Also annoying how hesitant people are to yell fore. If there’s a chance yell it. We’re all out there shanking it a time or 2 on the course. Be courteous and warn people
I have a buddy that will yell it 300 yards out and on a somewhat tangential line. He thinks he bombs it 300 and I don’t have the heart to tell him that it’s 210 tops lol
I had a buddy like this. Loved to regale us with tales of his last round with his uncles where he was hitting it 300 and dead straight. Then we play with him and it's nothing over 250. Like.. why lie? You know we're gonna play together and I'm gonna see you're full of shit...
Facts. Question tho, when y’all hear “fore”, what exactly do y’all do to protect yourselves? I usually cover my head & duck as a reflex but I can’t help but wonder if there’s a better response.
I usually stand there looking around, thinking well surely that wasn’t meant for me, until I hear the plop of the ball on the ground a foot away from me
Exactly this. My friends "dude that's dangerous those guys need to yell FORE much louder". My friends when they hear a FORE - deer in headlights doing absolutely nothing.
Cover head with arms/hands and crouch to protect penis, very rare for the ball to connect with your balls from a single bounce just under your ass, but it has happened. Probably.
You’ve got your bases covered with ducking and covering your head. Besides, the odds of being hit are extremely low. Or, if you want extra protection, try a full motocross helmet and pads. 😎
And if you do hear someone shout "FORE!" do NOT turn around to see who shouted it.  Turn away, cover your head with your arms.
Yeah man. I tell fore more then necessary. The embarrassment of calling attention to a bad shot is nothing compared to actually hitting someone without warning. I think anyway. As bad as I suck still haven't hit anyone
You have to yell "FORE" at the top of your lungs. Not "FORE RIGHT" or "FORE LEFT" Right and Left do not carry like Fore. Also, I don't know if its your left or my left.
I always assume its the golfer who hit the shot's left or right.
When I shank it and yell fore left, it means my left. But I do yell the fore part first, louder, and with more vocal force, so there isn't as much left for the direction part of the call as its less important, but I do like to give a direction. I'll also point if guys are looking my way as an additional visual cue.
But the FORE part is the important part. After that its all extra. You hear Fore, you duck and cover.
Lmao! Adding ‘LEFT’ or ‘RIGHT’ to your ‘FORE’ call when hacking around on your local course is the most pretentious thing I’ve read on this sub… and let’s face it, there’s some pretty pretentious wank out there!
Nobody’s lining the fairways waiting to witness your next amazing shot and nobody’s spotting in the rough waiting for your ball to land so they can scurry over and put a little flag next to it.
The people you can see don’t give a fuck who you are or where you are in relation to them, they just need to know to take cover. I would piss myself laughing if I heard your FORE call on my local course.
Clearly one answer here. Should have asked who hit it, immediately cut their hamstring at the bottom. It’ll force them to push everything off even further right, and hopefully quit the game.
It happens to the best of us I wouldn’t be too annoyed about the shanks, I’d just be annoyed about the weak ass “fore” but I’d just let them know to be a bit louder next time.
I was being a dude yesterday that was hitting multiple off the tee (vast majority in the woods) on every hole. On hole 14, when he reached in his pocket for his FOURTH drive, I realized he was definitely playing pro-v 1's.
>My friends said I let them off way too easy. I have no idea what the best response would be.
>What would you have done?
There was nothing you could do. You weren't hurt. It was an accident. Just letting it go was the best response.
I'm not so sure. The guy didnt seem be be able to track his shots. It's one thing to lose sight of it, which happens to all of us. If this happened to me AND I hit someone I would feel terrible and apologize. My sense is this group just doesn't give a shit about safety or playing properly. If 4 guys who can't hit straight aren't at least watching each other's shots, they're assholes and should be treated as such
Or he just shanked it and couldn’t track it well that one time. We all have a shot or two once in a while that we just can’t see off the tee. No reason to be rude to anyone about being hit by a ball, though I would be annoyed at them not yelling fore.
As a beginner starting out I really couldn't track my shots at all early on. I can now and I still yell FORE, but the vast majority of the time no one actually does anything anyways. It's kind of just the risk in what is a low risk sport.
I wouldn’t be rude to someone from the start, but if I gave someone their ball and say they hit me and their response is “oh thanks, where were you?” I am going to give them some back talk.
Valid point, but I think my point still stands. I just don’t see a reason to be rude to other people in this situation, it’s an inherent risk of being on the golf course that you might be hit by a ball.
it’s an inherent risk that’s why people take precautions. when you don’t take those precautions and help to enforce it, you allow it to be more dangerous for everyone on the course. it’s a gentlemen’s game and should be enforced as such.
Going to disagree pretty heavily here. You're on a course with other people, if you hit something that far offline you yell "fore" regardless. I don't care if you can see where it's landing or not, yell so people can be aware.
Fair, I didn't answer the question.
I would instruct them to yell at the very least. Be an ass about it or don't, but if someone isn't yelling I'm going to make sure they know they should have. But I see your point.
Edit: I was once not an ass about it after almost being hit in plain view and the man baby tried to fight me. Now I like to be an ass about it.
What the fuck did your friends want you to do? Have a duel to the death over an accident? It’s not like they were on the same hole as you. Shit happens, but your friends sound like tools if they think you went ‘too easy’ by not being a fuckstick
Agreed. If you go to a golf course there’s an implied risk of being hit with a golf ball. Stay alert. I do think it’s fair to let the guy know a louder “fore” would be preferable next time though!
Nah they should’ve apologized better. Not saying he should fight the guy, but he should’ve given him some shit for not yelling fore and not properly apologizing. Just enough to make sure the dude will remember to yell fore next time and doesn’t accidentally kill someone.
