Golf Course Accidents and Injuries - or close calls

[North Butte]

One experience, one caused...

 

When I first started playing golf I managed to get a matchstick-sized splinter of fiberglass from a flagstick rammed under my fingernail and all the down past the quick into the finger. It hurt a lot to have it in there and hurt even more when the doctor yanked it out a couple hours later. That fingernail has never looked the same ever since it grew back.

 

I hit a guy in the jaw with my tee shot, on the fly, once. Scariest moment of my life. Dude just shook it off, I couldn't believe it. He said, "I used to play baseball, got hit in the face plenty harder than that". Moral of that story is probably don't get in a fistfight with that guy...

[Browns71213]

Played Riverwalk in SAN Diego where the tee boxes are notoriously close to the preceding greens. Me and my buddy are sitting in our cart waiting on another group to tee off when a ball comes flying in between our golf bags, between our heads, hits the cart windshield and rockets back out of the cart the same way it came in. My buddy looks over and says "that was a close one huh?" No fore, no nothing, guy doesn't even come over to apologize.

[augustgolf]

Played Riverwalk in SAN Diego where the tee boxes are notoriously close to the preceding greens. Me and my buddy are sitting in our cart waiting on another group to tee off when a ball comes flying in between our golf bags, between our heads, hits the cart windshield and rockets back out of the cart the same way it came in. My buddy looks over and says "that was a close one huh?" No fore, no nothing, guy doesn't even come over to apologize.

 

He could have at least thanked you for stopping his ball from going further away/past the green, but since it didn't end up within "gimme" distance, he was probably pissed at you.

[SilverBullets]

The scariest thing I have seen was 2 years ago in our Club Championship. The first hole one of the toughest drives in the city. It's uphill to a blind fairway with a steep drop on both sides into trees. Left is a red hazard and is dead, right is playable but gross. Balls have a tendency to end up in weird spots due to the contours of the sidehill and the trees. The starter, to keep play moving, would forecaddie on #1.

 

I am on the 5th hole which runs along a road and see a ambulance screaming down the road pulling into our club parking lot. Everyone is trying to figure out what is going on. I make the turn and we hear the news. The starter, while forecaddying on #1, slumped over the cart and fell over. One member saw it happen and brilliantly, jumped in the cart, used the starter's radio to have them get the defib out and call 9-1-1, drove the cart to the clubhouse (a short drive). The starter had a heart attack right there in the middle of the fairway.

 

By jumping into action, the member saved the starter's life. He was transported to the ER, rushed into immediate surgery and made a full recovery. It was pretty crazy. Oh and the starter is one of the most fit elderly gentlemen that I know. He was late 60's, former athlete (I think played volleyball at a collegiate level), was skinny and appeared very fit, and walked the course at least twice a week. Its an extremely difficult course to walk. One that you need to be a billygoat to walk. Never had heart problems and the whole thing was totally out of the blue.

 

Another one that was weird and involved a different starter at the same club was probably 5 years before. The starter was in his 50's, again, a relatively healthy dude who was doing the starter gig to get free rounds. He was headed to his car after a hot day and was drinking a milkshake. He got a brain freeze and passed out while trying to get in his car. He dropped like a rock and smashed his face on the asphalt. He somehow avoided a concussion but had a black eye and pretty nasty case of road rash on his face. He was super embarrassed that everyone knew he passed out from a brain freeze.

[chas521]

My buddy was driving a cart down a hill way too fast when I told him he had just passed his ball. He slammed the brakes as we entered a turn in the cart path. We started sliding sideways and the cart flipped onto its side. I hit the cart path pretty hard and he crashed on top of me. Luckily, we were both ok. A few years later, a guy was killed in the same spot. I think he was standing in the cart and fell backwards out the windshield and was run over. Makes me think about how lucky we were not to get hurt.

