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Yelling "FORE!" - When Do You, and How Do You React?


iacas
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Yelling FORE!  

75 members have voted

  1. 1. When someone yells "fore," and they can see you, what do you do?

    • Cover my head and duck in place
      67
    • Cover my head and run to another place
      5
    • Something else
      3
  2. 2. When someone yells "fore," and they can't see you, what do you do?

    • Cover my head and duck in place
      65
    • Cover my head and run to another place
      4
    • Something else
      6
  3. 3. Which best describes when you yell "fore"?

    • I yell when I think there's a good chance people will be hit or I can't see if there are people in the area.
      62
    • I always yell "fore" regardless.
      13


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6 hours ago, iacas said:

You can get 15-25 yards away.

If my golf ball is definitely going to miss someone by 20 or 30 yards, I often won't yell, lest they run into it.

If you can really judge, within a few seconds of flight, within 20 yards of where your ball is going to land on a 250 yard shot, then I’m suitably impressed.  

Most can’t do that.  I know that I can’t.  When I yell fore at someone, it’s not to tell them to get out of the way.  It’s to warn them to duck or take immediate cover.  

 

In David's bag....

Driver: Titleist 910 D-3;  9.5* Diamana Kai'li
3-Wood: Titleist 910F;  15* Diamana Kai'li
Hybrids: Titleist 910H 19* and 21* Diamana Kai'li
Irons: Titleist 695cb 5-Pw

Wedges: Scratch 51-11 TNC grind, Vokey SM-5's;  56-14 F grind and 60-11 K grind
Putter: Scotty Cameron Kombi S
Ball: ProV1

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1 hour ago, David in FL said:

If you can really judge, within a few seconds of flight, within 20 yards of where your ball is going to land on a 250 yard shot, then I’m suitably impressed.

You can't? In all seriousness…

I can tell you within a large blanket where my ball is going to land. So can most better players I've played with. That's why we know to say "go!" or "get down" or something. That's why Tiger can say "one yard!" and better players will lean as the ball is nearing a tree line.

It's not impressive. It's "I've played golf for a long time, and we get pretty damn good at knowing pretty quickly to within a small area where a ball is going to land."

Hell, I've called shots I've hit in the dark before. That's more impressive, but still not outside the bounds of basic reality.

1 hour ago, David in FL said:

Most can’t do that.  I know that I can’t.  When I yell fore at someone, it’s not to tell them to get out of the way.  It’s to warn them to duck or take immediate cover.  

I don't know about that. I think most can. TV announcers can even do it, caddies… and they're not hitting the ball, so they don't know how it felt, either. Virtually everyone on my college team can do this to a small area, and they're up to 8 or 9 index players. 20 yards is a huge range.

Erik J. Barzeski —  I knock a ball. It goes in a gopher hole. 🏌🏼‍♂️
Director of Instruction Golf Evolution • Owner, The Sand Trap .com • AuthorLowest Score Wins
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2 hours ago, David in FL said:

Most can’t do that

Come on Dave, sure they can and so can you. When I hit driver I know almost immediately I’m headed for a bunker. Even fairly small ones. If there were people standing in the bunker I’d yell Fore! 

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1 minute ago, Vinsk said:

Come on Dave, sure they can and so can you. When I hit driver I know almost immediately I’m headed for a bunker. Even fairly small ones. If there were people standing in the bunker I’d yell Fore! 

I've asked about ten people on iMessage so far. Not a single one of them has said they can't for any normal types of shots (i.e. not a quick duck hook or something). They range from former touring pros to 12 handicappers.

Erik J. Barzeski —  I knock a ball. It goes in a gopher hole. 🏌🏼‍♂️
Director of Instruction Golf Evolution • Owner, The Sand Trap .com • AuthorLowest Score Wins
Golf Digest "Best Young Teachers in America" 2016-17 & "Best in State" 2017-20 • WNY Section PGA Teacher of the Year 2019 :edel: :true_linkswear:

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2 hours ago, David in FL said:

Most can’t do that.  I know that I can’t.  When I yell fore at someone, it’s not to tell them to get out of the way.  It’s to warn them to duck or take immediate cover.  

How is your eye sight?

Very rarely do I find golfers asking me, "Where did that go?". Majority of golfers go in the general vicinity of where their golf ball landed. If they can do that, they know pretty quickly if a ball will be near someone on the course. 

Matt Dougherty, P.E.
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52 minutes ago, Vinsk said:

Come on Dave, sure they can and so can you. When I hit driver I know almost immediately I’m headed for a bunker. Even fairly small ones. If there were people standing in the bunker I’d yell Fore! 

Eventually, of course, but not within a half second, or even 2 seconds of hitting the ball.  Once you’re past 2 or 3 seconds you’re down to not enough time for the player to get out of that 20 yard or so radius.

If y’all think that running blindly from where you are is helpful, go for it.  But I’m gonna duck and cover.  

In David's bag....

