'FORE!" Is The Loneliest Number That I Ever Knew

[Grumpter]

We golfers have many choruses we like to repeat during a round.... Grip it and rip it, Never up never in, thin to win etc., etc. The one chorus that sometimes maybe doesn't get the emphasis it should is 'Fore!'. Bland as any one word chorus can be it sometimes could use some repetition with some oomph behind each yelling of the word.

Situation: I signed up on golf.now for the last spot in a Noonish tee-time this Sunday. The group I was paired up with consisted of two guys who looked they were in the early 20's and a third gentlemen who was the father of one of the young guys. We had a pleasant round and these guys were a nice group to play with. Everything went great until the 15th hole.

The 15th hole is a Par 5 that has a narrow fairway and requires a layup shot from the tee (3 wood to 3 iron for most players). The fairway is lined on both sides with a row of very tall trees about 10 yards wide. Past the row of trees on the right is another par 5 that comes in the opposite direction and tee shots from both tee boxes have a way of wandering onto the other holes fairway.

One of the younger guy hits a high shot that starts out right and keeps going right. I can see a group coming up the fairway on the other par 5 so I said to him 'better give that one a fore'. Both he and the other younger guy in our group gave it a yell. From the tee box it unfortunately looked like the ball had maybe hit one of the guys coming up the other fairway so we got in our carts to go down to apologize and see if the guy was OK.

The ball hit the guy smack dab in the top middle of his forehead leaving a big, ugly red mark. He seemed dazed and it became alarmingly apparent that their group had not heard our group yell fore. Luckily the group on the green in front of them yelled back that they heard us yell Fore so not much of an argument ensued. The guy who got hit looked to be a little dazed but insisted he was OK. We stuck around another few minutes, apologizing a half dozen more times, to be sure the guy felt he was going to be OK then went back to our round.

What struck me later was how close the ball had come to doing some more serious damage to someone. A few inches down might have hit him in the eye, or nose or a few inches lower and you take out some teeth. Hit someone in the right spot on the head and they can be left with a concussion or worse. Could we have done more to warn the other group as the ball was careening towards them? While I think my group did the right thing with 2 people yelling fore in hindsight I wish we had added another chorus of 'FORE!' with a little more urgency. The kind of second 'Fore!' which would make even a combat hardened Marine duck and cover like the 9th grade scrawny kid who gets bullied by the seniors on the football team.

It’s much better to deal with a little embarrassment than to have the guilt of seeing someone hit by one of your groups errant drives (even if you weren't the ball striker). I have a tendency not to yell as heartily when someone who I don't know hits an errant shot. I think that will change from this point forward.

[Kobey]

Good points.  Another thing that a lot of people need to learn, myself included, is that when you do hear someone yell fore, immediately duck and cover.  Don't look around to see if they are yelling it at you.  By then it is too late.  You may look a little foolish if it turns out they are hitting in the opposite direction but at least you still have all your teeth, or at least the ones you started the round with.

[Grumpter]

Yeah, I'm already in the 'better safe than sorry camp'. If soemone slightly raises their voice to tell their partner they scored a four on the hole I'm duck and covering just in case.

[Lofty Lefty]

At my course people call 'fore' way too often. It's almost taken as a given by some people that if you hit your ball off the fairway then you must yell 'fore'.

The problem this creates is very much similar to the house alarm surge in the 80's/90's. Used to be that if you heard an alarm someone would call the police etc, but these days there's one going off on every street, so often that they are almost redundant (unless monitored, of course)

Back to the point, people are calling 'fore' so much that no one takes notice. Maybe that could have happened in this case, I don't know, but I'll give you an example of how not hearing (or not calling it at all) could actually save someone....

Ball gets hooked over trees etc, no fore called, or not heard. A guy gets hit in the chest. No big deal (grain of salt there) but certainly no major injury. Now imagine if 'fore' is called and heard?

The guy ducks down, maybe turns his head as he does it? Very possible that he now gets hit in the head/face instead of the chest. End of the day, it's the luck of the draw, I guess...

My point is , before hitting off it's a very good idea to check adjoining fairways to see if anyone is there first, so you know to call 'fore', but more importantly, to see if the coast is clear so that there is no need to call for a wayward shot.

Just my 2c.

[Grumpter]

Quote:

Ball gets hooked over trees etc, no fore called, or not heard. A guy gets hit in the chest. No big deal (grain of salt there) but certainly no major injury. Now imagine if 'fore' is called and heard?

The guy ducks down, maybe turns his head as he does it? Very possible that he now gets hit in the head/face instead of the chest. End of the day, it's the luck of the draw, I guess...

I would say that person did not duck and cover correctly. IMO duck and cover is both palms on back (top) of head, both forearms covering face, elbows touching about chin high, chin tucked into chest, knees bent and doubled over at waist. Overly cautious? Maybe, but I would rather look an idiot briefly than get hit in a sensitive area with a golf ball.

[sacm3bill]

Originally Posted by Lofty Lefty

At my course people call 'fore' way too often. It's almost taken as a given by some people that if you hit your ball off the fairway then you must yell 'fore'...

Ball gets hooked over trees etc, no fore called, or not heard. A guy gets hit in the chest. No big deal (grain of salt there) but certainly no major injury. Now imagine if 'fore' is called and heard?

