[Bob_Huntley]

Here is an excerpt from the obit. of Gerald Ward, an English gentleman.

"When it came to relaxation, Ward was not a man for the pipe and slippers. He was a veteran of the Cresta Run and a keen skier (he was a member of the Corviglia Club at St Moritz).

He enjoyed parachuting, paragliding and scuba diving; he held a helicopter pilot's licence from the 1960s until 2003; and rode a motorcycle until shortly before his death.

Ward died on September 23 after collapsing on the second hole of Sunningdale golf course while taking part in a charity tournament. He had just made a fine approach shot to the green. His playing partners abandoned their game, but other golfers went on with theirs, declaring – as golfers do – that this would have been his wish. "

Bob

[Ted Kramer]

I would not have continued.

-Ted

[Dan Kelly]

"... hit the ball, drag Gerald. Hit the ball, drag Gerald. Hit the ball ... "

If Gerald would've found that funny, I'd have played on.

(And if that's the way I go, I'll be plenty pleased -- and urge you, gentlemen, to play on!)

[John Kavanaugh]

Too many variables to decide based on the information given.  A golf course is a big place and one death can do little to disrupt a round.  It's not like he died on a green or something.

[Melvyn Morrow]

Bob

I would continue if not part of his 2/4 ball as a sign of respect. My own father died on a golf course in Nigeria after a good Tee shot and collapsed on the fairway as he approached his ball.

IMHO it’s all about respecting the man. If that ever happens to me I would hope the game would continue.

Melvyn

[Bob_Huntley]

Melvyn,

Coming from you, having had the experience, yours is the definitive answer and one with which I concur.

Bob

 

[Tom Birkert]

If I'd been in his group I wouldn't have played on.

If he was a friend and I wasn't in his group then I wouldn't have played on.

If I didn't know him and wasn't in his group then I would have played on.

From the sounds of where it happened it actually would have been very easy for the ambulance to pick him up as the 2nd fairway is the most accessible place on the course (at the top of Ridgemount Road).

[John Kavanaugh]

It would be interesting to have just struck your tee shot on the 10th hole at ANGC on your first trip around the course and be told that play was suspended because some lovely old man died on two fairway of natural causes.  I am afraid the poor sap would be damned to hell by people he may have never met. 

[tlavin]

I hate the old saw, "It's what he would have wanted me to do..."  The situation calls for a halting of play.  Period.

[John Kavanaugh]

I hate the old saw, "It's what he would have wanted me to do..."  The situation calls for a halting of play.  Period.

I am sure people die at Olympia Fields all the time.  Is play ever suspended because of a natural death? 

[Scott Macpherson]

Speaking of deaths on golf courses. The new Castle course in St Andrews (known to some locals as the (Bouncy Castle) closed for the winter last Friday (Oct 31st), but apparently, 2 days earlier, somebody died there as well!

With all these deaths, it makes me wonder if anyone has ever been born on a golf course (I know of one was conceived...but that is another story!!!!)

[Anthony Gray]

  If you do not know the gentleman you play on. No incorrect answer with this one. It is what you feel in your heart.

[John Kavanaugh]

If a child dies or the death is not from natural causes then stopping is mandatory.

[Jeff_Brauer]

Two stories -

I was once on a consulting visit in Indiana when a very large gent died. Law there says the body must stay there until the coroner arrives so they covered it with a greenskeeper tarp and play continued.  His belly was big, and from a distance, it looked like a sand pile awaiting distribution.  As the ladies in particular saw what was under the tarp, it was disconcerting, but play continued.

On a similar visit to south Chicago, I noticed bullet holes in a tee sign for the 8th hole and was told there was a Mafia hit there a few months before.  The fact that the group continued play nonchalantly tipped the police to the idea that maybe his foursome was behind the hit.  This was confirmed later and in court, the one who turned state's witness relayed how they had told the hitman to shoot the first man on the tee.   When the mark topped his tee shot on the 7th hole, the other guys had to scramble for a high score.

According to court testimony, the deceased's last words were "I can't believe I won that hole with a 9."   (actually a true story from Chicagoland)

I guess the moral of the story is, if there are any suspicious circumstances, its best to stop and act upset.  If its a heart attack, play away!

[Dan Kelly]

I guess the moral of the story is, if there are any suspicious circumstances, its best to stop and act upset.  If its a heart attack, play away!

Unless, of course, you're a Mafioso -- in which case the moral is:

Don't win any holes with a 9!

[Jeff_Brauer]

Dan,

Yeah, in my normal group it happens all the time but in that company, I think he would have been a bit more suspicious........

And if he had been suspicious, I would love to have been on the preceeding green.  If all knew what was going on, they might have had 9, 10, or 11 putts each!  I think I would have found a way to go to the bathroom in the bushes.  Of course, the hit man was in the bushes in a vacant lot next to the tee, so it would have to be other bushes, preferably far away from the tee.....

I wonder if they had caddies?

As I mentioned, police got suspicious when they played ahead calmly.  When asked about it, they shrugged their shoulders and said "well, we knew he was dead and there wasn't much we could do for him......." rather than rush up to call 911.  In retrospect, they should have put on a show, even if any fool could see he wasn't going to survive with dozens of bullets in him from the machine gun fire.

[Mike_Cirba]

It depends on the immovable obstruction rule and whether the body could be temporarily deemed as such given the circumstances, much like a bleacher or television tower during a PGA event.

[Tony_Muldoon]

My father was a GP and a fine club golfer.  In a tight match, his opponent suffered a heart attack on one of the final tees and despite strenuous efforts he could not be revived.  I believe the Club consulted the widow, who insisted my father go through to the next round and the competition continue.

[Matt Varney]

This is very interesting and I think I would have stopped playing to attend to a fallen friend that has passed away.  If your close friends or its a family member your going to be needed to break the news to family and be a strong shoulder for support in a tough time to a spouse.

Now on the flipside to this thing - I have told my wife and family that when I die I want to have my feet creamated and the ashes sprinkled at Augusta National down in Amen Corner.

My wife tells me I am crazy that I need to be next to her buried.  I told her I will be I just won't have any feet they will be at the golf course. 

[Jeff_Brauer]

Slightly OT, but I have recently corresponded with Phil Young.  It was widely written that AWT was buried in Toledo, OH in the same cemetary as many of my family, and I spent one cold snowy Easter Sunday looking for his grave, only to find he had his ashes spread around a golf course back east.

In reality, will a deceased person really know whether you are next to her, if she happens to go first?   I figure you have probably lied to her about when and where you went to the golf course, and this would just be the final time, no?

[Paul Stephenson]

The flipside Jeff is will you really know that you're not at Augusta if you go first

[Kirk Gill]

I wholly concur that if I was in the group with the gentleman who passed, I would certainly not continue play. But this was, after all, a charity tournament, and you would think that it was to support a charity that this person favored. I know of few golfers who would wish for such an event to be halted because they had the misfortune to die while it was being held.

Condolences certainly to Mr. Ward, his family, and his godson.

[Jim Franklin]

If I go on a round of golf, please play on. Pick me up after #19.

[Daryl David]

With all these deaths, it makes me wonder if anyone has ever been born on a golf course (I know of one was conceived...but that is another story!!!!)

I don't know about being born on a course, but I know a few that were conceived on the links.   

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