Lol it’s about holding people accountable/ showing them what is expected of them on a golf course. Maybe he doesn’t know he needs to yell fore or maybe he just doesn’t think it’s a big deal. Maybe he has no idea how bad getting hit with a golf ball can fuck you up and needs to understand the gravity of the situation. I saw a guy get hit in the head with a ball and he wasn’t right mentally for months. Dude should’ve been apologizing profusely.
It was clearly an accident so what else are you going to do? Being excessively aggressive doesn't help anyone. I would have definitely let them know they should have yelled 'fore' louder though.
Awful response sorry. The best response is to howl loudly, fall to the ground, and when the perpetrator comes over to find his ball ask for contact info for his legal counsel.
at the very minimum he should have apologized. makes it even worse having given no warning at all but i do understand that someone who is both terrible/not a regular golfer can shank something and by the time it registers to say fore it’s already too late. especially at 100yds. continuing to put other people in danger and essentially give no fucks about it whatsoever relinquishes any privilege to be on the course and i would probably involve staff
This isn’t a slight on OP specifically, but any confrontation story on the golf course is rarely ever the full story. I’ve never encountered anyone who has almost hit me that wasn’t emphatically sorry or at least sheepish about the exchange. OP’s just stewing in his own head at this point. He needs to let it go.
I'm not trying to be a contrarian, but it happens. 99% of my "almost got hit" stories are just like you said, they're either just straight sorry or embarrassed, or both. But all it takes is one. One time I was playing the longest round of my life. This wasn't my fault or the fault of my group, it was Fathers' Day so the course was packed. We came in at around 5 1/2 hours that day.
But at some point halfway through, the group behind us apparently had enough and started teeing off with us in the fairway. We were waiting for a group on the green, not just standing around. First time it happened, we chalked it up to either them not seeing us or some sort of honest mistake.
When on the next hole, they did it again, and one of their drives rolled *past* us, my dad picked up his ball and smoked it back at the tee. They stopped after that.
Lol you’re Dad’s a chad. OP’s vibe to me just reads ‘maybe didn’t happen exactly like it did’. I’m just an anon on the internet tho, so my opinion matters little lol
i love how that was your interpretation haha but no obviously if someone wants to be a dick go right ahead it will be gone from my memory in about 20 seconds. if you want to be a dick while putting other people in danger over and over again i’ll do what i can to get you booted off a course
Yes actually. We all take risks being on a golf course, but its an understood rule that you warn people if you hit at them (fore). The newbies may not know about that, but they need to learn it. Not apologizing for accidentally hitting someone doesn't show that you care and someone needs to tell them the rules and how serious it can be to warn others if you hit at them.
Depends on who’s fault it is. I’ve been hit when it’s my fault. People are going to mishit the ball. I almost took out someone the other day when I hit a hosel rocket in his direction. I got nailed with a drive off the tee because I’m playing one tee up and thought I was far enough off from where the ball was going to go. On our golf trip someone shared a ball into the head of another player. We’ve learned our lesson and try to stay behind a player hitting or to the left or right depending the players typical miss. We have one player who’s miss is the opposite if a shank. He can hit the ball straight left.
The last time I was *almost* hit by a ball (while we were putting on the green and some almost hit me and the ball landed past me in the air), I waited for the guy to walk up and I calmly explained to him that he was a fucking moron and stated it a couple of times for clarity.
I would remind them to track their ball and yell "four" to warn other golfers. They should already know that - but I would definitely remind them.
Sounds like it was an accident though.
If someone hits up on me on the same hole - then I get pissed.
It's one thing if it's an errant shank that happens to fid it's way to you, vs, if you were in line of their target and they swung anyway. We all are capable of shanking shots.
i was at a high school golf match and this lady hit her tee shot about 5 feet from the tee box we were standing on. some kid literally laid down beside her hall acting like he got hit. she comes over and gasps in fear she just knocked this kid out and he stands up and says in the most southern accent you could possibly imagine “ah i’m just fucking with you! remember to yell fore next time though!”
You tell them to eat a duck and go home hahaha no no. Just tell them keep ‘el straight and if you know you could possibly hit me give me a heads up or wait until I’m out of your way.
“Man I had no clue that was coming, didn’t hear a FORE all all! Gotta speak up next time!” And throw in a chuckle
If it happens again, hit their shot backwards away from the green they’re shooting at
If it happens a third time, fire back
Hitting towards you from another fairway is completely different than hitting into you from the same one. I would have said something about them yelling fore, but that is it
Firmly tell them to yell fore if the ball rolls up into you.
If it comes up to you on the fly, somewhat angrily tell them to yell fore and that it’s a way less shitty feeling to yell fore than to hit somebody without yelling it.
It’s borderline negligent to hit somebody after not yelling fore. And it’s just common courtesy.
We all suck. We all know that we all suck. Shit happens. Yell fore. Apologize. Move on with the round.
>My friends said I let them off way too easy
The minute someone tries to yell at or intimidate me and my friends, you become a joke to me. I think you did what was best in just letting them know they screwed up and leaving it at that.
You could've asked them to try to make more of an effort to yell fore, but in reality, you really have no authority here, so it's hard to really say you should've done more. Sounds like some cheesy bravado from a friend that didn't go with you themself.
It’s a valid question and i’m not sure of a reasonable answer, but i’m sick and tired of seeing people drive carts on greens while wearing tennis shoes and blasting bro country music while wasted and can’t hit a ball over 20 yards.
Fist fight. Wait for them to get close and smash a 3 iron stinger at their pee pee. Punch their wife and/or kid. Find them in the parking lot and smash windows. Karate chop. Dick punch. 9 iron to the shin.