The guy ducks down, maybe turns his head as he does it? Very possible that he now gets hit in the head/face instead of the chest. End of the day, it's the luck of the draw, I guess...

I couldn't disagree more with the logic in your entire post. You're actually advocating not yelling fore because of the million-to-one chance that ducking will cause more harm than not ducking?

Whether your ball is going to be landing in your own fairway or not - unless you're absolutely sure where it is going to land, and you have an unobstructed view of that area, and you're absolutely sure no one is in that area, and you're absolutely sure no one is going to be in that area (they could have been hidden behind a tree until just before your ball lands)... then you better damn well be yelling fore.

[Lofty Lefty]

Originally Posted by sacm3bill

I couldn't disagree more with the logic in your entire post. You're actually advocating not yelling fore because of the million-to-one chance that ducking will cause more harm than not ducking?

Whether your ball is going to be landing in your own fairway or not - unless you're absolutely sure where it is going to land, and you have an unobstructed view of that area, and you're absolutely sure no one is in that area, and you're absolutely sure no one is going to be in that area (they could have been hidden behind a tree until just before your ball lands)... then you better damn well be yelling fore.

I'm not advocating not yelling fore, but there is always a chance that someone can duck into a ball. Like trying to avoid a car accident but hitting something else as you do.... It's chance.

What I was referring to at my course is that people tend to call fore without reason. I've played with people who've missed the fairway and called fore, and I'm thinking "there's no one there - I looked before you hit."

Just like when driving, you should always be aware of where you can go if someone in front of you does something unexpected. Know your surroundings and who's in them. But maybe it's asking too much of people to look before they jump, or tee off, so to speak.

[Kobey]

The solution is simple, bring your arms up and over your head, then duck.

[sacm3bill]

Originally Posted by Lofty Lefty

I'm not advocating not yelling fore, but there is always a chance that someone can duck into a ball. Like trying to avoid a car accident but hitting something else as you do.... It's chance.

What I was referring to at my course is that people tend to call fore without reason. I've played with people who've missed the fairway and called fore, and I'm thinking "there's no one there - I looked before you hit."

I think you're missing the point.  The more surface area of your body is exposed, the greater the chances of getting hurt or injured by a ball. Yelling "fore" decreases the chances of getting hurt. Not yelling "fore" greatly increases the chances. Instead of having to figure out on a case-by-case basis whether there is a 0% chance of needing to shout a warning or not, it can't possibly hurt to shout it just in case.

[iacas]

I yell fore if my ball is likely to hit someone. I expect that they'll duck and cover.

I do not yell fore if my ball is going to miss people, because if I yell fore and they try to run away, they may very well run into where my ball is going. I've had some people get upset with me when a ball lands five yards from them, but when I explain why I didn't yell "FORE" they have all accepted my logic. I understand that the "thump" still scares them, but they seem to agree being scared is better than being whacked in the noggin with a golf ball.

(I'm mostly speaking of yelling fore for shots played by others, though there is one par five at Lake View where you can easily hook your 3W a bit too much and put the ball near the 18th tee.)

[sacm3bill]

Originally Posted by iacas

I yell fore if my ball is likely to hit someone. I expect that they'll duck and cover.

I do not yell fore if my ball is going to miss people, because if I yell fore and they try to run away, they may very well run into where my ball is going.

Running away or otherwise moving seems like a strange reaction to hearing someone yell fore. Never seen that.

I won't yell fore either if there's no chance of the ball hitting someone, but I'd have to be pretty damn sure. And with my eyes the way they are now, that kind of certainty doesn't exist any more. :-)

Anyway, the main reason I joined this discussion was it seemed LL was saying that yelling fore is a total crapshoot since someone is as likely to get injured by ducking as they are by not being given a warning at all. That I definitely don't agree with.

[imtomtomim]

Whenever I yell fore, I try to point at the ball so people have an idea that it is indeed going for them.

I also have come quite close to being hit a few times so whenever I hear it, I'll duck behind my bag or scurry next to a tree.

[iacas]

Originally Posted by sacm3bill

Running away or otherwise moving seems like a strange reaction to hearing someone yell fore. Never seen that.

I see it all the time. If someone yells "fore" then the assumption is you're likely to get hit, so if you move somewhere (best direction is sideways) you're less likely to be hit.

That's why I don't yell FORE if the ball is going to miss everyone.

[sacm3bill]

Originally Posted by iacas

I see it all the time. If someone yells "fore" then the assumption is you're likely to get hit, so if you move somewhere (best direction is sideways) you're less likely to be hit.

Wow, that seems really unwise. In doing that, they're assuming that they have time to get out of the danger area, and I don't see how that's a safe assumption - particularly since they have no way of knowing how much time they have. I prefer to spend any time I have before the ball gets to my area by covering my noggin and naughty bits, and making myself as small as possible - not moving to another spot that for all I know is now taking me in the direction of the ball.

[Lofty Lefty]

Originally Posted by sacm3bill

I won't yell fore either if there's no chance of the ball hitting someone, but I'd have to be pretty damn sure.

OK, that's more like the statement I was trying to make.

I, and no one I can think of, want's to see anyone get hit by a ball. The problem I find at my course is too many call fore unnecessarily, which does two things. It can put someone off who may happen to be playing a shot with hearing distance, but mostly, it desensitizes people to "fore", and that doesn't make a golf course any safer...