The Deafening Silence of Players Not Shouting Fore

I APOLOGISE for returning to an old chestnut. No, on second thoughts, I withdraw that apology. I am not sorry at all. I have complained long and loud here in the past about the refusal of professional golfers to shout "fore" when they hit the ball into the crowd and something that happened at the Dubai World Championship has put the issue back on the table again.

When I was being taught the game one of the first lessons I learnt was that if you hit the ball and it was going anywhere near another human being then you had to yell out a warning. For golfers, that warning is "fore" and it is unversially recognised around the world. When you hear it, you duck. Full stop.

Before we get to the pros, you must be aware of another relativelt recent trend. You are standing in the middle of a fairway, with holes on either side and suddenly somebody yells: "Fore right!", or "Fore left!" Now here's the thing - if you hear soimebody shout "Fore" then you duck. If somebody adds the word "left" or "right", the chances are that you will either look around or try to work out whether the cry is directed at you. By the time you have done so, you have been floored by a flying golf ball.

Now let's focus on the pros. Almost without exception, when they flare a drive or an approach into the gallery there is no warning shout. A hand may be raised to show the direction in which the ball is flying, but if you happen to be down the fiarway in among a gallery and the guy next to you is taller than you are then you are not going to see that hand warning you that the ball is heading your way.

The get-out is that when you buy a ticket for any professional golf tournament, somewhere in the small print will be words to the effect that you do so at your own risk, and that course, Tour, player and sponsors cannot accept liability if you happen to be struck by an errant ball. Now just hang on a minute. If a pro golfer's ball strikes you and neither he nor his caddie have shouted "fore" then I would venture to suggest that if you consult a solicitor worth the name then he will tell you to go ahead and sue that player. Because he has been negligent.

During the second round of the Dubai World Championship, Henrik Stenson struck an iron that went way right. In his own words: “It was a very unfortunate circumstance. I flared my five iron right and I’m standing there thinking, ‘Is it going in the bunker or flying over the bunker?’ and next thing I see it go into the crowd. Unfortunately I hit a lady and she went down, but I had some reports later in the round that she was doing okay. I’m just making sure that we’re going to get her details so I can send her something nice.”

To be more precise, Stenson's ball hit a woman spectator on the head - on the fly. In other words, it hadn't bounced before striking her. She went down like the proverbial sack of spuds. And whether he likes to admit it or not, Stenson was at fault because he didn't shout.

There is, of course, a very good reason that tour pros (well, most of them at any rate), do not shout. The chances are that if a golf ball hits the gallery then it will rebound towards the fairway, but if the crowd have been warned and they all bend down the odds are fairly high that the ball will continue, unhindered, towards deep trouble. And the player has a clear conscience because he cannot be held liable for any injury.

In almost every case, the injured fan is given a signed golf ball or maybe even a signed golf glove - neither of which the players have even paid for. It is little compensation for something that is always painful and could turn out to be an awful lot worse than that. 

Some of you may think I am being petty. Those of you who do, have clearly never been hit on the head by a golf ball - I have, and I am here to tell you that it is a thoroughly unpleasant experience. In my case I was lucky that the ball bounced once before striking me in the centre of my forehead, but I still suffered nausea and double vision and collapsed for a few seconds. I have also been struck lower down, in the crown jewels - and I can assure you that wasn't a great experience either. In both instances, there was no warning call, and in both instances it turned out that high-handicap golfers were responsible. I can assure you that after the words that were exchanged following both incidents, these golfers shouted fore if a golf ball was within 100 yards of another player!

This is a recent phenomenon, and it is something that the European Tour and PGA Tour have to get sorted out. Do we really have to wait for some unfortunate spectator to be killed, blinded or maimed for life before somebody decides to take action? Nay, nay and thrice nay!