Driver: Titleist 910 D-3;  9.5* Diamana Kai'li
3-Wood: Titleist 910F;  15* Diamana Kai'li
Hybrids: Titleist 910H 19* and 21* Diamana Kai'li
Irons: Titleist 695cb 5-Pw

Wedges: Scratch 51-11 TNC grind, Vokey SM-5's;  56-14 F grind and 60-11 K grind
Putter: Scotty Cameron Kombi S
Ball: ProV1

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5 minutes ago, David in FL said:

Eventually, of course, but not within a half second, or even 2 seconds of hitting the ball.  Once you’re past 2 or 3 seconds you’re down to not enough time for the player to get out of that 20 yard or so radius.

If y’all think that running blindly from where you are is helpful, go for it.  But I’m gonna duck and cover.  

  1. It's not a twenty-yard radius. It's smaller.
  2. Yes, I can tell within a half second to a second. I can tell to within maybe < 10 yards before my follow-through is done by how impact feels for most shots.
  3. I've shared the logic behind "cover and run," but if you want to call it "running blindly" I'll counter that it's more like "running logically."

Erik J. Barzeski —  I knock a ball. It goes in a gopher hole. 🏌🏼‍♂️
Director of Instruction Golf Evolution • Owner, The Sand Trap .com • AuthorLowest Score Wins
Golf Digest "Best Young Teachers in America" 2016-17 & "Best in State" 2017-20 • WNY Section PGA Teacher of the Year 2019 :edel: :true_linkswear:

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Another interesting aspect of this yelling fore business is how loud people do yell it (if they ever do at all). I have seen countless occasions where even being next to the person "yelling", i heard more a whisper than an actual yell, with absolute zero chance of someone hearing it downrange, regardless of wind direction. I tend to yell loudly after them in that case.

I believe that some people are really shy or their culture frowns on being loud (because they hail from places with lots of people), and they just can't bring themselves to yell in public.  The corollary is that when on the receiving end of a ball when nothing could be heard, they often come to me and apologize, sometimes profusely. I relish in telling them: "the world is fore, not sorry; you can keep sorry when you kill me because you didn't yell fore". The look on their face at that point is priceless, but I don't know if their behavior changes after that... or not.

Philippe

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I turn cover my head and duck a bit. Count to 5 and stand up. 

 

If there is even a slight chance of hitting someone I yell. Loud! If someone in my flight is hitting close to them I yell with them or over them or whatever. Maybe that’s because I’m a dentist and I know what can happen if someone gets hit by a ball. 

 

One of the worst feelings I remember was playing a club tournament and there are 3 adjacent holes where fairways are divided by a wide band of rough. I was hitting my driver that went about 240 yards a bit into the rough. And a girl about 12 was searching for her ball in the rough playing down. The ball hit the ground about 10 feet from her. Me any my playing partner were yelling Fore. She ducked and protected her head. 

Why did I hit the ball then? Because I was playing with a single capper that hit his driver before me and he was outdriving me all day for at least 20 yards and he was short of her position. What a time to hit a longer drive than him...

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For me its always duck and cover. There have been a few times my playing partner has been stood next to me wondering why im covering my head when the ball misses us. But hey, you never know.

If/when i when hit a dodgy shot that is going off course i yell regardless. If the ball is heading into some trees divinding two fairways you can never be sure if there is anyone in them (for any reason).

There are a couple of public courses in the Leeds area that are open to dog walkers and the like and while they stay off the fairways they do often walk through the wooded areas. Better safe than sorry. 

Russ, from "sunny" Yorkshire = :-( 

In the bag: Driver: Ping G5 , Woods:Dunlop NZ9, 4 Hybrid: Tayormade Burner, 4-SW: Hippo Beast Bi-Metal , Wedges: Wilson 1200, Putter: Cleveland Smartsquare Blade, Ball: AD333

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When I hear it, I mostly freeze and cover my head, but I may look up, which is idiotic.

I holler when I think there is a chance that I might get close. I'm usually far short. Sometimes I'm late with the warning. Once a twosome was in front of me on the green, I went to my bag and by the time I looked at the hole they were gone. I thought they went to the next hole. I didn't notice that they were to the left of the green talking to a fellow in the maintenance cart and my ball went through them and I found it about 20 yards past, they may have kicked it up. The maintenance fellow said my ball was close and went through them. I apologized and explained. When we caught up to the twosome--two women--they wanted no part of my apology or explanation and I felt terrible because of it. I'm watching more closely now.

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On 10/5/2018 at 3:11 PM, LeftyWhiff said:

When I hear it, I mostly freeze and cover my head, but I may look up, which is idiotic.

I holler when I think there is a chance that I might get close. I'm usually far short. Sometimes I'm late with the warning. Once a twosome was in front of me on the green, I went to my bag and by the time I looked at the hole they were gone. I thought they went to the next hole. I didn't notice that they were to the left of the green talking to a fellow in the maintenance cart and my ball went through them and I found it about 20 yards past, they may have kicked it up. The maintenance fellow said my ball was close and went through them. I apologized and explained. When we caught up to the twosome--two women--they wanted no part of my apology or explanation and I felt terrible because of it. I'm watching more closely now.

