Most Unusual Incident on a Golf Course?

[Jeff_Brauer]

The embarrassing thread and the various mentions of Kemper Lakes reminds me of the most unusal thing I have seen/done on a course.

While playing hole 4 of Kemper, one of my group, a good golfer, was grinding over a third shot to the green.  I looked up, and saw a single engine aircraft with its motor off drifting down towards him, apparently seeking an emergency landing on the fairway.

I don't know why, but I figured I would warn him after he hit his shot, and as he stood over the shot longer than I expected, I faced a dilemma.  

About simulataneously, he finally hit his shot, the plane restarted its engine, no more than 30 feet above his head, and I yelled for him to duck.  The plane simply flew off, and I never heard any more about it.  We continued our round with little discussion of my attempt to preserve his concentration, under the circumstances.

[CHrisB]

A buddy of mine in high school took bets to play the 15th hole at The Woodlands North Course naked. The 15th was definitely the toughest hole on the course, about 445 yards doglegging left through trees over a creek to the green. Under the circumstances he made an excellent par, but gave new meaning to hitting a "flop shot"...

[Craig Van Egmond]

While playing Scottsdale Country Club, we came to a hole with a pond all along the right side of the hole.  Two gentlemen were standing next to the pond about 200 yards from the tee. From the tee we had no idea why they were taking so long to hit their shot. After about 5 minutes they waved us on, we hit and then rode up there. It wasn't until we got there that we noticed they were pointing at the pond and laughing. Apparently the driver (a member) had forgetten to set the brake and their cart rolled into the pond and you could see the top of it under the water.

I'm sure that member never lived that down.

[A_Clay_Man]

I heard this one second hand and it is rather sad.

A elderly gentleman loved the game so much, that after his stroke (cerebral) he rehabed daily, for a full year, trying to retain the use of his leftside. After constant and repeated pleadings, the head-pro finally allowed him back out on the course, with the provisos that he could not go alone, and he could not drive the cart.

Well, instinct took over and when his cart partner was on the opposite side of the fairway, he leaned over and pressed the accelerator to help-out. His foot got caught behind the brake and he couldn't extricate it from the accelerator. Someone did die as a result of this, and it wasn't the elderly golfer.

[Brad Klein]

On a recent tour of an obscure but excellent golf course in Northeast Minnesota, the golf course architect was so immersed in the discussion of the layout that he failed to notice a friendly little chipmunk right in front of his golf cart. He unknowingly ran the critter over and seriously injured it, whereupon another member of the foursome came up from behind and put the struggling chipmunk out of its misery (don't ask!). The foursome, all of them slightly quesy, proceeded to mess up their tee shots on the next hole, a simple par-3, and all made double-bogies. Imagine that, Jeff.

[Bob_Huntley]

Across the road from the 14th green at CPC and walking toward the 15th tee, there is a spit of sand below the pathway. One bright,warm September afternoon, accompanied by the club president, we looked down and saw a couple in flagrente delecto. My host looked down aghast and reminded them that they were trespassing. The only response seemed to be a more rapid backswing and a muttered "Piss off."

We hastened to the next tee and promptly shanked two shots into the water.  

[Dan Kelly]

Jeff --

When I saw your thread title, I was guessing you were going to talk about the guy who, last Friday, nearly lost his coin in the vast expanses of a big green somewhere in Northern Minnesota.

Hey, you rules aficionados: Had this poor golfer spent a couple of more minutes looking for his mark on the green (a dull penny; almost too dull!), and had he reached the five-minute mark in his search, how would he have properly proceeded under the Rules?

Dan

P.S. My own most unusual incident was a drive from the blue tees -- one of my trademark low screamers -- that hit one of the big-ball white tee markers just a few yards forward, and ricocheted right past my ear, over the road behind the tee, out-of-bounds.

[Michael Dugger]

A guy was whacking back brush, looking for his ball, using the shaft of his driver like a machette.  Next thing you know he comes running out of the bush screaming that he stirred up a hornet's nest!!

He took an unplayable and finished the hole.

The following hole he skied a drive and the ball came to rest on a branch a la Ernie Els in this years British.

He took another unplayable.

His very next shot struck a tree, came back and smacked him, leaving him unable to finish the round as a big knot began to grow on his forearm.


 

[Dan Kelly]

A buddy of mine once played the 18th hole butt naked...

Shivas --

I do believe the expression is "buck naked" ... but, well, whatever floats yer boat!  

All --

It might be best to delete this entire thread, lest environmental activists get ahold of it. One architect here could tell you of the environmental activists who objected to a hole of his, across a good stretch of lake water, on this basis: Balls entering the hazard might bonk fish on the head!

[DPL11]

Has anyone ever killed an animal on the course with a shot?

My first trip to California, about 12 years ago, me and a few superintendent buddies were playing somewhere that now escapes me. We came to a par 4 hole with a pond fronting the tee, and a large group of some type of small, black duck. I caught one a little low on the club which led to the beheading of one of the little guys. It was purely an accident, and I didn't think too much of it until I was called murderer for the rest of the round.

Thats what friends are for.

[Jim Sweeney]

Back in the early 80's an NCAA regional was played at UNM South. Mickelson lined up a one iron on the sixth tee. Just as he made contact three dove flew accross the front of the tee; his ball hit the middle bird, which exploded in a cloud of feathers. The bird and the ball fell together about 40 yards from the tee. Without blinking, Phil turned to the fifteen or so people watching and said, "we both got screwed on that shot."

