Man shoots golfer who hit errant shot thru his home window WOW

[dbuck]

I have broken my own window and my grandmothers window as a kid learning in the yards. A couple of course I play have houses and apartments lining the fairway, and I have hit roofs, but fortunately no windows or cars.

[phan52]

I have broken my own window and my grandmothers window as a kid learning in the yards. A couple of course I play have houses and apartments lining the fairway, and I have hit roofs, but fortunately no windows or cars.

I hit a car in the parking lot a couple of years ago. I was playing in a Golf Association of Philadelphia team match on an away course. The 18th green is just on the other side of a hedge from the parking lot. I was in a greeenside bunker and thinned it, and the ball was heading for the parking lot. It was going to hit either a Toyota or a Benz and I was begging for the Toyoto. Nope, the Benz. It hit the front hood and left a little indentation. My opponents pulled up in a cart and I told them what happened and one of the guys, the guy I was playing my singles match against, asked which car I hit. It turns out the Benz was his. I not only lost the match to him but I had to pay for his deductable on the damage to the hood.

[Al B Tross]

I hit a car in the parking lot a couple of years ago. I was playing in a Golf Association of Philadelphia team match on an away course. The 18th green is just on the other side of a hedge from the parking lot. I was in a greeenside bunker and thinned it, and the ball was heading for the parking lot. It was going to hit either a Toyota or a Benz and I was begging for the Toyoto. Nope, the Benz. It hit the front hood and left a little indentation. My opponents pulled up in a cart and I told them what happened and one of the guys, the guy I was playing my singles match against, asked which car I hit. It turns out the Benz was his. I not only lost the match to him but I had to pay for his deductable on the damage to the hood.

Between this and the misplayed ball from this past weekend, one might say you have some bad luck with tourneys. ;-)

[phan52]

Quote:

Originally Posted by phan52

I hit a car in the parking lot a couple of years ago. I was playing in a Golf Association of Philadelphia team match on an away course. The 18th green is just on the other side of a hedge from the parking lot. I was in a greeenside bunker and thinned it, and the ball was heading for the parking lot. It was going to hit either a Toyota or a Benz and I was begging for the Toyoto. Nope, the Benz. It hit the front hood and left a little indentation. My opponents pulled up in a cart and I told them what happened and one of the guys, the guy I was playing my singles match against, asked which car I hit. It turns out the Benz was his. I not only lost the match to him but I had to pay for

his deductable on the damage to the hood.Originally Posted by Al B Tross

Between this and the misplayed ball from this past weekend, one might say you have some bad luck with tourneys.

I hit that car years ago. I've had my share of good days.

[Saintsmania]

I've been playing golf for 40+ years and have broken one window in a house. The house was really behind and to the side of me as my ball struck a tree directly in line with the flag but the ball then ricocheted into a home about 30 yards off the course. I knocked on the door and gave them my insurance information so they could replace their window at no cost to them.

And I chuckle when some will say that "Hey, you live on a golf course." thus implying that it is the homeowners' fault that his house was hit.

My answer would be "No, my house is not on, but merely adjacent to a golf course and at least 50 to 60 yards from the center of the fairway.

So even though the golfer breaking a window is not legally liable with hitting a normal shot, it is just courtesy to pay for the broken window, especially when your homeowner liability coverage will pay for it at no cost to neither the golfer nor the homeowner.

[Parker0065]

I've never broken a window on a house surrounding a golf course but as a kid I was pretty rough on the windows in my parents house. I shattered a total of 4 growing up but only two of them were golf related.

The worst one was on a hot summer day I was out doing yard work and decided to jump in our pool to cool off. I had no towel when I got out so I was air drying in the back yard and grabbed an old "slick gripped" wedge my brother and I left out in the yard to chip and pitch balls around. My hands were still a little wet and I was swinging towards our enclosed back porch with big bay windows(big mistake). I lined up and took a nice big cut at some turf and much to my shock and surprise the club went flying out of my hands at the release point and right through one of the bay windows.

My first thought was "Are You F***ing Kidding Me"!

My Dad just shook his head and called the glass company. He was use to me coming up with idiotic ways of breaking windows around the house but none of them were ever in anger, just dumb teenager crap, lol! Thankfully my 16 year old son didn't inherit my teenage glass breaking luck. He's hasn't broken one yet(knock on wood)!

[phan52]

I've been playing golf for 40+ years and have broken one window in a house. The house was really behind and to the side of me as my ball struck a tree directly in line with the flag but the ball then ricocheted into a home about 30 yards off the course. I knocked on the door and gave them my insurance information so they could replace their window at no cost to them.

