New Rules On the Golf Course: The NY High Court Says No Need to Yell "Fore"
In a landmark decision affecting the game of Golf, the NY Court of Appeals (the highest court in the state) decided that there is no liability against a golfer who doesn’t yell “fore” after hitting a bad shot.
According to the lawsuit, two men, Dr. Anoop Kapoor and Dr. Azad Anand were playing golf on a course on Long Island, New York. At some point, Dr. Anand went to look for his ball when he was struck by a shanked shot from Kapoor. The injury was so severe that Dr. Anand, a neuroradiologist, was blinded in one eye and claimed he could no longer work. In his action, Anand claimed that he did not receive the customary “fore” warning from Kapoor after he “shanked one.”
The NY high court found that a “shanked” shot was a commonly appreciated risk of golf and that a golfer consents to certain risks when he chooses to play. However, the court also determined that a golfer will not assume the risk of intentional conduct (like being purposely struck on the head with driver after someone tees off badly).
As a practicing lawyer and horrid golfer, I take two important things from this decision. First, if you shank one (which I do all the time), don’t say anything and just quietly try to hit another one, and second, without the rule to yell “fore” golf just got a lot scarier.
My name is Christopher Fusco. I am the managing partner of Callahan & Fusco, LLC with offices in New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.