Can I PLEASE get a ruling on breaking the GPS???

[tomkatpoker]

We played in a fund raiser scramble. Our sponsor pays for our foursome and we don't sign anything. Cell phone size GPS in cart wouldn't turn on and starter said some work some don't right now. Our first hole is #5 at Pine lakes golf in Ohio. We park the cart on cart path and walk to the tees which are further back than I've ever seen them.

My one friend who has not golfed yet this year tee's off first and hooks the ball right into our cart and hits the GPS and breaks it.

Does he have to pay the $475 to replace it?

The keys that stand out is the cart was on the path. The GPS didn't even work. And we never sign anything when paying for golf.

Someone told me that the course has to have "assumed risk" insurance on the GPS's.

Please shed some light or maybe related story if you can.

[dsc123]

1. Have they asked you to pay?

2. If so, and you refused, what would they do about it?

[David in FL]

Unless there was some kind of negligence involved, and I don't see it here, I wouldn't expect the course to even ask you to pay for the damage.

[hopefulhacker]

I'm betting the OP is still out on the course :)

[dsc123]

It would cost them more to pry the money from you than it would to replace the GPS.  I would not worry about it.

[flopster]

Someone should say he has to pay for it just to get the thread going . Seriously I don't think he has anything to worry unless there is obvious neglect, I remember last year we had someone break a windshield on a cart out of frustration and they were forced to pay, but I also heard if it was just an errant shot it would have been a totally different situation.

[cfritchie]

Typically golfers are responsible for damage they cause. If your ball hits a window and breaks it then typically you are responsible. It could be argued the cart was negligently placed in the "line of fire".

I read a little more and there is some California case law that doesn't hold the golfer responsible unless it is intentional, of course if you signed a cart sheet it could have wording about being responsible for damage.

I know the course I worked at years ago had a sign that stated golfers were responsible for broken windows....yet we told homeowners they needed to protect their own property.

[tomkatpoker]

I will pass it on not to pay and see if they come after him. We could have easily said a ball from another group hit into us but we told the truth. Sometimes it doesn't pay to do so. Thanks guys.

[Strandly]

I'm not familiar with how laws work with regard to this sort of thing but if it wasn't already broken I'd probably expect to pay.  If they said anything to me though I'd just argue the thing didn't work in the first place.

[CarlSpackler]

Toss them a quarter and say, "Here. The POS didn't work, and that's all it's worth."

[iacas]

I think he should pay. You have the option to park the carts behind the tee, do you not? The cart isn't assuming any risk - YOU (he, whatever) put it there and had the chance to ask that it be moved.

The golfer broke the cart. It didn't break due to normal use or normal wear and tear, nor a manufacturing defect. He actively broke it.

If someone's car runs out of gas or blows a gasket and is sitting on the side of the road, and you run into it, good luck not paying (via your insurance) for that. Geez.

[unabowler]

Sure he should pay, that sounds like it was his fault.  But he should only pay the reasonable value of the GPS, not $475 if that's what a new one costs.

[MS256]

I have seen tee boxes further back than where the cart path goes and carts wouldn't even be allowed to go further back. Brown Acres in Chattanooga has one of those but they obviously foresaw a potential problem and planted very thick hedges between the tee and where the carts are parked.

I suppose it's possible for a ball to make it through the hedges and hit a cart but unlikely.

If this is a similar set up, but without the hedges, I think the course should have at least some responsibility.

Trenton Golf Course in Trenton Ga. also has a hole where there is no safe place for the cart to be, and without any protection. I've thought about it because my wife is usually sitting in the cart. It would take a really bad shot to hit the cart but it's definitely possible.

I also don't know how much a broken GPS is worth. I would have to know what was wrong with it. Could have just been a wiring problem or something else simple to fix.

I would offer to pay for it if I broke it but I would also be disappointed if the course didn't assume some or all of the blame if they had any.

[tomkatpoker]

I should take a pic and show how crazy this tee box is and where you have to park. Maybe they will consider moving the tees way up or just play the odds that this 10,000-1 shot never happens again. Wouldn't the gps company have insurance with the course?

[rehmwa]

I've seen playing partners, spouses, (anyone hitting from a more forward tee) actually sitting in the cart in these scenarios while the 'blue tee' players are teeing off.

"Hey, we're teeing off, go find a tree or stand behind the cart!!!"

goofy even for the course to have the layout provide that opportunity - usually a small barrier (read "cheap wooden wall with advertisements plastered on it) can be put in place and cheap to install.  hell, put a portable toilet next to the parking spot to block even.

I'd advise the course to think about this hole setup and suggest they be glad someone's kid or spouse wasn't sitting in the cart and a GPS is a small price to pay for the lesson learned.

Not everyone is a pro that can drive up between the spectators with confidence.

[clutchshot]

My thought would be that assuming the cart part is like basically every other cart path on the planet and goes next to the tee box, your dude should have to pay assuming the device worked in the first place. With this said, it was broke already, I get you broke it worse, but maybe a compromise of meeting in the middle would suffice. Regarding not paying if they ask you to: this is fine and dandy, they aren't going to come after you. As stated that would cost more than they will get, but don't plan on ever playing there again.

[jmurder]

My two cents. Imagine you are the course operator and someone broke something that you owned. What would you expect? I was raised in a way where if you broke it, you fix it..

[cfritchie]

. Wouldn't the gps company have insurance with the course?

Why would the GPS company insure the product they sold to the course against someone breaking it...

Now you're thinking like a lawyer...yeah...we need more of those!