 

This brings back a terrible memory. If any of you play the Blue course at Bethpage, then you know the 4th hole and how from the tee it goes downhill [big hill]. That's where I had the worst accident of my life. There's a cart path down that hill [still go slow]. Two of my riding cart wheels were on the cement and the other two were on the grass, I guess. I wasn't going fast at all. But all of a sudden the cart started to hydroplane and started turning. I was driving and my friend jumped out. The cart flipped over and I bounced off the cement with the cart over me and on top of my left wrist. It took 8 guys to pull the cart off me. To make a long story short, I was in a lot of pain. I had completely dislocated my left shoulder. I was rushed to the hospital ER where they put my arm back in place. Very painful fix! Two surgeries later and months of PT finally me back on the golf course. 11 months in all. Lucky I wasn't killed.

 

There is now a sign and roped off at the 4th hoie and the cart barn. Obviously, it has happened to others.

[bad coffee]

Hole #7, Hunter's Station in PA.

 

We (Dad, Dad's friend, sister, and I,) were playing behind a group of four that "golfed once a year." Four golfers, two carts, two bags. They'd ALL do the good ol' drive to one guy's shot, let him hit, then drive clear across the fairway to the other guys' balls.

 

Our day is going SLOW. We get to 7 and wait. We waited and waited for the group ahead of us to clear the green. They probably took 25 minutes on the hole, (it's a par 3.) By the time we teed off, there were 2 or 3 groups piled up waiting.

 

We all hit, then start down the hill in the carts. The concrete paths zigzag down the hill, keeping the carts safe enough to make it to the bottom.

 

And my dumb a** thought cutting the corner of one would be a good idea. The one at the top of the hill, to be exact.

 

Did I mention it had rained that morning?

 

The cart spun on the wet grass and started straight down the hill. I fought it and tried to get it to bite on the zigs and zags of the cart paths as we passed by. About 50 yards from the bottom of the hill I screamed at my sister to jump. She did. I spun a few more times and crashed into the rocks at the bottom of the hill. Luckily the wheels on the cart hit the rocks straight on. The rocks graciously stopped the cart from crashing into/through the green. My thought the whole time was "I can afford a new cart. But there's NO WAY I'm buying a green. . . "

 

We took a minute for damage control. Cart was okay. Sister was okay, save for a bit of road rash. Dad was shaken, but still himself- "Why'd you take the short route?"

 

We quickly finish the hole and head to 8. Because the slow group ahead was still on the green, we were waiting when the group behind pulled up. Dad walks over to the guys behind us and says "I need $5 from each of you." They all give him the look, then he says, "That's the fee for the daredevil show my kids put on for you!"

 

To this day, I still tighten up driving down any large hill in a cart.

[ChipDriver]

Fortunately, I don't hear about many golf course injuries. But with motorized carts, alcohol, clubs swinging at over 100 mph and balls flying around at over 150 mph there are bound to be a few horror stories or close calls out there.

 

Tell me the worst you've seen. Here's mine -

 

A few ys ago, I was playing Cassique at Kiawah and hit a maintenance dood on a mower with a drive, but he had a thick jacket on and was okay. However, the next hole has a 20 foot elevated tee box and my buddy was taking practice swings with a Titleist driver when his club head flew off and nearly KO'd me. It buzzed right by my head and left ear in an instant. It went sailing 50+ yards off into the brush below. We found it but it almost ended my day, at the least. I'd have been in the hospital had it hit me in the head.

 

Unfortunately you can never admit to an injury on the golf course, and expect any sympathy from non-golfers.

 

"Uh...you did that playing....golf????" But you can not ever say "...and it happened playing golf..". Never.

 

You need to lie and tell people you were being chased by a bear, and got hit by a bus.

[cardoustie]

I took a hairpin turn too fast .... while tickling my wife who was holding a glass of wine ... and she fell out of the cart and bounced off the asphalt

It was quite a scene man

[Tremaine]

In '98 at Olympic Club my friend and I were running from one hole to another and I sprained my ankle pretty badly when I turned it on a tree root. After I stopped seeing stars I hobbled around as it swelled up.

 

A couple years later popped the same ankle when I stepped in a hidden hole in the rough and turned it again...

