What would you do?

Den60

New member
Joined
May 17, 2015
Messages
2,046
Reaction score
0
Location
San Diego, CA
Handicap
13.6 USGA
Haven't been on here a lot of late but just a question?

Yesterday I had a terrible pull draw right off the first tee (I normally have a slight fade with my driver). The ball went out of bounds and took out a second story window of a home. The home had a net in front and it had to be the most perfectly imperfect shot in golf. I know I broke a window because of the sound. I was expecting someone to come out but it didn't happen. It shook me up and I didn't know exactly what to do. I just figured I would tell the first Marshal I saw which happened as we got to the fourth tee. He said "just report it to the clubhouse when you finish" and I asked him to alert them the next time he stopped by the clubhouse which he said he would. On the turn a clubhouse guy came out to ask us if we would play the front 9 again since they had a tournament in front of us that made us take over 3 hours for the front 9. I told him as well and he just told me to check in when I was done. We finished and I reported to the clubhouse and was told no one had called as of yet, so I gave them my contact information.

I have never caused property damage before. I've hit into yards before but never anything where I actually did damage that I could tell was apparent. I have gone on to see who has liability and come away confused. I have not been called (played yesterday) so I would have figured that I would have been done.

My question is what is the procedure for doing something like this. Did I act appropriately?
 
I think you have acted 100% appropriate. reported it to the proper people, left your contact info, and you want to make it right. I say thats a very stand up thing. Pretty sure there are plenty of people out there that would not say a word.
 
I would say sorry andude that's about it. In my opinion, they assume that risk by living on a golf course.
 
#8 and #9 on my home course are lined by houses up the left side. The houses on #8 routinely get plunked. Buy or build a house on a course and you assume all risks. At least that's how it was explained to me by one of the homeowners. YMMV.
 
You did the right thing


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
I think you acted very appropriately, unlike what most people probably would have done.
 
What would you do?

I've worked on several golf courses, you did what you can. Anyone who lives on a course knows that a broken window is a risk, if they don't like that, they shouldn't live on a golf course.

A course I used to play frequently had a row of houses on the right side of the 9th fairway, one of the members told me a story about one of the homeowners who got all upset because her house got hit by a few golf balls, maybe a window got broken, I don't recall. She came into the clubhouse all on fire looking for blood, and walked into a members meeting demanding to know what they were going to do about protecting her house. The members told her they weren't going to do a blessed thing about it and she could go fly a kite, she lived on a golf course and if she didn't like her house being hit by golf balls she could sell her house and not live on a golf course.
 
I think you did exactly the right things. And I also agree that the owners of the house assumed the risk when they bought the house. I'm betting you'll not hear anything more . . .
 
I think you did the right thing also. Many courses that I have played with houses lining the holes have a sign somewhere that says you are responsible for damage and to report it so I think you followed the right procedure.

I've always hated that if I hit the house it's my responsibility to pay for damage. To me that's a risk you take by living there. It's kind of like knowingly moving in to a flood zone. You know what the risk is if you buy that property.
 
You did the right thing.

IMO people that live on golf course fairways should have plexi-glass windows or live somewhere else. That said we all as golfers see the signs up that say "you are responsible for damage caused by your golf ball" so on that front if we aren't going to have integrity and honor that then we shouldn't golf on courses with houses.
 
I think you did the right thing also. Many courses that I have played with houses lining the holes have a sign somewhere that says you are responsible for damage and to report it so I think you followed the right procedure.

I've always hated that if I hit the house it's my responsibility to pay for damage. To me that's a risk you take by living there. It's kind of like knowingly moving in to a flood zone. You know what the risk is if you buy that property.

While true, couldn't you also say that is the risk by playing there?
 
While true, couldn't you also say that is the risk by playing there?
I can see that standpoint also, but to me if the course was built first and then houses were added afterward the risk should be on the home owner. Now if a course was built next to homes, after the homes already existed, I could understand it being the responsibility of the player. But that's not usually the case.
 
What would you do?

While true, couldn't you also say that is the risk by playing there?

