Golf ball damage
 

I was having a discussion with one of my golfing buddies a couple of days ago regarding if a golfer is responsible for damaging a house (breaking a window, etc) next to a golf course.

I said that the golfer definitely is responsible for any damage caused by his golf ball - at least to pay the deductible for the owner's homeowner's insurance.

My buddy said it is not the responsiblity of the golfer because someone who buys a house by a golf course knows the risk and automatically assumes the risk. He would not even go up to the home owner and apologize but just hit another ball and keep on playing as if nothing happened.

Outside of needing a new golfing buddy with a better sense of ethics, am I right or is he right?

Is there some Villages rule about this anywhere that someone could show me?

Here is a link to golfing etiquette in The Villages
Golf The Villages

It states

"Please never play a ball from the yard of a resident. It is also appropriate to report any damage of private property to the homeowner. We ask that you never retrieve your ball from a resident’s property."

He is right legally, but pretty lacking ethically. Unless the damage was caused by negligence (i.e. hitting the golf ball from a moving golf cart), he is not responsible. But, if it was me, I would notify the homeowner of the damage and pay his deductible.

If you do a forum search on "golf window insurance" you'll see at least 3 prior threads that discuss this.

In short, your friend is legally correct. Ethics belong to the individual.

Buggyone: Given the number of state laws, court decisions and Golf club policy you will get a variey of answers on both sides. Generally speaking however, the law favors the golfer, unless he or she has committed some omission/comission out of the ordinary.

The Villages does advertise that people should not trespass. Frankly they do not want to get involved in these sort of disputes.

My neighbor had his window broken and the golfer did not have the courtsey to at least apologize. I have heard many golfers comment that homeowners on a golf course deserve what they get. It is sad and disrespectful. so essentially I do agree with you concerning the ethics issue.

finally most Homeowner policies include a Property Damage section that usully pays up to $500 for damage to property caused by the person responsibility irrespective of liability. So a golfer doing damage should stop and share information with the homeowner. By the way such claims normally have no affect against their policy.

" I have heard many golfers comment that homeowners on a golf course deserve what they get. It is sad and disrespectful. so essentially I do agree with you concerning the ethics issue."

So sadly true. Yet that same disrespectful golfer would not likely have a moment's hesitation to aggressively confront a homeowner for the return of an errant golf ball that landed in the homeowner's yard, would they?

A previous poster said that "generally speaking, the law favors the golfer". Probably that's true, although it's hard to believe that the law would favor someone who damages your property.

I'm not sure if there is a Villages rule about this. But I'm pretty the Golden Rule would apply: "Treat others as you would like them to treat you".

Golf Knowledge Expected
 

It is assumed that a player knows the rules and knows how to hit a golf ball.
If not, lessons should be taken before going on a course. That would not be fair to a homeowner if someone with no real knowledge of the game damaged property and said, "Oh well." If you son or daughter broke a window playing ball, you would take your child to the homeowner to apologize and take care of any damage. How is this different?

I suppose a judge might say a golfer never intends damage or harm to property, animals people every time they hit the ball.

However a person who owns a home on a golf course knowingly built upon the site on the golf course with the knowledge there would be a possibility of being hit by a golf ball....or two....or many.

btk

I live on a golf course back home. We have had one window broken in 10 years. It is a private course and one of the members did it. He tried to get away. We called the clubhouse and they tracked the guy down. The club had a written policy that said members were responsible for damages to property by them and their guests. The member tried to turn it in to their insurance company. The company would not pay since it was not intentional. The member said if his insurance would not pay, he did not feel obligated either. Long story short, you live on a course, you can expect these things. All the club rules mean nothing. I would expect the same thing here. One of the reasons I did not buy our lot on the course in TV.

Personal ethics can still guide you though.

Legally not required to do anything, morally you should notify the home owner and offer to pay any deductible they might have to pay. As Barefoot so apply said, "treat others as you would like to be treated"

I personally have stopped playing golf with one person who feels he has no obligation to even apologize when he does something like that. I don't want to be around people like that. If that is how they feel about doing something like hitting a home with a golf ball, then think how they treat others in general. To many other really nice people around to be bothered with them.

That could be the person who hit a golfball onto Tamarind Grove run yesterday.
It came straight down between my auto and a golf car that was beside me.
(and I had my convertible top down!)
Maybe I need a construction worker's hardhat.....

