Personal Injury Law

In this day and age is it still necessary to yell "FORE!"?

By Steve Lombardi

As any Caddyshack fan knows, a day at the golf course isn't always a relaxing retreat. But can it be a minefield of potential lawsuits? Specifically, does a golfer need to shout ‘fore!' before hitting his or her ball? Or does "fore!" need to be yelled if the ball goes off course?

This tradition dates back to at least 1881. Some think that the term comes from British military history, because the artillerymen would warn ‘beware before' before they shot their cannons. According to another theory, the word evolved from the term ‘forecaddie,' a man hired to accompany a group of golfers and stand by the holes to recover any stray shots. This man was little better than a servant; by calling his position, ‘forecaddie,' the golfers alerted him that he needed to get to work. Over the years the golfers got even lazier, until all they could manage to utter was ‘fore.' Now, even that tradition has passed away.

What, then, is a golfer to do if he or she is hit by a golf ball? If the golfer lives in New York, then the court system is unlikely to intervene. An appellate court in Brooklyn has declared that stray balls are an inherent risk in the sport, and that by stepping onto the green a golfer implicitly accepts that danger. Interestingly, the court seems to favor dreadful golfers; if the ball is so off-course that no one would expect it to hit anybody, they say, then one cannot be expected to call ‘fore'.

Courts in New Jersey, however, disagree somewhat. According to an appeals court in the state, if a golfer takes an unexpected second shot, also known as a ‘mulligan,' then he or she must warn all other golfers in the area. This is the reasoning: since nobody will be watching out for the second shot, then the golfer must alert them to the impending danger.

The lessons to take away? First, you don't need to call ‘fore' unless you are doing something very unusual. Second, and more importantly, pay attention when you are on the golf course. It's all fun and games until someone loses an eye!

Your eyes of course being just under your "forehead".

Full post as published by Des Moines Personal Injury Lawyer on August 28, 2009 (boomark / email).