Hitting a house with a golf ball - Responsibility Debate

[rohara66]

I remember hearing stories from family friends who's house backed onto Douglas Dale golf course about their kids having to wear helmets if they wanted to play in the backyard. LOL

I've hit many a homes while 'golfing' or trying to 'golf' but never broken any windows, just loud thumps off of various siding/roofing materials haha. Knock on wood.

[corporatejay]

Originally Posted by Yanda

So your "Drop-Ball by Water Hazard" Guy. You act all casual and throw a new ball down and act like you put one in the water hazard until I start making cat calls from my Balcony about how you should put your golf career on hold or explain how much a bucket of balls is at the driving range.

Your really no better than "It was somebody else" Guy.

Pretty much. I'm no pro-golfer, I shoot in the low 90s, but occasionally I just absolutely slice one that goes wide, I generally take the penalty and move along. IF I hear a smash (never happened) I'll follow up with the homeowner.

By your logic, only players who never make mistakes should be allowed to play.

How about if you're so concerned about your house getting hit, move to the several other hundred thousand homes that aren't backing on to a golf course.

[Bean]

For those who would take responsibility and pay for a broken window. What if you missed a window and had hit the side of a house?

I know from experience that this makes a horrendous sound when the ball hits the side of a house but to continue the debate; is there a difference in responsibility between breaking a window and leaving a dent in somebody's house?

[DownhillGoat]

Originally Posted by Bean

is there a difference in responsibility between breaking a window and leaving a dent in somebody's house?

No. Damage to property is damage to property.

[fredr123]

Originally Posted by troutman

Miller v Jackson [1977] QB 966, that cricket was in the public interest and stray cricket balls were not a nuisance.

The Court of Appeal delivered its judgment on 6 April 1977. Geoffrey Lane and Cumming-Bruce LJJ held that there was a foreseeable risk of injury to the plaintiffs and their property from the cricket balls and the club could not prevent accidents from happening. The club was guilty of negligence "on each occasion when a ball comes over the fence and causes damage to the plaintiffs".[2] The repeated interference with their property was also held to be an actionable nuisance. Following Sturges v. Bridgman, the fact that the Millers had "come to the nuisance" was no defence. On that basis, the Millers were awarded damages. Lord Denning MR dissented from the finding of negligence and nuisance, holding that "the public interest should prevail over the private interest"[3] However, on the basis that the club had agreed to pay for any damage, Lord Denning was "content that there should be an award of £400 to cover any past or future damage".[3]

Or were we thinking of Bolton v. Stone? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bolton_v_Stone

On 9 August 1947, during a game of cricket against the Cheetham 2nd XI at Cheetham Cricket Ground in Manchester, a batsman from the visiting team hit the ball for six. The ball flew out of the ground, hitting the claimant, Miss Stone, who was standing outside her house in Cheetham Hill Road, approximately 100 yards (91 m) from the batsman.
The club had been playing cricket at the ground since 1864, before the road was built in 1910. The ground was surrounded by a 12-foot (3.7 m) fence, but the ground sloped up so the fence was 17 feet (5.2 m) above the level of the pitch where the ball passed, about 78 yards (71 m) from the batsman. There was evidence that a ball had been hit that far out of the ground only very rarely, about six times in the last 30 years, although people living closer to the ground reported that balls were hit out of the ground a few times each season.
The claimant argued that the ball being hit so far even once was sufficient to give the club warning that there was a risk of injuring a passer-by, fixing it with liability in negligence for the plaintiff's injuries. The claimant also claimed under the principle in Rylands v. Fletcher, that the ball was a dangerous item that had "escaped" from the cricket ground, and in nuisance.

[Hockeyguy15]

Originally Posted by kunkstyle

No. Damage to property is damage to property.

Tell that to idiots who dent/scratch your car door.

[Wiggum_PI]

Originally Posted by rohara66

I remember hearing stories from family friends who's house backed onto Douglas Dale golf course about their kids having to wear helmets if they wanted to play in the backyard. LOL

I've hit many a homes while 'golfing' or trying to 'golf' but never broken any windows, just loud thumps off of various siding/roofing materials haha. Knock on wood.

Ya, Douglas Dale is a bad course to play if your worried about hitting a house. Last time I was there, a guy I was playing with shanked a 5-wood off the tee and smoked a house. I was 100% sure a window would be shattered but somehow it ricocheted off a patio railing and caused minimal damage. After that the guy just dropped a ball on the green and pretended it never happend.