Our two-week old 2012 Honda CR-V was hit by a golf ball while we were parked at the Sunset Pointe mail center. No one came forward to apologize.

Knowing how to hit a golf ball and hitting a house are two different things :(. Even players like Phil or Tiger are seen quite a bit off course once in a while.

The analogy about playing ball is different (IMO) depending on where the children are playing. A ball field versus a street. Hitting a foul ball through an apartment window from the street is very different than hitting a car with the same foul ball at a ball field designed for baseball.

I do agree the golfer has an ethical obligation to work with the home owner. As stated many times, (IMO) I doubt there would be a legal one. The other thing to note, it is often not obvious where the ball ended up, so the golfer may not know.

IMO, much of the fault lies in the layout/design. If you build a fairway with water on the left and the put homes withing 5 - 15 feet of the golf course on the right, you must know this will happen. Next time you play OB look at the homes down the right hand side of 18. A few look like someone took a ball pein hammer to them :shocked:.

My best advice if you are buying a home on the golf course is talk to some golfers who understand the game. There are places on holes that will be like magnets based on the holes design and other places on the same hole which will almost never see a ball.

Nice topic to loosen me up to start my taxes :read:

WOW!! What ever happened to accepting responsibility for your actions either intentional or not?

I wish a Florida attorney would wade in on this question.

It would appear to me two factors would come into play:

1) Was the golfer intentionally hitting the shot close to the house, road etc, or was it simply an "bad shot" which couldn't be foreseen?

2) In TV the golf courses are always constructed prior to lot sales so purchasers are aware there is risk to one degree or another and assumption of risk comes into play. I have a friend that while searching for a lot would sit on the site in his golf cart to see if it was" in the line of fire". For instance houses 150 to 200 yds to the right on par 4 and 5 holes are a magnet for poor shots.

I don't believe a golfer should be held responsible for damage if he/she is playing the course as intended to the best of their ability. Golf courses aren't suited for houses to be built in either side like gutters on a bowling alley.

We live on a golf course in TV. We flew down for our closing two years ago. We did the walk-through and everything was fine. Closed on the house and came back that night to our new empty home to dream before we flew back up north the next morning. My husband walked into the living room and saw glass on the floor and there was a golf ball in the midst of the mess.

We had two more windows broken until we invested in virtually unbreakable windows; $1,000 a window. My husband said we knew what we were getting into when we bought on the golf course. I would probably die of shock if a golfer came to me and said they'd hit my house was there any damage.

Many years ago a wayward shot from my husband's golf club broke a window on a home on the Tierra Del Sol golf course. Before my husband could make his way to the home to view the damage the homeowner was in his yard screaming at him. Of course, hubby offered to pay for a new window and, in the end our homeowner's insurance covered the entire cost.

When reading these threads on this topic that we've had for many years, it becomes easy to tell those people that don't play or don't play much.

I'm not a great player but I can put the ball down there a fair distance. There are some times when I hit an errant shot far enough that I have no idea which house it may have come close to. (or it may be over a ridge etc.) When this happens I'll listen for that horrible sound. If I don't hear one I'll hit my provisional and just get on with the game. If I do hear a sound then I'll attempt to figure out which house it was. There was one time a few weeks ago that I heard a noise and the house ended up being 4 past the one I thought it was. Fortunately for me it was just the roof and the gentleman was on his lanai and said "no problem".

I agree with AJ: The design of the hole has a lot to do with it.

In chicago area you are responsible for your ball and what it breaks.Your Homeowners ins.will cover any damage done by you.

After deductible of course. So for the most part just pay for the broken window out of pocket.

It was addressed by an attorney in this thread:

https://www.talkofthevillages.com/fo...uestion-43565/

We live on the golf course here in the Villages. Most golfers are considerate and have ethics but there are always "the jerks" I have had to tell grown men that the rules of golf say that they CANNOT play the ball in my yard!!! They are welcome to retrieve it but I really don't want people playing their ball if it lands in my yard. One guy actually told me that this is the Villages and the same rules don't apply. We have had two broken windows. One we were home for and my husband walked out on the golf course to confront the person. He was not happy but he did pay for the window. If my husband or I broke someone's window we would let them know. I believe in Karma and I believe what you do in your life you will reap. I don't really know the legal answer but the right answer is to take responsibility. We taught our children to own up to their mistakes why would it be different for us? We love living on the golf course and we have worked hard to be able to do that. Why would people think we "deserve" what we get. I don't understand that thinking. As a sidebar, a friend of ours broke a window on Bogart and his homeowners insurance covered the whole thing.