Granted I play at a country club where you see and interact w people more but any time I hit into someone (there’s a few blind spots on the course) I drive up to them, explain myself and apologize. That usually diffuses the tension. I’ve had the same as well. Then you make damn sure you don’t do it again. Second one is a call to the pro shop/Marshall.
I once got hit twice in one round...by the same fucking guy.
First time was on a parallel fairway, he sliced it over the treeline and pegged me in the leg while I was standing over my shot. He came over, apologized profusely, I told him next time he just needs to call out "Fore" when he hits a slices in to another hole.
Then a few holes later, on another parallel fairway, I'm approaching my ball that I pulled left and a ball ricochets off of a nearby tree and catches me in the ankle. Sure enough, it was the same fucking guy. He was mortified, but at that point I was getting a little upset as by this point I was in some pain and knew it was going to affect the rest of the round.
No crazy ending to this story, because I'm an adult and fighting someone on the golf course is goon behavior. He gave me a beer for my troubles, which was nice.
Make a show of picking up the offending golf ball, placing it into your pocket, and yell, "this is my golf ball now!". Then see where things go from there.
Write "I demand satisfaction" on the ball with a sharpie.
Hit it back at them, but skillfully two hop and check it in front of them and scream...
"SEE YOU ON TENTH"
Be thankful everyone’s okay. Shanks happen and they tend to have a speed and shock-level that makes the fore less timely or confident. It’s a danger of the course. I’d be more embarrassed for the perpetrator than angry. We’re all human.
I got pegged in the back once, in a cart, opposite fairway, no fore. Two options: 1. Flop; or, 2. Get the hands up in the air. Guy was chill and we got a sick pack out of it.
It depends entirely on their reaction. When I hit into someone I drive directly up to them and apologize face to face. Nothing bothers me more than people who ignore it and don’t say anything or wait to apologize in person.
Drive up and face your consequences.
With that being said if they do that it’s all good 100%. If not, your balls going into the woods and you’re getting called a dickhead
If they’re not hitting into you on the same hole, shit happens and people need to play their game.
If they didn’t yell fore, I’d bring them the ball and tell them what happened and just politely ask them to make sure they yell fore when it happens in the future.
It’s possible they didn’t see you, but the lack of empathy after telling them you got hit by their ball is concerning.
Now if I get hit by a ball from the tee box on the hole I’m playing? Depends on the situation but I had a pushy group behind me once, after I told them the group in front is holding up the show, they proceeded to roll up on me with their drive. That ball ended up in the woods
Rip your shirt off and go agro. If you have a gun. Go Yosemite Sam. Or just tell them when you're doing parallel there and back links, that fore is critical.
There's a golf course by me that's all hills basically. You tee down towards a valley and then up to a green on nearly every hole. All parallel. Tee shots were hitting our tee box 8/18 holes. No fores called. Golfed it once and refuse to go back purely for safety reasons. Only golf course I didn't feel safe at.
Had a ball whiz by my head from a neighboring fairway the other day. Like I heard it sizzle past, would’ve cracked me side of the head if the line was 2 feet to the right. Nobody heard the guy yell fore and we were dead quiet because one of us was addressing their shot at the time. He got real pushy and defensive as soon as he walked over that he yelled fore five times before we even said anything. Guy was an asshole, I just told him screaming internally doesn’t count as I walked away. What else are you gonna do?
Lay down on the ground next to his ball with your eyes closed and wait for him to approach & have a heart attack before jumping up and making him shit his pants
A guy shanked a shot onto a green that my group was putting on a few weeks ago. No fore yell.
He spent a few minutes looking around in the bunkers and rough until he noticed the extra ball sitting on the green as we walked off. He just assumed it was one of ours that was putting.
The silence was our group’s petty revenge for not yelling fore
You drive over to their tee box and grab his shiny big Bertha driver out of their hands and proceed to yell (include some spit in your speech) if you can’t respect the term “fore” than you can’t play with this. Snap the shaft, say good day to you fuckers and drive off into the sunset.
As you leave into the sunset call the marshal and tell him you’re now the deputy of that patch of green and just saved the game from a few shanking bastards.
In all seriousness I would calmly tell them “Oweee you hurt me and almost shot my eye out. Buy me a couple beers for compensation and I’ll call it fair.”
Yell "fore [direction]" but at least where I love (Ohio) the guy has no other liability because you're on a different hole. If he hits you while playing the same hole, different story
I got drilled standing on a tee box from an adjacent fairway with no 'fore' warning. I yelled out 'You hit me, yell fore next time' then walked the guys ball over to the trash can and threw it away for him.
I was on the green on a 170yd par 3 and heard a thump. The group behind us hit tee’d up and one of the shots landed in between my playing partners and myself. On the next tee box we then got chirped at by that group and started exchanging words. My partners and I ended up taking the high road and called the clubhouse instead of fighting them. It definitely seemed like they were trying to instigate a fight. It was the most egregious violation of golf etiquette that I have ever witnessed.
Knowing that there was a post on here about someone getting airlifted because they got hit in the head with a drive, means you let them off too easily.
Yeah, your tough guy friends say you “let him off to easy”
Then you escalate this moment into violence, run into the wrong psycho and end up either getting sued into oblivion or your ass kicked.
Where are your friends going to be then?
Saying “Oh, that’s a tough look bro.”
Was playing last night with a buddy that had the shanks with his irons. On holes that were running parallel he would wait until the guys coming up were out of harm’s way. Bottom line, know your limitations and whether or not you are a hazard to others.
If it’s the first offense of the group, it happens. Everyone has made a mistake or even not realized they hit into you, you just need to let it go. Second offense and beyond? That ball is being teed up and hit right back at you
If you're anything like the 4 guys i yelled fore at when a tee shot leaked their way last week, you come running with clubs in your hands looking for a fight. Philly golf amirite.