And I chuckle when some will say that "Hey, you live on a golf course." thus implying that it is the homeowners' fault that his house was hit.

My answer would be "No, my house is not on, but merely adjacent to a golf course and at least 50 to 60 yards from the center of the fairway.

So even though the golfer breaking a window is not legally liable with hitting a normal shot, it is just courtesy to pay for the broken window, especially when your homeowner liability coverage will pay for it at no cost to neither the golfer nor the homeowner.

I don't think anybody is implying that it is the homeowner's "fault", just that it should probably be an expectation. The best players in the world are often guilty of hitting a shot 50-60 yards off line, so anybody can most probably do it.

[Moppy]

I just played a Disney course, Lake Buena Vista, a course which was way over my head. Lots of water, lots of sand, tight fairways, and lined with condos on both sides. I hit a roof with one of my patented towering banana slices. I was using a rented driver, I didn't think about the fact that I had my own driver adjusted for less loft and a draw bias, which pretty much, along with choking up, manages to keep the tee shot on the course with just a pronounced fade.

After happily hearing no glass shatter, I just choked up, eased up, and was genuinely happy to hit short knocks up the fairway. There was an earlier thread about designating golf courses by skill level, I wouldn't mind having been warned away from this one. Most beginners just don't understand the designations for course difficulty, and we are the ones who need the information the most. The pro laughed when he heard that I had asked for the easiest course and they sent me there. He said the Disney Golf people are in North Carolina and just hand out the shortest course as the easiest one.

[skywaterbanjo]

I played yesterday with a couple of younger guys who could hit the ball a mile - just not straight.  I've never seen 2 guys hit so many houses in one round.  Each had to have hit at least 6 houses each.  Played the Pinnacle course at Troon North in Scottsdale.  What a spectacular course...

I've hit one roof one time - my mother-in-law's house!

[RickK]

I have paid for 2 window replacements on one of the courses that used to be my home course.

[Lihu]

At one of our So. Cal. outings, I hit an errant ball over toward some houses. The ball probably landed in their back patio.

I was really leery of someone coming out with a shotgun, as I was making my drop. Now, I have justification for my normal paranoia.

Seriously, this is crazy.

[rkim291968]

I hit into houses numerous times.  It's too many to remember but less than a dozen times all together.  Once I hit one into a back yard full of people.   It hit something solid and made a loud noise.   When I looked up, people went about doing their business.   So, I moved on.

I hit into streets number of times and cringed but all I hit were pavements.

I hit a car once which was driving out of golf club.   He was driving on a small road that separates  two courses.   The ball bounced on pavement and hit a car.  There was no damage and the car drove off eventually.

No damage done so far.

[rkim291968]

At one of our So. Cal. outings, I hit an errant ball over toward some houses. The ball probably landed in their back patio.

I was really leery of someone coming out with a shotgun, as I was making my drop. Now, I have justification for my normal paranoia.

Seriously, this is crazy.

One of my golf partners said (and he is right) ... when a guy buys a house next to a golf course, he must expect !@#$ is going to happen.   So, there!

[Wisguy]

