Fore closure as US court dismisses golf injury suit

SLICES, hooks and other errant shots are a common hazard on the links and a golfer can’t expect to get a warning shout of “Fore!” every time a ball comes his way, New York’s top court ruled yesterday in dismissing a personal injury lawsuit.

Dr Anoop Kapoor and Dr Azad Anand were playing on a nine-hole Long Island course in October 2002 when Anand was hit in the head while looking for his ball on a fairway, blinding him in one eye.

The seven judges on the state Court of Appeals, siding with lower courts, said Kapoor’s failure to yell in advance of his errant shot from the rough did not amount to intentional or reckless conduct. The court cited a judge’s finding that Anand wasn’t in the foreseeable zone of danger and, as a golfer, consented to the inherent risks.