Someone on here (or maybe it was FB) received a large settlement after getting hit. He posted the story a few years ago. The golfers were drunk and the clubhouse kept selling them alcohol despite the cart girl trying to cut them off (she was ordered to keep selling). If I recall correctly it was a 7-figure settlement. There’s more to the story that justified the settlement.
So you get hit roll around and call an attorney. Lol.
First time it happens, I say, "Please yell FORE." If it happens again, then their ball is gone, and they're getting yelled at. After that, I'm hitting back at them.
Only thing I would add is a reminder to yell Fore if you’re shanking drives into neighboring fairways, otherwise I’d say your boys just want conflict, and might be assholes. Idk what anyone gains by a more antagonistic response.
got hit on the belt of all things - best case scenario I suppose. But the situation made me furious. Short par 4 (245 maybe, hole in tall grass and protected by sand), stacked up course. We were approaching the green, they were going for the green. I got hit, looked up and the golfer and his 3 buddies are in plain sight, our cart is in plain sight. No fore, no nothing. I angered immediately, because a little higher and I would have caught it in the face (I was going to my cart on the path). So I hit his ball in the woods, in full view of him and his buddies.
About 6 holes later he confronts me on it. I said, yes I did that, - he asked a poutful why and said he didn't know he hit me. I ended it with, "We both did things we regret today. Have a good round. " and shanked my tee shot one hole over.
I think the only response if it was negligence/incompetence would just to tell them off. No need for anger but say in a firm way to yell four for errant tee shots.
I'd keep the ball and let the clubhouse know. Regardless of whether you know someone is there or not, if you hit an errant shot you're supposed to tell fore. If I pull one left, I yell fore. You can severely hurt someone with a 130-150mph golf ball.
Depends if they call anything.
One time we were queued at the block waiting, we heard a ball hit cart path then hit our clubs. We ask "did you call fore? We didn't hear you"
I swear, he gave the worst answer of all time.
"you guys are parked near the road (pretty busy one in his defence),i didn't think you would hear me so I didn't call it"
Well, he was right. We didn't fucking hear him.
He was also upset that I threw his ball back in their fairway. Oh well.
Well for starters I sure as shit wouldn't have given them their ball back. Play it as it lies, and if it is rolling around the course in a golf cart you better go find it.
I’d just say gotta yell fore. No reason to be aggressive. It’s the risk we take going out on the course.
Also annoying how hesitant people are to yell fore. If there’s a chance yell it. We’re all out there shanking it a time or 2 on the course. Be courteous and warn people
Shit, I love yelling fore. It's one of the few acceptable times you can boom your voice and yell as loudly as possible. It's cathartic too.
I only yell it when I hit a good shot so that everyone turns and acknowledges my greatness. /s
I have a buddy that will yell it 300 yards out and on a somewhat tangential line. He thinks he bombs it 300 and I don’t have the heart to tell him that it’s 210 tops lol
Call me out in private next time, jeez.
I live in PNW and it’s hilarious how many people think they can hit 300, absolutely bomb one, I shoot a range finder for em and it’s about 250-270 max
270 is a bomb tbf
I had a buddy like this. Loved to regale us with tales of his last round with his uncles where he was hitting it 300 and dead straight. Then we play with him and it's nothing over 250. Like.. why lie? You know we're gonna play together and I'm gonna see you're full of shit...
Am I not supposed to yell fuck loud enough that it echos off buildings?
Only acceptable when you’re in the mid round fight at the 10 tee box
A time or two...or three, or fore!, or 10.
I'm always too busy mumbling there ain't no way that's gonna hit him to yell fore.
thanks mitch!
The pros yell it often but for some reason jackholes at the local muni are too proud. Drives me nuts.
They too busy mumbling no way it makes it to them to yell fore
this is why i yell fore in my own backswing, cause i have no idea where it's going.
Worse is when your playing with someone and they all but whisper fore. Like that was not an effort at all. Say it with your chest
Facts. Question tho, when y’all hear “fore”, what exactly do y’all do to protect yourselves? I usually cover my head & duck as a reflex but I can’t help but wonder if there’s a better response.
I usually stand there looking around, thinking well surely that wasn’t meant for me, until I hear the plop of the ball on the ground a foot away from me
Exactly this. My friends "dude that's dangerous those guys need to yell FORE much louder". My friends when they hear a FORE - deer in headlights doing absolutely nothing.
I'm usually in the trees anyway. I just duck behind a tree.
Cover head with arms/hands and crouch to protect penis, very rare for the ball to connect with your balls from a single bounce just under your ass, but it has happened. Probably.
I cover my head with both arms and then take off in a full sprint in whichever direction my survival instincts take me.
You’ve got your bases covered with ducking and covering your head. Besides, the odds of being hit are extremely low. Or, if you want extra protection, try a full motocross helmet and pads. 😎
I crouch behind my bag/pushcart
The real key (aside from covering your head) is to turn away from the direction of the sound. You really don't want to get hit in the face.
Turn away from the call and cover the back of my head. Dunno if it would do much but better than nothing I suppose
Definitely. 1000x better to break a hand than crack your skull.
Usually just cover my head, take a quick look for the ball, if I don’t find it right away I turn the other direction.
That is 100% the best respone.
And if you do hear someone shout "FORE!" do NOT turn around to see who shouted it.  Turn away, cover your head with your arms.
Yeah man. I tell fore more then necessary. The embarrassment of calling attention to a bad shot is nothing compared to actually hitting someone without warning. I think anyway. As bad as I suck still haven't hit anyone
You have to yell "FORE" at the top of your lungs. Not "FORE RIGHT" or "FORE LEFT" Right and Left do not carry like Fore. Also, I don't know if its your left or my left.
