Broken Window

[NM Golf]

normally it would be the golfer who is responsible but since it was a gust of wind that altered the trajectory of the golf shot, redirecting it towards the window, its "an act of god"

I don't know where you are playing golf but it must be REALLY friggin windy. I have had shots blown off line but never have I hit a good shot that was SO affected by the wind that it was blown so far off that it went OB. You hit a bad shot that was adversly affected by the wind. I doubt had your shot been on line and the correct distance that the wind would have affected it so greatly.

"I'm amazed at the lack of responsibility here.

Ditto, thank you my sentiments exactly. It is this way of thinking that is ruining the American way of life as we know it. We are losing the ability to ever say I was wrong, sorry let me fix it. We are a society of finger pointers, excuse makers, and blame shifters. For god sakes if you broke it then damn it, fix it.

[MasterOfTheBogey]

When I lived in North Carolina I lived on a course, and I was sitting in my room probably playing like TW 06 or something and a ball smashes into my window. It scared the Crap, to say it nicely, out of me. I went downstairs and stood on my back porch to see if the golfers would even come and apologize for what they had just done.

To make a long story short. They stayed on the other side of the fairway not even giving me a second look. I took the golf ball and threw it there way landing probably 5 feet from who I thought was the guy that broke my window.

The next day when I was playing on the course I came to the tee box on my hole that I live on, and just wondered how someone could have hit that bad of a shot to hit my house if they werent delibretley aiming for it. My house is on the left side of the fairway, and the fairway runs away from my house ( l / ) just like my awesome image in parathesis illustrates.

Not to say I am perfect, I have hit a house before and the homeowner came out, I went up to the guy and asked if there was any damage to his home. He said there was nothing he could see. I told him if you find anything please give me a call, and proceeded to give him my number. The guy thanked me saying I was only the second person ( out of atleast 20 he said that had hit his house ) to come up to him and ask if anything was damaged.

[Guest]

It's a completely reasonable consequence of owning a house on a golf course that balls are going to hit your house. It's the responsibility of the homeowner and their insurance. If one were to maliciously tee one up and aim at or over houses, that's different. Assuming one took reasonably appropriate measures for their skill level to avoid it, then it falls under accident. If I truly aimed away and just had an awful shot that hit a house, or the house was so close that only a marginally poor shot ended up hitting the house, I would not pony up for anything.

I completely disagree!! It's the golfers consequence of going onto a golf course with homes and taking bad shots & hitting the house. Also, those of you that own a home, do you know how much your deductible is?? If so, you know that insurance will not cover it unless the window replacement costs over your deductible amount.

Also, if someone was on your street playing say football, throwing it around & bam crashes through your window, what would you do?? You would react the same way I would and ask them to pay for the damages. If you can't play well enough to keep your golf ball out of my window, then don't play on a course that has homes on both sides of the course. That's the problem with peoples mentality today, don't want to own up and take responsibility!

[Ceej]

I'm amazed at the lack of responsibility here.

You're going to compare slicing a golf ball and hitting a house to losing control of a car and crashing into a house? Really?

Should there be a rule that on that hole, because there are houses on the right, you aren't allowed to hit a slice?

[Ceej]

Here's in interesting article for everyone. In short, it could go either way.

Each region of the United States poses its own unique threat to homeowners. In the South, hurricanes threaten coastal communities up to six months a year. Midwesterners must worry about tornados springing up at any time in the spring and summer and earthquakes are always just a rumble away on the west coast. Golf course communities everywhere however have the added risk of: golfers. Oddly enough, nearly half of all homeowners who live on a golf course don't play golf. So imagine their surprise when they realize that their home, sitting 200 yards on the right-hand side of a hole, gets pelted daily with little white bombs. "I would not want to be on the right side of a par 4 about 180 yards down. You will get pelted with balls all day," said Dick Schaeffer, former vice president of marketing at Troon Golf Vacations. "I would prefer to live on the left side of a par 3, but left side of a par 4 or 5 about 20 yards out of most golfers driving range is also ideal," said Schaeffer, who also notes that living behind tee boxes may be out of danger, but noise of foursomes on tee boxes can be inhibiting. But what happens if your home happens to be in a common "slice zone"? Homeowners insurance was introduced long before the rise of the golf community and was originally intended to cover natural disasters, thefts and accidents. Many also cover homeowners from injury liability should anything happen on their property. Golfers, however, rarely assume responsibility for the errant shots, as it's difficult to find out exactly who broke the window without a confession or a witness. Also, in most cases, it's the homeowner responsible for repairing damage caused by errant shots. Golf courses often shy away from paying for damages, although several lawsuits in the past have found courses to be guilty of negligence when dealing with houses that are hit an extraordinary amount of times. There's often confusion among homeowners who is responsible for damage to a house, but insuring your home can help clear it up. "If you are golfing and breaks someone's window, the golfer is responsible," said Mike Siemienas, an All-State spokesman. "However, if no one claims responsibility or does a ‘hit-and-run', your homeowner's insurance will cover it." Siemienas also points out that it depends on your deductible whether filing a claim is even worth it. Deductibles can range from $200 to $1,000 depending on your plan, which might cost more than the broken window itself. Also, while it may seem more dangerous to live on a course, insurance companies don't view golf courses as more dangerous or susceptible to accidents than any other type of home, so you shouldn't have to pay a higher premium just because you live on a golf course. If you are looking into purchasing a home in a golf community but are worried about safety, damage and privacy, there are certain measures you can take to minimize house damage. Be sure to quiz your developer on materials used to build the home. Most golf course homes built in Arizona and Florida over the past 10 years are constructed with stucco and are particularly susceptible to damage from golf balls. Unfortunately, the majority of affordable golf course developments in the Southwest do not feature custom home options and buyers are limited in the construction materials they can choose from. Also, windows should never be glass anywhere close to a golf course. Even on your windows that don't face the tee, install windows with shatter-proof material. Once you've determined how susceptible to damage your house may be on your course after weighing the location and materials in, as well as how busy the course gets, then speak with insurance companies to see if their plan covers all your needs. If the community has a homeowner's association — most golf communities do — they likely know the local rules and what the homeowner is liable for.