 

I'm also guilty of shanking one right into the side of my wife's calf... so scary! She has never let me forget it of course.

[spetzle]

My buddy was driving a cart down a hill way too fast when I told him he had just passed his ball. He slammed the brakes as we entered a turn in the cart path. We started sliding sideways and the cart flipped onto its side. I hit the cart path pretty hard and he crashed on top of me. Luckily, we were both ok. A few years later, a guy was killed in the same spot. I think he was standing in the cart and fell backwards out the windshield and was run over. Makes me think about how lucky we were not to get hurt.

Same thing happened to me Add a few too many beers and swerved the cart right after coming down a steep incline, flipped the cart and my buddy(all 320 lbs ) came crashing down on me Separated shoulder but still wanted to finish.. Never doing that again

[shakey]

My buddy was driving a cart down a hill way too fast when I told him he had just passed his ball. He slammed the brakes as we entered a turn in the cart path. We started sliding sideways and the cart flipped onto its side. I hit the cart path pretty hard and he crashed on top of me. Luckily, we were both ok. A few years later, a guy was killed in the same spot. I think he was standing in the cart and fell backwards out the windshield and was run over. Makes me think about how lucky we were not to get hurt.

Same thing happened to me Add a few too many beers and swerved the cart right after coming down a steep incline, flipped the cart and my buddy(all 320 lbs ) came crashing down on me Separated shoulder but still wanted to finish.. Never doing that again

Luckily my buddy wasn't 320. I think I made one more swing and that was it. Packed it up and went in.

 

We spent the next five hours pulling the roof off of another cart (it was broken down) and swapping it out. Half the top of the one we were in was collapsed in on itself.

[LexHair]

I got hit in the thigh by a pull hook FW from a fairway over around 15 years ago. Went down like I was shot. Never heard the fore because the ball was on me too quickly. I didn't play well for the rest of the day but overall no major issues other than a nasty bruise.

4 man group. One of the guys in the other cart had hit one left into the woods. After a bit, the guy that hit the ball gave up and just dropped one. The other guy was still looking. I was standing next to my partner about 10 yards ahead and 25 yards right. As the guy is coming down on the ball, his partner yells, "found it....." He pulls out of the swing and full hosel-shanks one right at us. My partner took it on the inside right of his thigh. About 8 inches away from the kitchen. Hate to say it but I laughed so hard (I'm laughing as I write this and that's about 25 years ago), it was border line embarrassing.

[BlackDiamondPar5]

I know a guy that broke his leg after he fell off the ball washer :)

[BlackDiamondPar5]

A few years back I was playing in Arizona, and we heard an ambulance that seemed to be very close a few holes ahead. Sure enough, one of the guys ahead had a few too many Coors, and fell into a jumping cactus.

 

 

LOL--- what an idiot. Cholla is no fun to make even incidental contact with let alone falling into one.

[North Butte]

The three EMT's are all like "Well I'm not touching that!".

[nbg352]

I know a guy that broke his leg after he fell off the ball washer :)

That doesn't sound alcohol induces at all.......

[smashdn]

Flipped a cart at Country Hills in Hendersonville, TN on hole 15 at a work outing. Paths were still wet from dew and there is a particular spot where you come down a long steep hill and the path has a hard left turn in it. I was riding the brakes coming down the hill when the rear tires started sliding. The option was go off the path and down towards a ditch or attempt to make the curve.

 

Attempting to make the curve was not the correct answer. Cart flipped pretty as you please and I fell on top of my passenger. We got her shiny side up and aside from smoking for the next couple of holes everything was fine. Guy in cart with me did rip the whole seat out of his shorts.

 

There was another outing/scramble going out as we were finishing on 18 and I heard in the announcements they were making to the group to be very careful on hole (whatever number it was) as you can easily flip a cart. Too little too late for us.

[scottc25]

In high school I was pissed after making a 10 on a par 5. Wedge sitting next to my bag. I pick it up by the head, slam it into the ground, and have it come directly back into my forehead. BIG welt.