There's definitely risk on both sides, but... making a long term life choice to purchase a home on a golf course and expecting to never have your house hit by a golf ball is kinda silly. I might go out and play 40 rounds and only put one ball near a house, but living on a course, there will be 50-100 golfers a day playing a round next to your home. Common sense( I know I know) would dictate a plan to mitigate damage caused by errant golf balls. I'm with KEV, I accept the risk, but it's annoying that I have to. If I lived on a course, it would be on a tee box, or somewhere there was little risk of having my house hit, or I'd have netting or plastic windows or something to minimize my risk, even if I never had to pay to have a window replaced the hassle alone would make me want to avoid it.

Also if I lived on a course I'd totally have my kid collecting golf balls and selling them to golfers as they passed by.
 
I can see that standpoint also, but to me if the course was built first and then houses were added afterward the risk should be on the home owner. Now if a course was built next to homes, after the homes already existed, I could understand it being the responsibility of the player. But that's not usually the case.

Well to be fair, most were designed with each other to be done.

I'm not sure I have an opinion, I just always viewed the entire notion that "well they chose to live there" as flawed because the risk is the same as "well you chose to play there".

It's like saying that a person that parks at the grocery store should assume the risk of getting dinged rather than the person that jams the shopping cart into their car because they went to a place were shopping carts were going to be around.
 
I just brought this topic up to my wife and we are on opposite side for it. I foresee a full day discussion!

We have a goal to someday retire on a golf course. When I've thought about this situation I've always figured I would pay for any broken property because I chose to live there and knew the risk. I do see the other side of the argument though, I just don't completely agree with it.
 
What would you do?

Well to be fair, most were designed with each other to be done.

I'm not sure I have an opinion, I just always viewed the entire notion that "well they chose to live there" as flawed because the risk is the same as "well you chose to play there".

It's like saying that a person that parks at the grocery store should assume the risk of getting dinged rather than the person that jams the shopping cart into their car because they went to a place were shopping carts were going to be around.

But the person that parks next to the cart stall has to assume more risk of getting their car dinged than the person that parks as far out as possible right? In life you can only control your own actions, you can't control anyone else's. So if I ding a car that's on me, and I SHOULD offer to pay for damages. If I get my car dinged, I don't expect anyone to pay for it, because I don't have anyway to enforce that. The realist in me recognizes that the odds of me seeing someone ding my car and being able to get them to pay for a damages are too slim to count on. So I act accordingly.

Living on a course is a bit different, especially when the course and houses are built together, some on buying a house on the side of a fairway is the same as someone parking next to a cart stall at Walmart on Black Friday. You have to KNOW your home is going to get hit, so to not plan for that is silly. So if you're planning for it, why do you not just assume responsibility from the get go?

I actually feel like the course should have a plan to handle things like that, as part of their insurance or part of their annual budget, just as a goodwill gesture to the surrounding homes to keep a good relationship with the homeowners.
 
But the person that parks next to the cart stall has to assume more risk of getting their car dinged than the person that parks as far out as possible right? In life you can only control your own actions, you can't control anyone else's. So if I ding a car that's on me, and I SHOULD offer to pay for damages. If I get my car dinged, I don't expect anyone to pay for it, because I don't have anyway to enforce that. The realist in me recognizes that the odds of me seeing someone ding my car and being able to get them to pay for a damages are too slim to count on. So I act accordingly.

Living on a course is a bit different, especially when the course and houses are built together, some on buying a house on the side of a fairway is the same as someone parking next to a cart stall at Walmart on Black Friday. You have to KNOW your home is going to get hit, so to not plan for that is silly. So if you're planning for it, why do you not just assume responsibility from the get go?

I actually feel like the course should have a plan to handle things like that, as part of their insurance or part of their annual budget, just as a goodwill gesture to the surrounding homes to keep a good relationship with the homeowners.

So if I go to the store and the only space left is next to the cart stall, and someone hits my car, its not their fault?

Thats like saying living in a big city and having a commute means that if someone hits you while driving, you should expect it and take the blame, because you could choose to live in a small town with less cars.

The golfer should have the same reaction. They dont have to play on a house lined course. If they do, then wouldnt that be no different than parking next to the cart return? They could just as easily go to a course without homes, skip the hole, etc.
 
Plain and simple, if you caused the damage, you should be responsible.
 