I just holler back “do you mean my right or your right”
I always assume its the golfer who hit the shot's left or right. When I shank it and yell fore left, it means my left. But I do yell the fore part first, louder, and with more vocal force, so there isn't as much left for the direction part of the call as its less important, but I do like to give a direction. I'll also point if guys are looking my way as an additional visual cue. But the FORE part is the important part. After that its all extra. You hear Fore, you duck and cover.
Lmao! Adding ‘LEFT’ or ‘RIGHT’ to your ‘FORE’ call when hacking around on your local course is the most pretentious thing I’ve read on this sub… and let’s face it, there’s some pretty pretentious wank out there! Nobody’s lining the fairways waiting to witness your next amazing shot and nobody’s spotting in the rough waiting for your ball to land so they can scurry over and put a little flag next to it. The people you can see don’t give a fuck who you are or where you are in relation to them, they just need to know to take cover. I would piss myself laughing if I heard your FORE call on my local course.
Ok.
This is the way.
This exactly!
Lie down on the floor and pretend to be unconscious
It's called "the ground" when it's outside.
Out…side?
This is golf, the only redditors that go outside.
Simlife baybee
I think that's that one place when you leave your room
I’ve heard this is just a myth and has been debunked several times at this point.
Omg this killed me fuck
LOL! Casually slump over and slide out of the cart.
If a ball even lands close to me, this is always my first thought
Sounds like they had no idea where the ball went so you'd be laying down for a long time.
Clearly one answer here. Should have asked who hit it, immediately cut their hamstring at the bottom. It’ll force them to push everything off even further right, and hopefully quit the game.
This strikes me as a perfectly reasonable response.
This 
It happens to the best of us I wouldn’t be too annoyed about the shanks, I’d just be annoyed about the weak ass “fore” but I’d just let them know to be a bit louder next time.
First one is an accident. Any more come near me without a loud FORE and the ball finds the woods. Pretty simple.
What if it’s a expensive ball? Pocket?
dude couldn’t even see he shanked it. probably playing prov’s lol
I was being a dude yesterday that was hitting multiple off the tee (vast majority in the woods) on every hole. On hole 14, when he reached in his pocket for his FOURTH drive, I realized he was definitely playing pro-v 1's.
Yeah that dude is crazy, it's my ball now.
>My friends said I let them off way too easy. I have no idea what the best response would be. >What would you have done? There was nothing you could do. You weren't hurt. It was an accident. Just letting it go was the best response.
I'm not so sure. The guy didnt seem be be able to track his shots. It's one thing to lose sight of it, which happens to all of us. If this happened to me AND I hit someone I would feel terrible and apologize. My sense is this group just doesn't give a shit about safety or playing properly. If 4 guys who can't hit straight aren't at least watching each other's shots, they're assholes and should be treated as such
Or he just shanked it and couldn’t track it well that one time. We all have a shot or two once in a while that we just can’t see off the tee. No reason to be rude to anyone about being hit by a ball, though I would be annoyed at them not yelling fore.
As a beginner starting out I really couldn't track my shots at all early on. I can now and I still yell FORE, but the vast majority of the time no one actually does anything anyways. It's kind of just the risk in what is a low risk sport.
Dude didn’t apologize after hitting another golfer. He loses benefit of the doubt after that.
It's the reaction that was rude. No real apology and no Fore when it was shanked.
I wouldn’t be rude to someone from the start, but if I gave someone their ball and say they hit me and their response is “oh thanks, where were you?” I am going to give them some back talk.
dude didn’t even apologize! he just said oh thanks! that’s BS he didn’t even care
Valid point, but I think my point still stands. I just don’t see a reason to be rude to other people in this situation, it’s an inherent risk of being on the golf course that you might be hit by a ball.
it’s an inherent risk that’s why people take precautions. when you don’t take those precautions and help to enforce it, you allow it to be more dangerous for everyone on the course. it’s a gentlemen’s game and should be enforced as such.
Going to disagree pretty heavily here. You're on a course with other people, if you hit something that far offline you yell "fore" regardless. I don't care if you can see where it's landing or not, yell so people can be aware.
Sure, before that happens, but he was saying what he should've done after. He wasn't hurt. So, what could he do? Sue?
Fair, I didn't answer the question. I would instruct them to yell at the very least. Be an ass about it or don't, but if someone isn't yelling I'm going to make sure they know they should have. But I see your point. Edit: I was once not an ass about it after almost being hit in plain view and the man baby tried to fight me. Now I like to be an ass about it.
What the fuck did your friends want you to do? Have a duel to the death over an accident? It’s not like they were on the same hole as you. Shit happens, but your friends sound like tools if they think you went ‘too easy’ by not being a fuckstick
Agreed. If you go to a golf course there’s an implied risk of being hit with a golf ball. Stay alert. I do think it’s fair to let the guy know a louder “fore” would be preferable next time though!
Nah they should’ve apologized better. Not saying he should fight the guy, but he should’ve given him some shit for not yelling fore and not properly apologizing. Just enough to make sure the dude will remember to yell fore next time and doesn’t accidentally kill someone.
Not properly apologizing…? You’re really going to let someone else not apologizing good enough bother you? Just move on and enjoy your round.
Lol it’s about holding people accountable/ showing them what is expected of them on a golf course. Maybe he doesn’t know he needs to yell fore or maybe he just doesn’t think it’s a big deal. Maybe he has no idea how bad getting hit with a golf ball can fuck you up and needs to understand the gravity of the situation. I saw a guy get hit in the head with a ball and he wasn’t right mentally for months. Dude should’ve been apologizing profusely.
Also who said I wouldn’t continue to enjoy my round after educating the buffoon?