 

Friend had a plane crash (small prop plane) on his course within the last year or two in Georgia. Everyone drove carts over to assess damage. He said it was the worst thing he has ever seen. Guessing body parts strewn about.

 

Edit: found the article

 

http://www.cbs46.com/story/30803995/son-pilot-avoided-crisis-with-crash-landing-on-georgia-club-golf-course

[az2au]

In high school I was pissed after making a 10 on a par 5. Wedge sitting next to my bag. I pick it up by the head, slam it into the ground, and have it come directly back into my forehead. BIG welt.

Until I saw this post had totally forgotten the time when when one of my buddies got so pissed that he slammed an 8 iron into the railroad ties by the tee. It snapped the shaft and came back and hit him in the head. Not sure who was in more pain, him or me from laughing at him.

[Sixcat]

Friend had a plane crash (small prop plane) on his course within the last year or two in Georgia. Everyone drove carts over to assess damage. He said it was the worst thing he has ever seen. Guessing body parts strewn about.

 

Edit: found the article

 

http://www.cbs46.com...lub-golf-course

 

Three crew members were killed on Sept. 23, 1986, when a Bell 222 UT operated by the Bowman Gray-N.C. Baptist Hospital Medical Center in Winston-Salem crashed into the side of a mountain near Galax, Va., en route to pick up a patient at Twin County Community Hospital. A pilot and two flight nurses were killed in that accident.

 

 

I took this from an old article I found online. I was 12 when this happened but I remember it well. My mom worked for this hospital for 33 years. She knew the two flight nurses well.

 

How does this apply to golf? I have discussed Primland with several on this site before given I live right around the corner. This crash occurred on the property right around where Primland now sits.

[golfortennis]

Earlier this season, we're in Pittsburgh as my wife and some others are running the marathon there. One of the guys plays golf, so we always try to play a course in the area of a race. Misty morning, and we're on a par 5 that drops down, but by levels. So they want you to go back to the cart path to get to the next levels, because there is longer grass separating them. So I go back, and am thinking that we will need to stay on the path and walk out, but at the last second I see we can take the cart down to the ball.

 

Big mistake. Turn down, but not at a 90* angle, and feel it start to slide. Mistake #2, tap the brake. Thankfully I was able to spin us into reverse, and flip the control to reverse and just let us roll down the rest of the way and not tip. Was no more than a 10-12 foot drop, but it sure felt like a lot more.

 

We just sat there for a minute till finally, "You ok?" "yeah, you?" "Yeah." Very close call.

[CDM]

First time we played Wolf Creek golf course we came down the cart path on what I think was hole 3-4 (never had been there before) and were on 2 wheels for what felt like a good 20 yards. No drinking involved. Just a spot that was blind, stupid steep and lack of knowledge.

 

In a panic my playing partner jumped from the passenger seat and he landed on the steep side slope and went down the hill a good 30 yards rolling. He got marked up pretty damn good all over. I think had he not bailed we probably would have flipped it over honestly.

 

Needless to say the most recent times we have played there we paid more attention to the grades.

[VNutz]

I've been the guy with his foot hanging out of the cart before, was working grounds crew at a course and had it twist under the wheel. I nearly passed out from the pain, but fortunately didn't tear anything, but it did take a few months to fully heal.

 

When I was younger, one of the first times my dad took me golfing he whizzed one right behind my ear. Course was slow and he had me tee off the forward tees while he waited. I stood about 15 yards ahead of him and 15 yards left and somehow he pulled it right behind my head, lesson learned for everybody.

 

A few years back I was on a golf trip with college buddies. We were climbing a hill with switchbacks and the guy driving simply decided not to let the steering wheel turn back after navigating the curve, and straight off the path and into the trees we went. Fortunately we hit a tree about 5 feet in otherwise we'd have gone about 50 feet down a forested hill. As soon as we got the cart back on the path I pulled my clubs off and walked the rest of the round. One of the most stupid things I've ever witnessed, and literally no answer for why he did it.