus of responsibility on the player hitting from the teebox to ensure that they take due caution of the group on the fairway. But likewise the fairway group must also be aware of the nature of the hole. Speaking personally, when we play a hole that's either a dog-leg or blind tee shot over a downslope, we either have one guy hang back at the apex of the dogleg or the brow of the hill until all 2nd/3rd shots are safely out of range of the tee.

Btw most of the aforementioned holes here usually have a fairway bell to indicate that you're out of range . is it the same across the pond ?

**Quentin** · 09-02-2004

I'd say the best you could have done was to get him to sign his golf glove and give it to you. Wouldn't that have been a nice gesture? Not much you can do otherwise.

**bdcrowe** · 09-02-2004

Originally Posted by dorkman53

Depending on whether the bones are displaced or just hairline fractured will be an important distinction. If there is zygomatic displacement, an ENT or plastics specialist may need to do surgical repair to the fracture. Hopefully the eye socket is intact, so double vision won't be a problem. I really think some legwork is needed to track down this fellow. Obviously, he tried to "get out of Dodge" ASAP after it happened. He knows he's at fault.

I agree with the legwork. maybe your leg lodged up his... and maybe a 9 iron across his leg. And maybe the leg off of a coffeetable comes into play. Maybe eight legs and a couple of fangs in his boxers.

Seriously, that is almost beyond belief, the cheese-whiz bailing after that. Good luck.

**dorkman53** · 09-02-2004

Would you and your group have been clearly visible from the teebox when he hit his drive, or were you down in a ravine or around a dogleg? If you were clearly visible, he was careless. If you weren't, it was probably an unfortunate honest mistake.

**bethpage caddy** · 09-02-2004

It was a dogleg right, a very sharp one at that, but we were right at the turn, and clearly visible from the tee.

His defense was misjudging the distance, which is pretty lame. I'm gonna take a run up to the course later and talk to someone in regards to the doctor bill or just straightening the guy out.

**gbel75** · 09-02-2004

Originally Posted by bethpage caddy

It was a dogleg right, a very sharp one at that, but we were right at the turn, and clearly visible from the tee.

His defense was misjudging the distance, which is pretty lame. I'm gonna take a run up to the course later and talk to someone in regards to the doctor bill or just straightening the guy out.

In case it matters, I will tell you what the legal deal is with this situation in Ohio. Keep in mind, any course you play will have notice in the clubhouse, on the scorecard, at the holes, everywhere, that if you damage personal or real property or person, you are responsible. That is even generally backed up by written law in Ohio.

But...

In regard to property (houses, cars, etc.) case law in Ohio has repeatedly not held the golfer hitting the wayward shot responsible when the person owning the property knew beyond a reasonable awareness that they were in harm's way.

Example 1: You buy a house on the golf course that is 250 yards out to the right of the tee. You should reasonably assume your house is going to get pelted with golf balls, therefore you assume the risk. The golfer is not responsible.

Example 2: You park your car in the lot at the course next to the 18th fairway and your car is just off the fairway to the right of the tee box 200 yards out. You come back after your round and your windshield is smashed from a ball. You parked your car in harm's way. Not the golfer's fault.

Example 3: You are standing on the green of the 340 yard par 4. A ball from the tee whacks you in the back. It is unreasonable, unless he's a long drive champion, that the driver of the ball to expect his ball to hit you. Assuming he yelled "fore" and took every reasonable precaution, it's not his fault.

Example 4: Now, here's where it changes...You are on the green of the 170 yard par 3. Some *** tees off anyhow. It hits you in the face and he didn't yell fore. Not only is this stupid, it's negligent. Only when the hitter of the ball is negligent does he become responsible.

Hitting a bad slice into a window of the house isn't negligent. Driving the ball into the group 200 yards out without yelling "fore" is.

Now, in this case, is being 300 yards out in plain view reasonable that the driver on the tee shouldn't hit. I don't know. That's where it becomes gray. Did he yell "fore?" Do you have witnesses to attest to where you were, how far out you were, if you were visible, if the guy yelled "fore?" It's tough to win this kind of stuff.

I agree the **** was wrong. I would have owned up to it, but only because I'm a decent human being (some people who know me well and some who know me not-so-well may argue that point). But, legally, the guy may not have been negligent.