[TEPaul]

Jeff Brauer:

Look. Pal, if we're playing together somewhere and you see something odd going on while I'm putting will you please just tell me immediately and not worry about my concentration?!? I'll forgive you no matter what and concentration isn't that big a deal to me anyway---I can play without any concern no matter what's going on around me but I'd much rather avoid  getting hit by a plane than sink a putt!  

[Jfaspen]

4 years ago, we went down to Myrtle Beach to play golf over spring break.  Day 3 brought heavy heavy wind (and some cold conditions).  Simiilar to a story above, we were getting ready to tee off on Myrtle Beach National's Southcreek course when a couple of guys left the brake off of their cart.  Back she rolled into a pond adjacent to the putting green.

The guys had a good laugh about it while someone found a truck to pull it out.

[JBergan]

The par 3 11th hole at a local public course has power lines that come into play when you are playing from the back tees.     Playing in a sixsome (middle of winter, empty course), five out of the six of us hit the power lines.

[JNC Lyon]

At a local High school golf match, two members of the home team were for whatever reason wrestling on the putting green. Somehow, one of the kids (the team's number 1 player) ended up with a broken leg. Who says golf isn't a contact sport?

[Michael Dugger]

At a local High school golf match, two members of the home team were for whatever reason wrestling on the putting green. Somehow, one of the kids (the team's number 1 player) ended up with a broken leg. Who says golf isn't a contact sport?

I hope they repaired their marks

[Lloyd_Cole]

My local - Beaver Brook, Williamsburg, MA.
I didn't see it, but it was in the papers. The 4th hole is about 150 yards over water with a bank behind the green above and beyond which is route 9. Some guy, drunk apparently, no so strange around here, holed in one off a moving car.

[A_Clay_Man]

a large group of some type of small, black duck.

Doug- That was no duck. That was in all likelyhood a coot. A Mud Hen. These animals have no reason for being. No predator wiill eat them. Here is a famous recipe for Coot:

Best cooked on a open flame, place a rock, a little bit bigger than your hand, directly in the fire. Feather and clean the bird. Take some butter and garlic and fill the birds cavity. Place the bird on the rock. Cook 22 mins. Pick-up the bird, throw it away, and eat the rock.

That's how good Coot's are!

[JSlonis]

Here's one for ya'...

A few years ago my best friend was in Bermuda playing Port Royal in the Bermuda Open.  During one of his rounds he played an uphill approach shot into one of the par 4's.  He missed the green slightly, and as he approched his ball he noticed an elderly man, who was out spectating, lying down next to the green.

Upon closer inspection, while trying to play his pitch shot, the spectator seemed to be in no hurry to get out of the groups way.  Turns out he couldn't get out of the way because he was DEAD.  Officials and medics were called to take care of the "immovable obstruction" and play carried on.  Unfazed by this incident, my friend finished the event as the Low Amateur.  It was indeed the most unusual hazard he has ever seen on a golf course.

[Joe Hancock]

For me, it's a toss up between the time I saw a Harrier spitting parts out it's engine as it flew over, and the subsequent intentional plunge the pilot did into the Nuese River, or the time an owl pee'd on me while trimming around a tree. Oh wait, there's more.....

Joe

[Gene Greco]

While walking up the tenth fairway at Augusta National during the Masters practice round this year I was hit in the chest on a fly by an errant tee shot which belonged to Rich Beem. People around the ball mentioned this to him which he didn't acknowledge.

While marshalling at the US Open this year at Shinnecock, again during a practice round, another errant tee ball took one one bounce and hit me on the chin.

Again, Rich Beem.

I mentioned this incredible coincidence to him to which he barely responded, "Oh, yeah"? He then hit his approach to #1 and walked away.

A sense of humor could go a long way here...

"Gonna be at the PGA?" might have been a friendlier response. 

  

[Brad Swanson]

Has anyone ever killed an animal on the course with a shot?
 

During my high school golf days, I was playing with my best golfing bud during a practice round when my friend yipped a putt after a bird squawked mid-backswing.  Slightly aggrivated, my friend casually tossed his putter at the bird sitting about 5 feet up in a tree.  He hit it square and killed it without really trying or putting much force behind the toss.

Cheers,
Brad Swanson

[DMoriarty]

[Jason McNamara]

... as he approched his ball he noticed an elderly man, who was out spectating, lying down next to the green.....

Turns out he couldn't get out of the way because he was DEAD.  Officials and medics were called to take care of the "immovable obstruction" and play carried on.

Peter Dobereiner had a wonderful description of a (hypothetical) similar situation in his _Golf Rules Explained_.

"So if the club captain had an air shot and collapsed with mortification on the 4th fairway, his inert body would be a loose impediment, but the club which had fallen from his hand would be an obstruction."

Jason

[Marc Haring]

The golfers handbook has got a whole section devoted to strange shots and occurrences. Basically, if you can imagine it, it’s happened, including a fish being killed when leaping out of the water and colliding with a mid flight ball! As for animals being killed, how about a cow. That happened in Kent 1934.

3 people have been killed (all Canadians for some weird reason) when the shaft of their clubs has snapped, rebounded and gone straight through a main artery. Oh and as for the first post, two women have been killed by an aeroplane in 1952 at Jacksonville.

Others I like included the shot that landed down the exhaust of a greenkeepers tractor, came out a few seconds later at about mach one, rebounded off the roof of a house and finished three feet from the hole! Balls colliding in mid flight played from different holes, and balls found in the turn-ups of golfers who have skied them into the wind and not noticed where they finished have both occurred more than once.