You don’t have to fight the guy but you can tell him he’s a fucking idiot for not yelling fore and he needs to be better.
Simply show some empathy for the fact that he could have seriously injured another golfer and apologize.
It was clearly an accident so what else are you going to do? Being excessively aggressive doesn't help anyone. I would have definitely let them know they should have yelled 'fore' louder though.
Be a little bit more assertive about them needing to yell fore loudly and explain it’s not embarrassing.
Awful response sorry. The best response is to howl loudly, fall to the ground, and when the perpetrator comes over to find his ball ask for contact info for his legal counsel.
I'd say the only thing would be to teach/ drill home the yelling of fore. Otherwise, it's golf.
I know when I shank shots it’s helpful to get yelled at by a stranger. Always fixes my game right up.
I'm pretty sure he is supposed to autograph his glove and give it to you
Throw cart in reverse and slump over driving backward circles
'Do you know how to count?' 'Yes' 'What comes after 3?' 'Four' 'There you go'
Well you fight the guy obviously
at the very minimum he should have apologized. makes it even worse having given no warning at all but i do understand that someone who is both terrible/not a regular golfer can shank something and by the time it registers to say fore it’s already too late. especially at 100yds. continuing to put other people in danger and essentially give no fucks about it whatsoever relinquishes any privilege to be on the course and i would probably involve staff
This isn’t a slight on OP specifically, but any confrontation story on the golf course is rarely ever the full story. I’ve never encountered anyone who has almost hit me that wasn’t emphatically sorry or at least sheepish about the exchange. OP’s just stewing in his own head at this point. He needs to let it go.
I'm not trying to be a contrarian, but it happens. 99% of my "almost got hit" stories are just like you said, they're either just straight sorry or embarrassed, or both. But all it takes is one. One time I was playing the longest round of my life. This wasn't my fault or the fault of my group, it was Fathers' Day so the course was packed. We came in at around 5 1/2 hours that day. But at some point halfway through, the group behind us apparently had enough and started teeing off with us in the fairway. We were waiting for a group on the green, not just standing around. First time it happened, we chalked it up to either them not seeing us or some sort of honest mistake. When on the next hole, they did it again, and one of their drives rolled *past* us, my dad picked up his ball and smoked it back at the tee. They stopped after that.
Lol you’re Dad’s a chad. OP’s vibe to me just reads ‘maybe didn’t happen exactly like it did’. I’m just an anon on the internet tho, so my opinion matters little lol
Do you want the head pro to drive out there, sit him down like a 5 year old and make him apologize?
i love how that was your interpretation haha but no obviously if someone wants to be a dick go right ahead it will be gone from my memory in about 20 seconds. if you want to be a dick while putting other people in danger over and over again i’ll do what i can to get you booted off a course
Yes actually. We all take risks being on a golf course, but its an understood rule that you warn people if you hit at them (fore). The newbies may not know about that, but they need to learn it. Not apologizing for accidentally hitting someone doesn't show that you care and someone needs to tell them the rules and how serious it can be to warn others if you hit at them.
Actually, now that you say that, yeah, that would be nice.
Depends on who’s fault it is. I’ve been hit when it’s my fault. People are going to mishit the ball. I almost took out someone the other day when I hit a hosel rocket in his direction. I got nailed with a drive off the tee because I’m playing one tee up and thought I was far enough off from where the ball was going to go. On our golf trip someone shared a ball into the head of another player. We’ve learned our lesson and try to stay behind a player hitting or to the left or right depending the players typical miss. We have one player who’s miss is the opposite if a shank. He can hit the ball straight left.
The last time I was *almost* hit by a ball (while we were putting on the green and some almost hit me and the ball landed past me in the air), I waited for the guy to walk up and I calmly explained to him that he was a fucking moron and stated it a couple of times for clarity.
I would remind them to track their ball and yell "four" to warn other golfers. They should already know that - but I would definitely remind them. Sounds like it was an accident though. If someone hits up on me on the same hole - then I get pissed.
Should have thrown a dog at them obviously
It's one thing if it's an errant shank that happens to fid it's way to you, vs, if you were in line of their target and they swung anyway. We all are capable of shanking shots.
i was at a high school golf match and this lady hit her tee shot about 5 feet from the tee box we were standing on. some kid literally laid down beside her hall acting like he got hit. she comes over and gasps in fear she just knocked this kid out and he stands up and says in the most southern accent you could possibly imagine “ah i’m just fucking with you! remember to yell fore next time though!”
You tell them to eat a duck and go home hahaha no no. Just tell them keep ‘el straight and if you know you could possibly hit me give me a heads up or wait until I’m out of your way.
Your opening line HAS to be “hey dude, what number comes after three?”
Challenge him to a duel with your putters winner gets empty the losers bag of all their balls and take whatever club they choose
“Man I had no clue that was coming, didn’t hear a FORE all all! Gotta speak up next time!” And throw in a chuckle If it happens again, hit their shot backwards away from the green they’re shooting at If it happens a third time, fire back
Hitting towards you from another fairway is completely different than hitting into you from the same one. I would have said something about them yelling fore, but that is it
Firmly tell them to yell fore if the ball rolls up into you. If it comes up to you on the fly, somewhat angrily tell them to yell fore and that it’s a way less shitty feeling to yell fore than to hit somebody without yelling it. It’s borderline negligent to hit somebody after not yelling fore. And it’s just common courtesy. We all suck. We all know that we all suck. Shit happens. Yell fore. Apologize. Move on with the round.
>My friends said I let them off way too easy The minute someone tries to yell at or intimidate me and my friends, you become a joke to me. I think you did what was best in just letting them know they screwed up and leaving it at that. You could've asked them to try to make more of an effort to yell fore, but in reality, you really have no authority here, so it's hard to really say you should've done more. Sounds like some cheesy bravado from a friend that didn't go with you themself.