I hit a shed once and a buddy hit the house right behind it. Years earlier I had a wicked hooked driver off the tee on a hole that ran parallel to a highway and heard a loud metallic clunk as my ball hit the roof or hood of a car speeding by. They didn't stop and I was probably a mile from the pro shop at that point and walking, so I wasn't sprinting to end my round in the off chance the guy turned around and came back. I did stop in at the pro shop at the end of my round and asked if anyone had stopped in about a ball hitting their car in the past hour but the assistant said no and don't worry about it. I did have my car hit by a ball once. I was parked in the middle of a store parking lot far to the left of one of my favorite course's driving ranges, an easy 200+ yards on the fly from the tee areas. I see a ball bounce 30 yards into the middle of the parking lot and I hurry to my car to get it out of harm's way (I had thought the car was far enough from the range but apparently not). I'm grabbing the handle to open the door and suddenly, a second ball hits my door on the fly about 8" from my hand, denting my door. There are only two people on the range, an older right-handed guy on the far right side who doesn't appear to be able to hit a ball more than 200 yards and a tall, pretty athletic left-handed teenage kid nearer the parking lot side hitting a driver. I might not have even approached the culprit, given his youth, but he hit not one but two balls into the lot and must have known he was doing it, maybe even did it on purpose, but if not, his carelessness was pretty close to outright recklessness for not controlling his shots better when he can see there are cars where his ball is going. So I don't have a problem approaching him. I tell the kid that he hit my car and politely ask him for his insurance information. He got kind of scared and tried to deny that he hit my car, but there simply was no other way that the yellow-striped range ball traveled 200+ yards into the side of my car. I tried to reassure him that it would get taken care of by his parents' insurance company and that's why we have insurance, so he doesn't panic. He gives me his dad's name, phone number and address. I also go talk with the head pro about the fact that this range has nets about 15' shorter than several other ranges in the area that are near roads and I tell him that I'm pretty sure the kid would not have been able to get the ball into the parking lot if the nets were of a more typical height that one sees around other area driving ranges. But I tell him that I'm hopefully going to be able to get this sorted out with the kid's parents' insurance company and won't bother him unless the kid's family doesn't have insurance or gives me a hassle. So I called the kid's dad, explain I'm the guy whose car his son had hit with a range ball, and politely ask him for his homeowner's insurance and policy number. He goes ballistic on me and starts screaming at me for making "false accusations" and "bullying his young son nearly to tears" (completely untrue - I actually tried to reassure that it was an accident and the insurance would handle everything). He denies that his son could possibly have been responsible. I tell him that if he doesn't want to handle this through his insurance company, I could always file a small claims lawsuit for the $400 or so it would cost to hire a body shop to do the repairs and it would end up costing him at least $100 more with court costs if I had to file suit. He tells me to go to hell and hangs up. The next day, I'm doing something around the house and the kid's dad suddenly is banging on my front door holding this 36" posterboard diagram and starts yelling at me, calling me a fraud who bullies teenage boys. I tell him to come in, sit down, and let's talk this over. This self-annointed engineering genius has created some sort of diagram of the range and tells me it shows absolutely, positively, that his kid could not have hit the left-curving ball over the fence into the parking lot. He sneeringly tells me I'm obviously not a golfer and am ignorant of ball trajectories in golf, trying to explain to me that a left-curving ball in golf is known as a hook or draw and it flies much lower than a right-curving slice and thus could not possibly have cleared the the top of the fence. He dares me to file suit and waves his diagram at me, sneering how he was going to "get punitive damages" when the judge saw his exhibit that proved I was lying. I had had enough and said,"Buddy, you're the one who is ignorant about golf. Your kid's a lefty and left-handed players aren't hitting hooks when they curve the ball to the left, they're hitting a SLICE. Your kid was the only possible person who could have hit my car." He stares at me for a bit with his mouth open as he thinks, I could see the proverbial lightbulb going off inside of his thick skull as he slammed shut his mouth and he grabs his million-dollar-punitive-damages-winning-court-exhibit and storms out of my house. I follow him out and ask "Are you going to pay for the damage your kid caused or do I have to sue you?" As he's pulling away without a word, I see a political campaign bumper sticker on the back of his car for a candidate that's from that party that likes to scream about "taking personal responsibility." I thought that was highly ironic. Epilogue: I wanted to sue the guy because the look on his face as he got a judgment ordered against him would have been worth as much to me as I could have hoped to recover for the actual damages for the dent in my car door. However, I was getting married in 6 or 8 weeks or so and decided that I didn't need the hassle and drama in my life of a lawsuit coinciding with a wedding. So instead I called the golf course's head pro back and came to a mutually very amicable resolution. Rather than a cash settlement (the repairs would be less then the course's insurance deductible), I instead got them to host my bachelor party golf outing for two foursomes. And a few weeks later they put a taller extension on the net at the left side of their range.

[Wisguy]

I stayed at that Disney resort a few years ago and saw parts of that course from a stroll around the resort. I looked terrific. .......... OK, that may be true, but upon proofreading a bit better, I apparently did not press the "T" key hard enough, so let's change that to "IT looked terrific." Strangely enough, for a series of resorts that boast about their premium golf courses to tempt dads while their kids are standing in line for 90 minutes for the Dumbo ride, they had no information either in the room or at the main resort desk about the golf courses, not even a single brochure. It really doesn't seem like those Disney people know much about their own golf courses or how to market them.

[nevets88]

Isn't there some kind of low cost (relative to window) plexi-glass sheath or cover you can put over the window just to take the brunt of the collision?

[Teamanglerx]

Was playing with a friend who shanked one bad into a condo parking lot that was next to one of the holes.  We heard BANG - car alarm, another BANG - car alarm, then Bang - glass breaking.  We sat on the tee box with a stunned looks on our faces until I said "I guess you can't hit the cut fade after all."  That lightened the mood.  We left notes on the cars.  Interestingly enough the condo association paid for damages caused by golfers and the next year they put up a net.

[Lihu]

A net makes a lot more sense than a shotgun. :-/