Hit and Miss

Who knew that golf could be so dangerous?

Ooh, I wish I had bumped into this guy on the golf course but the chances of that happening are nil, zero, zilch. So in the meantime, I’ll just dream about meeting him.

Last weekend, while out on the golf course playing with my husband at his club (that sounds terribly posh but golf is no longer a sport for the elite) we had just taken our tee shots and when I had almost reached my ball to take my second shot, I heard some guys on the next fairway across shout, “Fore!” I immediately ducked down behind my trolley and a couple of seconds later, a ball landed with an almighty thud just a foot or so away from me to the side of my golf cart. I stood up, slightly shaken but not stirred by the incident. Soon after, a buggy pulled up with the golfer who had struck the ball inside asking if I was okay, to which I replied, “Yes, I’m fine thanks. These things happen.” Bonhomie all around; all’s well that ends well and I continued with my game.

What are the chances?

So, you can imagine my disbelief when the very next day I was out playing golf with my friend at my golf club (not snooty or posh) when we were out on the fairway as our balls landed within a few feet of each other after our tee shots. The next thing we knew, we heard a very loud “Fore!” shouted in unison by three or four guys and a golf ball landed, again with an almighty thud, directly between us. Fortunately for me, I had a lucky bounce but unfortunately for my friend, after the ball bounced, it struck her on the head with a loud thwack.

What happened next quite shocked us both. After checking that my friend was okay - she was obviously shaken and stirred - the golfer who hit the ball proceeded to walk down his fairway as if nothing had happened preferring to leave his ball and pretend it didn’t belong to him. Not having any of it, my friend shouted over, “Excuse me guys, is this your ball?” following which, rather sheepishly, one of the men walked across and said, “We shouted. You’re all right, aren’t you?” No, “Oh, my goodness, I’m so sorry. Are you okay?” Nothing. This obviously rankled us both because an apology would not have gone amiss and, in fact, was very sadly lacking and the guy’s whole attitude was, quite frankly, disgusting. So much for golfing etiquette.

When my husband hit a fellow golfer due to a wayward shot some time ago, he was mortified and couldn’t concentrate on his game after that because he felt so bad, despite the guy reassuring him that he was fine. There’s the difference: my husband is a gentleman.

So, if you think the chances of two near misses on two consecutive days were not good odds in my favour, it just so happens that that was the second time my friend was actually hit by a wayward golf ball on the same course (not the same hole). So, from now on, we have both decided to wear bump caps (protective headgear in the shape of a baseball cap with a hard exterior) because if you get a direct hit from a golf ball, it could be fatal.

According to a study by Golf Digest, each year an estimated 40,000 golfers seek emergency treatment due to injuries caused by errant golf balls and flying club heads.

Can a golf ball kill you?

Hell, yes! Read this article and I think you will be shocked to learn that in the United States, more than 500 people a year die from being struck in the head by a golf ball.

None of us are perfect and we all hit wayward shots, but in the short time that I have been playing, around eighteen months, I have never had to shout ‘fore!’ because my shots never go that wayward. I concentrate on hitting as straight as I can every time and obviously, this doesn’t work out for every shot, but the majority of them go fairly well to plan.

Having played the sport for such a short space of time and knowing how difficult it is, I have a whole new respect for the pros like Tiger Woods and all the other big names. Even though it’s their day job and they play all the time, it is incredibly difficult to be accurate and I am still wrestling to get my handicap down from an embarrassing 39.5 to something half decent. Quite frankly, I am enjoying the challenge.

Today, I was booked to play in my first competition, but last night I cut my finger quite badly near the knuckle of my index finger and while I can type by tapping a key with a straight(ish) finger encased in plasters to get this blog posted, it would have been near impossible to have a good grip on my club and besides, I didn’t want to aggravate the wound because I need it to heal properly so that, yup, you’ve guessed it, I can get back out on the golf course tout suite.

So, whether you play the sport or not, if you are a spectator, or walk your dog on or near a golf course (yes, golf courses are surprisingly very popular with walkers), please be aware of wayward balls. Golf courses are far more dangerous than they first appear.