Novice golfer Mr Phee, who lost an eye after he was hit by an errant ball and now has a prosthetic eye, sued both Mr Gordon, the player who struck the golf ball, and the Niddry Castle golf club at Winchburgh, West Lothian, for not displaying warning signs on the course. Mr Phee has won almost £400,000 in damages.
On 10 August 2007 Mr Phee, and his three companions were walking from the 6th green to the 7th tee. They were following a path along the edge of the 18th fairway approximately 15 metres from the 7th tee. There were no warning signs alerting users of the path to any potential danger or hazard caused by golfers driving from the 18th tee.
At the 18th, Mr Gordon, who noticed the group of golfers on the path, hit his tee shot which veered sharply to the left, travelling in the direction of the group of golfers on the path.
Mr Gordon gave evidence that he immediately shouted "fore". He also stated that his playing companion also shouted "fore" and may also have added a shout of "get down".
Mr Phee heard only one shout of "fore". He did not know where the shout of "fore" had come from. His immediate reaction was to duck or crouch down and place his hand over his head whilst at the same time trying to look upwards. Whilst in this position he was hit in the eye by the golf ball which had been struck by Mr Gordon
The "Rules of Golf" as circulated by the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews were referred to in this case. The following quote was highlighted: "Players should ensure that no one is standing close by or in a position to be hit by the club, the ball or any stones, pebbles, twigs or the like when they make a stroke or practice swing. Players should not play until the players in front are out of range".
The judge, Lord Brailsford, ruled in favour of Mr Phee as it was not considered relevant whether there were one or three warning shouts, or that Mr Phee an inexperienced golfer ducked, due to the very short time lapse between the shout of “fore” and the golf ball striking Mr Phee.
Damages were agreed at £397,000, where Lord Brailsford ruled Mr Gordon was 70% responsible for the accident which occurred, due to the fact that as an experienced golfer he failed to asses the risk and exercise reasonable care in the execution of his drive. The remaining 30% of liability rests with the Golf Club for their failure to place warning signs at appropriate places on this golf course.
After the hearing, Mr Phee said: "I am delighted at the judgment and relieved that the court case is over. “
"No-one expects to lose an eye when they go to play golf and adjusting to partially losing my sight has been a harrowing experience. I now just want to move on with my life.”
Following the Judges ruling, Mr Gordon will be personally responsible to pay the 70% of the damages awarded if he has no form of golf insurance, almost £270,000! Niddry Golf Club is responsible for paying the remaining balance of £127,000.
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