[Yanda]

Originally Posted by corporatejay

How about if you're so concerned about your house getting hit, move to the several other hundred thousand homes that aren't backing on to a golf course.

First its not my house, its where I grew up. Secondly the house in question is 250 Yards from the tee on a straight hole with massive fairways leaving 30-40 yards from the fairway to the fence line meaning you would need to hook it roughly 75 yards to the left of the center of the fairway to be at risk. Yet people still manage to put a ball in the yard 3 times a week. Damage can be more than just a broken window. It can knock off stucko, destroy pots, dent siding. Just because you didnt hear a crash doesnt mean you didnt cause damage. Golf courses fill that "Green Space" that all people desire and almost all courses are built with the community design around them. Saying its there fault for living there is ######ed, I didnt think you fell in that category.

3 worst golf ball incidents
1. Mom hit in the kneecap while gardening, guy didnt say four.
2. Dog next door got hit and had to be put down.
3. Someone hooked a ball over the houses hitting my car on the street.


If your so bad at golfing that 13 year old kids have better ball control then you maybe you should golf in the country where u wont be held responsible for damage. Also maybe you should get lessons.. People that go skiing for the first time need lessons, maybe you need Golf Lessons.

[Hockeyguy15]

Originally Posted by Yanda

First its not my house, its where I grew up. Secondly the house in question is 250 Yards from the tee on a straight hole with massive fairways leaving 30-40 yards from the fairway to the fence line meaning you would need to hook it roughly 75 yards to the left of the center of the fairway to be at risk. Yet people still manage to put a ball in the yard 3 times a week. Damage can be more than just a broken window. It can knock off stucko, destroy pots, dent siding. Just because you didnt hear a crash doesnt mean you didnt cause damage. Golf courses fill that "Green Space" that all people desire and almost all courses are built with the community design around them. Saying its there fault for living there is ######ed, I didnt think you fell in that category.

3 worst golf ball incidents
1. Mom hit in the kneecap while gardening, guy didnt say four.
2. Dog next door got hit and had to be put down.
3. Someone hooked a ball over the houses hitting my car on the street.


If your so bad at golfing that 13 year old kids have better ball control then you maybe you should golf in the country where u wont be held responsible for damage. Also maybe you should get lessons.. People that go skiing for the first time need lessons, maybe you need Golf Lessons.

I got hit in the back of the neck while I was walking off the green once, they didn't yell fore either.

Honestly if I was the home owner and someone hit my house and actually came to tell me they did I probably wouldn't even make them pay anything unless it was a broken window.

[speede5]

I was always under the impression the golf course was liable. We have two courses in town with fairways parallel to roadways, and one next to new houses. I'll ask next time I go but in the end, if the golfer decides to not tell anyone, the course will get dinged. Pretty sure the course accepts some responsibility for your actions by charging you a fee and letting you play.

[Yanda]

Originally Posted by Hockeyguy15

Honestly if I was the home owner and someone hit my house and actually came to tell me they did I probably wouldn't even make them pay anything unless it was a broken window.

For sure. I would say just coming over would get u off the hook of any damage minus a dent or broken window. Its just too much hassle if its something like a chunk of stucco coming off.

Originally Posted by speede5

I'll ask next time I go but in the end, if the golfer decides to not tell anyone, the course will get dinged. Pretty sure the course accepts some responsibility for your actions by charging you a fee and letting you play.

I dont believe the course will be dinged. The home owner will call there home insurance, pay the deductible and get the window replaced. The Course will have some sign saying that the golfer is liable for any damage to cover themselves.

[Locke]

I figure, if its an accident, its an accident, thats why people have insurance. I personally think it should be somewhere in the middle as far as responsibility goes. I'm actually surprised that courses either arent insured themselves or dont offer it.

As for hitting a foul ball into a guy's windshield, well, just ask FKA, the guy who's window gets smashed is on his own.

