Volume 12, Issue 07
The PEACEKEEPER
Page 10
From the JAG’s Desk
CMDR Jeffrey Triz Ship’s JAG
By BILL PENNINGTON The New York Times Published: June 23, 2013
I came across this story recently and just had to share it with others who enjoy the game of golf. Golfers expect to encounter haz? ards or misfortune during a round of golf. We all end up in a bunker or out of bounds. But not many golfers expect to end up in court. Or jail. Although it may not be very likely that you will end up talking to a lawyer instead of the 19th hole bartender a er a round, it happens more o en than you might imagine. And as a public service, here’s one spot where the law intersects golf with some frequency: a par 3 on a busy course. Why? Because that’s where the tra?c bo lenecks happen, and those make people impa ent and short? tempered. Golfers wai ng irritably on the tee o en don’t wait for the players in front of them to get in their carts and drive away or walk a safe distance from the green a er they’ve pu ed out. So these golfers on the tee, who feel aggrieved because they’ve been wai ng for several minutes, ?re away anyway, even if people are s ll lingering near the green. Some mes, this is done with purpose — it’s a warning shot meant to get people to move along faster (even though that preceding group probably had to wait as well). Well, guess what? If you hit somebody in your haste — ge ng hit with a golf ball o en causes severe injuries — you are probably going to be found liable by a court and could pay some signi?cant damages to the person you hit. “The golfer is responsible for making sure that other golfers are out of the way before they hit,” said Robert Lang, a New York?based lawyer who has handled dozens of golf?related cases. “Yes, ]8?&\?? ?Yp? ^p?\?[??&]0? ?\???X?p????H??? ??Y[?p??p??? ????\??]?^p??X?]\?p? ^p? ?X?p?p??[ 0??]0?Y?? [?x?&\?p??? p? Yp?[?0? ??Y[?p?\???X\?? p??Y[???? p??p? [?p?\?p?Z[Z[???]0?[?0? [?p?]0? ]0? \???0? [?x?&\?p?XX?K??'p?0?[???\?? ?? ?0?][ p???\? ??]?p? ?[Y0? ]0????\???\?[??&]0?X???[?X?p????\??[?0? ?? ?0??]0?H??? ??Yx?$?p?[?? [?\??[?[?Y0?[?p???;? \?p?\????0?[??X??Y[? ??0??X?0?XY ?? ?? X?X?? ?\??X?p? 0???? ????p??\?Y?[0? ?[??H???][Y?[???\?p?\?p?p??0???]??Z] ???[?\?]Y0??p? p?X?0??? ?]YZ[???[?0? ?XX??[???p? ?X??0??YH?????[?YY? ?
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