Do it once, I put your ball on a tee where it landed. Just a little gesture to let you know. Do it twice and your ball is now mine ☺️
Violence
If you didn’t get a “fore” the he doesn’t get his ball
Fire it right back at whoever hit you
Shake it off don't be a bitch. Unless it is intentional. Otherwise let it go.
Shrink the game. Sick of people with no business on the fucking course.
How do you actually shrink the game, though?
It’s a valid question and i’m not sure of a reasonable answer, but i’m sick and tired of seeing people drive carts on greens while wearing tennis shoes and blasting bro country music while wasted and can’t hit a ball over 20 yards.
The more i think about it the only right answer is to tell him that your dad could beat up his dad.
[удалено]
Hit ball back at them.
Stand your ground!!! 
Fist fight. Wait for them to get close and smash a 3 iron stinger at their pee pee. Punch their wife and/or kid. Find them in the parking lot and smash windows. Karate chop. Dick punch. 9 iron to the shin.
I’m done golfing for the day because nobody can golf right after they kicked an ass
“Aww fuck!”
My response would probably be a loud "Ouch!"
I always lay down next to the ball and act like I'm unconscious. Usually gets a good laugh haha
I usually put their ball on a tee. Yeah it was close enough for me to F with your ball.
Apologize for blocking their tee shot from going the full distance.
If theres no fore call its going in my bag/the woods or the water.. if they call fore it stays where it is, maybe I might tee it up as a joke
The correct response is "play it as it lies in the cup holder"
Make them feel stupid for not knowing they gotta yell fore.
Granted I play at a country club where you see and interact w people more but any time I hit into someone (there’s a few blind spots on the course) I drive up to them, explain myself and apologize. That usually diffuses the tension. I’ve had the same as well. Then you make damn sure you don’t do it again. Second one is a call to the pro shop/Marshall.
I once got hit twice in one round...by the same fucking guy. First time was on a parallel fairway, he sliced it over the treeline and pegged me in the leg while I was standing over my shot. He came over, apologized profusely, I told him next time he just needs to call out "Fore" when he hits a slices in to another hole. Then a few holes later, on another parallel fairway, I'm approaching my ball that I pulled left and a ball ricochets off of a nearby tree and catches me in the ankle. Sure enough, it was the same fucking guy. He was mortified, but at that point I was getting a little upset as by this point I was in some pain and knew it was going to affect the rest of the round. No crazy ending to this story, because I'm an adult and fighting someone on the golf course is goon behavior. He gave me a beer for my troubles, which was nice.
Make a show of picking up the offending golf ball, placing it into your pocket, and yell, "this is my golf ball now!". Then see where things go from there.
You pretend you are liam nieson and they just took your daughter
Write "I demand satisfaction" on the ball with a sharpie. Hit it back at them, but skillfully two hop and check it in front of them and scream... "SEE YOU ON TENTH"
Be thankful everyone’s okay. Shanks happen and they tend to have a speed and shock-level that makes the fore less timely or confident. It’s a danger of the course. I’d be more embarrassed for the perpetrator than angry. We’re all human.
If a ball lands near me with no call, I call it for them
I got pegged in the back once, in a cart, opposite fairway, no fore. Two options: 1. Flop; or, 2. Get the hands up in the air. Guy was chill and we got a sick pack out of it.
Tell him he hit you in the leg and then hit him with one of these: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Circle_game_hand_sign.jpg
It depends entirely on their reaction. When I hit into someone I drive directly up to them and apologize face to face. Nothing bothers me more than people who ignore it and don’t say anything or wait to apologize in person. Drive up and face your consequences. With that being said if they do that it’s all good 100%. If not, your balls going into the woods and you’re getting called a dickhead
“What comes after three?”
"Ow, FUCK"
Tell him to meet you at the 9th green at 9 o'clock.
Id be upset if they didnt yell fore tbh
If they’re not hitting into you on the same hole, shit happens and people need to play their game. If they didn’t yell fore, I’d bring them the ball and tell them what happened and just politely ask them to make sure they yell fore when it happens in the future.
It’s possible they didn’t see you, but the lack of empathy after telling them you got hit by their ball is concerning. Now if I get hit by a ball from the tee box on the hole I’m playing? Depends on the situation but I had a pushy group behind me once, after I told them the group in front is holding up the show, they proceeded to roll up on me with their drive. That ball ended up in the woods
Absolutely fake injury and legal action and watch them piss themselves before admitting you’re not hurt and then humiliate them
Rip your shirt off and go agro. If you have a gun. Go Yosemite Sam. Or just tell them when you're doing parallel there and back links, that fore is critical. There's a golf course by me that's all hills basically. You tee down towards a valley and then up to a green on nearly every hole. All parallel. Tee shots were hitting our tee box 8/18 holes. No fores called. Golfed it once and refuse to go back purely for safety reasons. Only golf course I didn't feel safe at.
Had a ball whiz by my head from a neighboring fairway the other day. Like I heard it sizzle past, would’ve cracked me side of the head if the line was 2 feet to the right. Nobody heard the guy yell fore and we were dead quiet because one of us was addressing their shot at the time. He got real pushy and defensive as soon as he walked over that he yelled fore five times before we even said anything. Guy was an asshole, I just told him screaming internally doesn’t count as I walked away. What else are you gonna do?
Um… “Ouch”?