Generally I wrap my arms around my head, turn away and duck.  I got hit by a drive on the back of my calf two years back (no shout) and it hurt like hell and left a huge bruise so I 'aint taking chances.  Had that been the back of my head or a bony part . . .

Your story reminds me when I was playing on an unfamiliar course on my own a few years back.  I'd been behind three ladies who weren't exactly speedy or keen to let me play through so I was getting frustrated.  Anyway, on the fourth I'm blocked out down the left so I have to hit over a group of trees with a draw if I want to hit the green or chip out to the fairway.  I see the ladies move off the green and head behind the trees down the left (the next tee  is up an incline about 70 yds left from the green.  So, I give them enough time to make the tee and then fire.  I ended up pulling my shot into the trees but given that a) they should be on the tee by now and b) I expect my ball to be gobbled by the trees I don't shout.  Big mistake.  Next thing I hear three almighty shrieks, gasps and am given general impressions of Saw like horror.  Feeling my stomach drop I sprint to the noise fearing the worst to find them stood ten yards off the green (chatting I presumed), no-one hurt and the ball just off to the right of them.  I apologised profusely explaining my actions but they weren't having it.  After the shock faded and my brain engaged I reflected that, yes, I should have shouted but what they were doing I have no idea (although I refrained from pointing out their less than prudent course of action).  After two tense holes they seemed to defrost slightly and accepted my umpteenth apology and allowed me to play through.

Moral here is, shout if there is any doubt and perhaps even if there isn't as you never know, especially on unfamiliar tracks.  I always feel bad about that incident as I think they may have actually waited by the green to let me play through - so I imagine they were indignant when my ball came close to them with no shout.  Still though, given I was clearly playing blind they were being pretty stupid waiting there, and I was amazed that my ball got through the mini-forest!  But you just never know . . .

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I usually give a quick look around (to see who yelled), but then duck and cover my head to the extent possible regardless.

Running away makes perfect sense...except for the 20% of people (in this poll) who yell “fore” on balls that may be 15 yards from hitting me (or, the 0.01% of balls that take some crazy hop or something). 

So, I err on the side of having my head better protected.

I’ll concede that I have a slightly higher chance of getting hit overall, but I also have a 0% chance of getting hit in the head. 

- John

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On 10/4/2018 at 12:01 AM, David in FL said:

If you can really judge, within a few seconds of flight, within 20 yards of where your ball is going to land on a 250 yard shot, then I’m suitably impressed.  

Most can’t do that.  I know that I can’t.  When I yell fore at someone, it’s not to tell them to get out of the way.  It’s to warn them to duck or take immediate cover.  

 

I’m still with David.

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10 hours ago, MacDutch said:

I’m still with David.

Thanks. I'm not.

I got a "fore" yell today, and I knew who yelled it, and like at the Newport Cup, I ran a little ways away behind a tree… The ball landed where I was standing. I mean, it would have just hit me in the leg, but still. It didn't hit me at all getting behind the tree.

My kids (the college players) know to yell only if they think it's going to hit me. But, let's be clear here, this is a different situation, too, than most people playing golf. I'm beside a green, not playing, and the only real reason I'm there is to watch them. So it's more likely that they're hitting near me not for anything approaching a good shot, but if they tug the crap out of something, it might come near me, or if I'm fore caddying on a hole, they might hit a driver near me). In those instances, I'll occasionally run if I can get behind something, and they know that I'm not going to be scared if they land a ball ten yards from me.

Erik J. Barzeski —  I knock a ball. It goes in a gopher hole. 🏌🏼‍♂️
Director of Instruction Golf Evolution • Owner, The Sand Trap .com • AuthorLowest Score Wins
Golf Digest "Best Young Teachers in America" 2016-17 & "Best in State" 2017-20 • WNY Section PGA Teacher of the Year 2019 :edel: :true_linkswear:

Check Out: New Topics | TST Blog | Golf Terms | Instructional Content | Analyzr | LSW | Instructional Droplets

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  • 5 months later...

Came very close to getting hit by a ball the other day first time ever I thought I was going to get hit bad,,, was coming down the middle of the fairway only 60-70yards off the green across from that green was two guys teeing off ... is a well know bad location on our links course where we have Par-5 parallel to two PAR-4 on either side without much room between fairways (we need more bushes low trees IMHO) 

Anyway walking down I watched the first novice looking guy and he sliced bad so when his mate rocked up to the tee I was keeping an eye on him as I continued to my ball but thinking unlikely he would hit a LOW hook it like he did, lucky for me he called FORE! straight after shot I turned towards him and stopped to watch the ball hit only yards away and bounce up to head height curving only feet away from my head .... had I continued to walk one more step good chance I would have been hit maybe even head height >>

Personal I need to be better at calling FORE!!! I always look around pre-hitting a ball to risks around me but with a pretty powerful stroke, many times it seems like I'm calling FORE as the ball is nearly onto other players generally its a high slice..so not as bad as low hooks or slices 

 

Go Foxy Go

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