So if I go to the store and the only space left is next to the cart stall, and someone hits my car, its not their fault?

Thats like saying living in a big city and having a commute means that if someone hits you while driving, you should expect it and take the blame, because you could choose to live in a small town with less cars.

The golfer should have the same reaction. They dont have to play on a house lined course. If they do, then wouldnt that be no different than parking next to the cart return? They could just as easily go to a course without homes, skip the hole, etc.

Didn't say it's not their fault, I'm just saying that living on a course you have to expect to get hit, while playing on a course I don't expect to hit a home. It's my fault if I hit a house absolutely, and I agree that I should make my own arrangements to handle the cost of repairing the damage. A homeowner though has to know that not everyone is a standup person and not everyone will admit fault, and they'll be hard pressed to force someone to pay for the damages, so they should plan accordingly.

I really strongly feel that the course itself should have arrangements in place to handle damages to houses though. Again while it's not the courses fault, by making sure that the homeowners are taken care of they make their own lives easier in the long run, especially at courses that are tied directly into the HOA.
 
I lived on a golf course for years and had the window broken in our attached apartment 4 times. I never saw who did it more did I care. My policy covered it and replaced it. I finally placed plexiglass in that window and mitigate the cost.

It sucks that you broke a window but it's the risk home owners take living on a course. Unless they can prove you did it, they just have to deal with it.
 
I'd say what you did was the right thing. I know that most of the time the homeowners assume the risk by building/living on a course.

Ps.. when you said you had to play the front 9 again, I thought you were going to say it happened again on the first tee. Haha.
 
You did the right but I am not convinced you are legally responsible (no matter what some random sign or note on the card says) assuming you were aiming for the fairway and not over the house to cut a dogleg. I could be insane but I vaguely remember reading some legal case where that was pretty much the basic finding. Unless you were aiming for the house you are not responsible. Could be making all that up though.
 
I think your actions were perfectly appropriate and more than most golfers would do.

The law on this is not black and white and no surprise varies from state to state or even case to case. Some golf courses have insurance in place to cover damage like this. There may be rules that members of golf clubs agree to that holds them liable for any damage they cause to homes/property regardless of what the law is. Our club has no such rules in place and I know that those that live on the course pay a higher premium if they want coverage for golf ball damage. Luckily there are only about 3-4 holes where houses come into play on our course and the shot has to be seriously offline to be hit. I've hit one house in 6+ years as a member and that was in a scramble event on a long drive hole. My house is about 350 yards from the lower left tee boxes of the driving range but they don't use those tee boxes often and it would have to be about 100 yards offline to the left. When the wind is just right we get balls on the empty lot next door and the occasional ball in our yard but all of those have hit the road and bounce just right on the road a couple times first. We don't have any Jamie Sadlowkis around here.

I would never ever live on a golf course the first 320 yards off the tee unless the house had woods and was well set back from the course. I do sometimes get a kick out of how poorly the housing developments are laid out around golf courses. 180 yards out from the tee box and 20 yards right of the cart path might not be a good place for a house. My buddies and I always marvel at who would be foolish enough to buy such a house.

For me, I don't park in golf course parking lots in an area where my car could get hit. Those courses who have those type of parking areas close to a green should have insurance, IMO, to cover broken glass. 35 years ago when I was 17 I hit a moving car on the fly and broke their windshield and they immediatly drove to the clubhouse and wanted to know who did it. They sent a worker out from the club house to ask around and I fessed up to it. Ultimately it was covered under the guys comprehensive coverage and I didn't have to pay.
 
First, the OP was did a standup job of doing the right thing. Well done.

In my state the homeowner does not assume the risk. Golfers are on the hook for the window. I don't necessarily like that but that's the way it is here.
 
I saw a lawyer post this once:

General rule of thumb:
Golfer liable = intentionally or acted unreasonably in hitting ball toward the house.
Course liable = house built before the course was built.
No liability (owner or owner's insurance pays) = house built after course. Under this scenario the homeowner assumed the risk in buying or building a house on the golf course.


I also believe the golfer's Homeowners Insurance might cover the damages but don't hold me to that. In any event, the OP did all he could do under the circumstances.
 
Back
Top