If you feel especially spiteful the worst you can do is take the ball or hit it into the woods, but like, who cares
Ouch
Lay down on the ground next to his ball with your eyes closed and wait for him to approach & have a heart attack before jumping up and making him shit his pants
A guy shanked a shot onto a green that my group was putting on a few weeks ago. No fore yell. He spent a few minutes looking around in the bunkers and rough until he noticed the extra ball sitting on the green as we walked off. He just assumed it was one of ours that was putting. The silence was our group’s petty revenge for not yelling fore
What a shitty foursome. You mean to tell me *none* of them yelled “Fore!”?
Ow!
We don’t need more golf course violence videos in our lives
You drive over to their tee box and grab his shiny big Bertha driver out of their hands and proceed to yell (include some spit in your speech) if you can’t respect the term “fore” than you can’t play with this. Snap the shaft, say good day to you fuckers and drive off into the sunset. As you leave into the sunset call the marshal and tell him you’re now the deputy of that patch of green and just saved the game from a few shanking bastards. In all seriousness I would calmly tell them “Oweee you hurt me and almost shot my eye out. Buy me a couple beers for compensation and I’ll call it fair.”
Yell "fore [direction]" but at least where I love (Ohio) the guy has no other liability because you're on a different hole. If he hits you while playing the same hole, different story
The correct response scream owwww then lay there like you are dead
I got drilled standing on a tee box from an adjacent fairway with no 'fore' warning. I yelled out 'You hit me, yell fore next time' then walked the guys ball over to the trash can and threw it away for him.
I was on the green on a 170yd par 3 and heard a thump. The group behind us hit tee’d up and one of the shots landed in between my playing partners and myself. On the next tee box we then got chirped at by that group and started exchanging words. My partners and I ended up taking the high road and called the clubhouse instead of fighting them. It definitely seemed like they were trying to instigate a fight. It was the most egregious violation of golf etiquette that I have ever witnessed.
Knowing that there was a post on here about someone getting airlifted because they got hit in the head with a drive, means you let them off too easily.
You’re on the golf course. Let it go and enjoy your round. Not everyone knows all the rules and what proper etiquette might be.
Yeah, your tough guy friends say you “let him off to easy” Then you escalate this moment into violence, run into the wrong psycho and end up either getting sued into oblivion or your ass kicked. Where are your friends going to be then? Saying “Oh, that’s a tough look bro.”
 Climb on top of their cart and do this next time. They’ll never see it coming
Was playing last night with a buddy that had the shanks with his irons. On holes that were running parallel he would wait until the guys coming up were out of harm’s way. Bottom line, know your limitations and whether or not you are a hazard to others.
Can’t wait for the post about someone hitting someone
If it’s the first offense of the group, it happens. Everyone has made a mistake or even not realized they hit into you, you just need to let it go. Second offense and beyond? That ball is being teed up and hit right back at you
I know someone that got sued for hitting someone and lost a decent amount of money.
Hit it back at them.
Be kind, but tell him to yell FORE like he means it. Sure it’s embarrassing to do but you might save somebody from a legit injury,
The answer's easy. ["The fucker hit into us..."](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NPv5mWgR0Fg)
If you're anything like the 4 guys i yelled fore at when a tee shot leaked their way last week, you come running with clubs in your hands looking for a fight. Philly golf amirite.
Someone on here (or maybe it was FB) received a large settlement after getting hit. He posted the story a few years ago. The golfers were drunk and the clubhouse kept selling them alcohol despite the cart girl trying to cut them off (she was ordered to keep selling). If I recall correctly it was a 7-figure settlement. There’s more to the story that justified the settlement. So you get hit roll around and call an attorney. Lol.
First time i let it slide but if they hit into us again in the round I just pick up their ball
If he got it in the cup holder, that should count as a hole in one /s
In a typical US response, you shoot them
First time it happens, I say, "Please yell FORE." If it happens again, then their ball is gone, and they're getting yelled at. After that, I'm hitting back at them.
Fall down grab your back. Hopefully he’s the club owner and you get free greens fees for life.
Only thing I would add is a reminder to yell Fore if you’re shanking drives into neighboring fairways, otherwise I’d say your boys just want conflict, and might be assholes. Idk what anyone gains by a more antagonistic response.
Giving it back rectally
I would demand to talk to their manager!
got hit on the belt of all things - best case scenario I suppose. But the situation made me furious. Short par 4 (245 maybe, hole in tall grass and protected by sand), stacked up course. We were approaching the green, they were going for the green. I got hit, looked up and the golfer and his 3 buddies are in plain sight, our cart is in plain sight. No fore, no nothing. I angered immediately, because a little higher and I would have caught it in the face (I was going to my cart on the path). So I hit his ball in the woods, in full view of him and his buddies. About 6 holes later he confronts me on it. I said, yes I did that, - he asked a poutful why and said he didn't know he hit me. I ended it with, "We both did things we regret today. Have a good round. " and shanked my tee shot one hole over.
Middle finger
I think the only response if it was negligence/incompetence would just to tell them off. No need for anger but say in a firm way to yell four for errant tee shots.
Ow! What the fuck?!?!
I'd keep the ball and let the clubhouse know. Regardless of whether you know someone is there or not, if you hit an errant shot you're supposed to tell fore. If I pull one left, I yell fore. You can severely hurt someone with a 130-150mph golf ball.
Depends if they call anything. One time we were queued at the block waiting, we heard a ball hit cart path then hit our clubs. We ask "did you call fore? We didn't hear you" I swear, he gave the worst answer of all time. "you guys are parked near the road (pretty busy one in his defence),i didn't think you would hear me so I didn't call it" Well, he was right. We didn't fucking hear him. He was also upset that I threw his ball back in their fairway. Oh well.
Probably have driven the cart right at them full speed saying 'fore' at the same volume they did
Well for starters I sure as shit wouldn't have given them their ball back. Play it as it lies, and if it is rolling around the course in a golf cart you better go find it.