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How Your Wicked Slice Can Ruin Your Life

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I love golfing.  I won’t go so far as to say I’m a golfer as I played baseball in college, (University of Rochester), and baseball will always hold my heart.  But as maturity sets into both my body and chasing fly balls is more pain than pleasure, golf has become a big part of my life.  And needless to say during the few months that Upstate New York weather actually permits, I spend a decent portion of my free-time at local golf courses.  Which means that I am very familiar with just how Bad of a Golfer YOU Are!

I know how bad you are because I’m right there with you, hacking and chopping and slicing and dubbing and rolling my hands over sending golf balls flying through the air at high speeds in every direction except the one I it want them to go. As frustrating and comical as that scene is, errant golf shots also create a large personal liability.

People get hit in the head with Golf Balls all the time.  This is not an unimaginable situation concocted by some insurance agent trying to make more money.  I have personally witnessed a man 25 feet away get hit in the head with a misplaced Tee-Shot.  This man immediately fell to the ground unconscious.  An ambulance had to drive onto the course and take him away where he was in a coma-like state for three days…  That freaking horrible situation was all created because a very regular guy out on the course to have some fun with a couple buddies dragged his hands on his down-swing and released his front shoulder too early.  We’ve all done the same thing.

Don’t Let Your Bad Mechanics Ruin Your Life

I have no idea how this situation was resolved.  I will tell you that if the guy who hit the crappy golf shot skimped on his Home/Renter Liability insurance he was in big trouble.

There is no “My Bad, I’m sure the Golf Course has insurance” in this situation.  You are personally responsible for where you hit your golf balls.  These are the horrible, “My Life is Ruined” situations that personal liability was created for.  Taking your homeowners liability from from $100,000 in coverage to $500,000 in coverage costs how much, an extra $24-$30 dollars a year maybe? Would you pay $30 for $400,000 extra dollars in personal liability? Sure you would. Go talk to your independent agent today about maxing out your personal liability.

As a quality independent agent myself, I always make my clients aware of the Personal Umbrella policies as well.  Ask your agent to do the same.

Disclaimer:

This article is for informational purposely only. There is no legal advice being suggested or proffered and the author assumes no responsibility or liability for the actions take or not taken by the readers based upon such information.

Thank you,

Ryan H.

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About Ryan Hanley

I passionately believe learning to effectively communicate online will help each of us to become the best version of ourselves...

  • http://www.ryanhanley.com/about Ryan Hanley

    Mike,

    that would be great if you could find case law on this issue. I look forward to hear what you find out.

    Thanks!

    Ryan H.

  • Mike

    Well of course you can get sued for anything these days, and I agree one should always carry the max liability coverage possible. I just don't know how one could be found liable for injury during a round, unless they made no attempt to warn or yell “Fore” or actually aimed for the other person. But of course you can get sued for anything.

    This has actually started a good discussion in our office, and I'm trying to find some case law on it now.

  • http://www.ryanhanley.com/about Ryan Hanley

    Mike,

    thank you for your comment. Are you disagreeing that someone on a Public Golf Course can be sued for hitting a golf ball that strikes someone else and causes an injury?

    I assure you even if you are not found negligent you can most certainly be sued and that is why it's important to have the proper Insurance… Defense Coverage…

  • Meghan McGarry, ACSR

    Hi Mike, Although I see where you're going with it, it's not going to stop someone from filing a suit. The same goes for the baseball fan hit by a foul ball or even the bungie jumper whose bungie didn't work and lets not forget horseback riding. These activities can be inherently dangerous and although a person can agree to partake, the operator still accepts some level of liability as the host. Remember, you don't have to have actually done anything wrong for someone to bring a lawsuit against you and we never know how a jury or judge is going to rule.

  • Mike

    I'm going to have to disagree with the you on this one. Playing golf, and being on a golf course has inherent dangers…flying golf balls being one of them. I don't know the case law on this subject and agree people should carry maximum liability coverage, but you don't see the PGA tour players accepting responsibility for errant golf shots by it's members.

  • http://www.ryanhanley.com/about Ryan Hanley

    I feel your pain, I can hit it a lot farther but most of the time I wish it had only gone 50 feet…

    Thanks,

    Ryan H.

  • Meghan McGarry

    This is so funny and so completely true. Good thing that I'm such a bad golfer, the ball never leaves the ground and I'm close enough to warn people since they also only make it about 50 feet in front of me. It makes for a long day on the golf course haha.