link

[Harold]

From a sense of responsibility for my errant shots I should pay for window breakage should it ever happen. I'm quite surprised at some of the answers I saw. Yes, homeowners who live on golf courses should understand that they may have to deal with strange noises from sunup to sunset, lawnmowers etc. doing their thing sometimes earlier or later than that and the occasional golf ball taking their window out if they are on a line or just happen to be in the way of an errant shot. That's part of the bargain. Having golfers simply walk off shrugging "It's your responsibility for living on the edge of a golf course" is not. Be an adult and offer to pay for it. And next time hit a better shot.

[pat8]

Golfers who hit houses should be responsible and offer to pay for repair. But homeowners on the golf course, especially those who have homes in places where golfers are likely to hit it, should realize they house will get hit and not all golfers are going to be mature enough to apologize, etc., So they shouldn't really expect every single person to fess up. I'm not trying to make it okay for people who hit homes and don't take responsibility, I think it's wrong, but homeowners have to realize not everyone will act the right way.

[MunkeyGolfer]

I agree the golfer should own up to their mistake. I have actually played on a course that state if you break personal property of any kind, you are responsible. Here is one question that I have. What protects the "honest" golfer from getting ripped off by a homeowner, that has a vendetta on golfers because he/she has had his window broke before and no one admits to it, by charging more than what the window costs to be repaired or replaced?

[sacm3bill]

What protects the "honest" golfer from getting ripped off by a homeowner, that has a vendetta on golfers because he/she has had his window broke before and no one admits to it, by charging more than what the window costs to be repaired or replaced?

Supplying estimates/receipts for the repair, I would think.

[RX Phoenix]

Played on a course today which had a big sign stating that the course carries no insurance to protect the golfer for any damage they may inflict.

It is the golfers responsibility, home owners do have insurance because they may not be home and the window breaks and the golfer doesn't inform them.

I nearly busted one today, steep side hill lie ball below my feet, hitting a 2Hy, but somehow hit a towering draw instead of the expected fade, that was headed straight toward a large plateglass window, but the ball hit the roof just above it, nearly tore a few shakes off. I was thinking of this thread when that ball was in flight!

[Scott_Tee]

Homeowner should pay ! BTW, I hate playing on Golf Courses that have allot of houses lining the fairways !

[kregan]

So you hit a ball through the window, you approach the house to leave a note/talk to the owner and you trip and fall on their front steps knocking out your front teeth...

Who pays for the window and who pays for the teeth?

[Matt P]

You pay for both, unless the property owner hid the steps from your sight...he is not at fault for you clumsiness, you are in both instances....

[JKilgore44]

My understanding is that the golfer who hits the ball is responsible for all consequences thereafter. This means if you break it, you buy it!

[GOLFSALOT00]

you forgot one how about the real estate agent for selling them the house on the fairway:)

[shredfit]

It's a completely reasonable consequence of owning a house on a golf course that balls are going to hit your house. It's the responsibility of the homeowner and their insurance. If one were to maliciously tee one up and aim at or over houses, that's different. Assuming one took reasonably appropriate measures for their skill level to avoid it, then it falls under accident. If I truly aimed away and just had an awful shot that hit a house, or the house was so close that only a marginally poor shot ended up hitting the house, I would not pony up for anything.

I think that it is, by proxy, the responsibility of whoever initially hit the ball that caused the damage. (accident or not). Think of it like this: If a person parked their car on the street(certainly there is at least some risk... after all there are moving cars in the vicinity). Then, someone hit the parked car(even by accident) it is still the person that actually hit the parked cars fault, therefore, their responibility to make it right. The same should apply to golf balls.

[RaginCajun]

This is quite an interesting read.
My info: I am a homeowner (been there almost a year) on a public course.

I am just amazed at some of the thinking and assumptions many of you are taking on this issue. Suddenly you lose all responsibility as soon as the ball leaves the face of your club?

Is that the same reasoning you apply when you're throwing a baseball and a bad throw goes flying threw your neighbor's window? He assumed the liability as soon as he moved in next to you?

Or the example that oops, I have to pay for my totaled car even though you accidentally ran into it just because I was the one who parked it in the street in front of my house?

Guys, you're missing the whole point. I thought that one of the unique principals of the game of golf is that it's a Gentleman's Game? It IS the sport in which we call fouls on ourself. It prides itself on that history! And then so many of you tell me you break my window on an bad shot and just drive past telling your buddies that's the responsibility the homeowner assumed when he moved in????

Come on, "man up" as they say! Go knock on the door or leave a note, offer to pay for your mistake. As a homeowner AND golfer, I expect you to at least offer to pay for it. I know it was an accident, I've hit bad shots too. Hey, be a man, offer to pay and help me, I'll be happy to split the cost with you and will admire you more as a person for stepping up.

I am just amazed at the number of responses throwing the blame back to the homeowner. Just amazed!

Scott

[swingsmooth]

This is quite an interesting read.

You're absolutely right, Scott. This reminds me a a thread I saw about whether or not to return found clubs. The game is about honor.