[squiggs96]

Originally Posted by Yanda

First its not my house, its where I grew up. Secondly the house in question is 250 Yards from the tee on a straight hole with massive fairways leaving 30-40 yards from the fairway to the fence line meaning you would need to hook it roughly 75 yards to the left of the center of the fairway to be at risk. Yet people still manage to put a ball in the yard 3 times a week. Damage can be more than just a broken window. It can knock off stucko, destroy pots, dent siding. Just because you didnt hear a crash doesnt mean you didnt cause damage. Golf courses fill that "Green Space" that all people desire and almost all courses are built with the community design around them. Saying its there fault for living there is ######ed, I didnt think you fell in that category.

3 worst golf ball incidents
1. Mom hit in the kneecap while gardening, guy didnt say four.
2. Dog next door got hit and had to be put down.
3. Someone hooked a ball over the houses hitting my car on the street.


If your so bad at golfing that 13 year old kids have better ball control then you maybe you should golf in the country where u wont be held responsible for damage. Also maybe you should get lessons.. People that go skiing for the first time need lessons, maybe you need Golf Lessons.

*it's
*it's
*their
*fore
*you're
*you
*won't
*
*golf
*lessons

There are others, but I chose the first ten I saw. If you are so bad at typing, maybe you should take typing and/or English lessons. Those who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones or golf balls.

In all seriousness, if a house is 250 yards away, I would think it would have to be an accident that it was hit there. Have you talked with the golf course in a calm and reasonable manner about putting up netting? I don't know where you live or what course you're at, but I'm guessing if you and other neighbours petitioned the course for netting and showed how the course's business was harming your living, they might listen and help you out. If you are just going to yell from your deck when you do get hit, you likely won't have much success.

Golfers don't want to hit your house. They want to hit the fairway. Even the best professionals don't hit the ball perfectly every time. If you are that concerned with golf balls hitting your house, there is a really easy solution to it. There are only a limited amount of places where people can golf, and I'm going to guess the vast majority of courses were there before the houses were. The houses are built beside the course and then the homeowners complain that the golfers are ruining their living? There are many places you could have built your house or moved to.

[Byrns]

So kids playing road hockey shouldn't pay for damage to parked cars? Or if you park by a school yard and your car gets smoked by a foul ball it's the car owners fault? What about my neighbour kid playing basketball who air balls a shot onto the hood of my car?

Do people take responsibility for their own actions anymore?

[Yanda]

Originally Posted by squiggs96

Blah Blah, im a terrible golfer Blah Blah

Thanks for the spelling lesson, [Mode dit- over the line]

What kind of person wants to be looking at a netting. Thats like getting crappy seats to a flames game. Asking for trees on the other hand is a different story and over the last 5 years the trees have grown a bit and the number of balls is reduced. Obviously im going to yell because the guy in question is a ##### and wont even come see if there is damages... that he caused. Even if there is no damage I have every right to embarass the guy infront of whoever he is golfing with and give my neighbours something to laugh at. Besides if hes not coming to see if there is damages then hes already decided not to pay damages.

"There are only a limited amount of places where people can golf"... You cant be serious... there is over 400 courses in Alberta... im sure you can go hack the ball around at any of them.

I doubt you could even name 3 courses that were built and then houses were built afterward. Im sure 95% of courses with houses along them were pre-planned communities.

You obviously take no responsibility for your actions and I for one hope I don't see you on the course, or driving on the road.

[Raekwon]

I didn't read through the entire thread but the homeowner is responsible for damages to their own house, its called implied risk and you assume it when purchasing a house on a golf course.

[flambers]

I booked a Texas Scramble awhile back at local golf course....

We were chatting about his course and the homes which were so close to the fairways.....

Owner of the Golf Course told me he had a bunch of home owners who were constantly complaining about golf balls hitting their homes.

He offered to install "nets" free of charge for all home owners.... Most declined.

Key is can the home owner make the golfer pay..... I have always been told they can not.

A golf course will always say the golfer is 100% liable.... this of course is to cover the golf course in terms of liabilibilty.

[HOOT]

Originally Posted by Yanda

The home owner will call there home insurance, pay the deductible and get the window replaced.

And then that homeowner will lose their claims free discount because some idiot couldn't take responsibility for his actions.

[troutman]

Originally Posted by fredr123

Or were we thinking of Bolton v. Stone? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bolton_v_Stone

I don't know. Which one of us gets the two points?

[anyonebutedmonton]

Originally Posted by Yanda

What kind of person wants to be looking at a netting.

Come on now...

You want to have a clear view, yet are unwilling to assume the risks of that great view.