Personal responsibility - what a concept
 

I heartily agree with this thought. If you break something belonging to someone else, pay for it! All the rest of these arguments are just fluff. I don't care if you did it intentionally or not, or what the law says about this. Let's man-up here. Take responsibility for your actions.

Like the sign says "You break it, you bought it!"

Judge Judy on Golfer Resposibility
 

Judge Judy had a case involving a golfer damaging a home. Her ruling was the homeowner assumes the risk for living on a golf course. She added that even professionals hit errant shots, so one cannot blame the golfer for lacking skills or training. She pointed out that the homeowner cannot to expect to enjoy the views without also assuming the risk that comes with the location. I live on a course and agree with her point of view.

Charlie

I agree 100%.

In this day and age and all of the information available on sites like this, you would think anyone buying a house on a golf course would be well aware of the ..........

......... hang on a second, my wife is trying to get my attention.... 'really honey? you think they are posting about the golfer not the ho......

:oops: ..... never mind, sorry everyone, my bad :D

have a great day!

Alan's comment is intended to be funny, sometimes he is the only one that thinks his comments are funny, so be easy on him...

In OUR case, a few years ago now, we didn't pay a deductible. Our homeowner's covered the whole repair. Perhaps the coverage for something like this comes in under the comprehensive coverage? We have no deductible for that coverage.

Ragman: The example you cite has some real difficulty. How do you prove or disprove the intent; unless the golfer admitted before making the shot that he/she was aiming for the house....and even then his/her announcement was that the intent was to attempt a fade/draw and that was why he/she flew the ball so close to the house.

A poster early made comment that the insurance company wouild not pay a claim because it was not intentional. Someone has misunderstood. An intentional act is not covered under insurance policies negilence is.

and the insurance company could have paid up to $500 for the property damage of others irrespective of the legal situation.

It's paid under the liability portion of the homeowners policy which typically has no deductible. No deductible comprehensive coverage is on auto policies.

Thank you! Of course had I gotten out of my seat, looked at our policies, I would have seen that! I KNEW that comprehensive is on our auto policy! Must have had a senior moment!!:oops:

No: Its paid under "Property Damage To Others" up to $500 irrespective of libiblity. Ther additional coverage was originally designed to settle neighbors disputes and the question of libility is waived. My sn throws a baseball through the neighbors window. The insurance company will pay for the replacement of the window up to $500 without a deductible applying to the insured

I love your humor and especially because of the point it makes which is the "elephant in the room".

If you buy a house on a golf course the chances are pretty good your house is going to get hit with a golf ball before too long. The risks belong to the homeowner, IMHO, and according to most laws and regulations.

While you say - and most agree with you - that the risk belongs to the homeowner, do you believe personal ethics should lead a golfer to go up to the homeowner, pull up his big boy pants, admit his error and offer to pay at least the deductible on the homeowner insurance? Or do you think the golfer should hit a second ball and just go on like nothing happened?

Both sides of the issue - interesting
 

We recently bought a house in TV on a golf course. I think as a homeowner I have to own the responsibility of repairing my house if it gets damaged from a golf ball. BUT, as a golfer if I did damage to a house I would walk up to the owner of the house and offer to pay for the damage or leave a note. I think the law is not going to decide this issue due to court costs etc. I think a person's morality should take the high road here. I have to sleep soundly at night. I really don't know what would happen if one of my golfing buddies walked away from this situation but I would hope I would not golf with them any more. I did take the good golf course here at TV. They say you can't walk into someone's yard to recover a ball. I do have trouble with that. I think if I can walk in without doing any damage whatsoever and not disturb anyone in the house I should be able to recover the ball. Playing the ball in their yard should never happen. It is a very interesting question and probably will never be agreed upon issue.

old argument but again I love how easily everyone says 'personal ethics' or something to that extent. Easy to say when you're talking about a relatively small price like a deductible or a window. If the window cost something stupid like 10 thousand dollars (obviously it wouldn't), would you still say "Ok, I'll man up?" Or would you say "I'm sorry it happened but the law says I don't have to pay"? Think about it. Would you?

?
 

What does this have to do with the question of who is responsible for damages if your golf ball hits a house?

I understand your point, but consider this which actually happened to my mom. My folks had a home on a golf course. Their home sat about six feet above the level of the course and had a block retaining wall on the course side. There were stairs leading down from their home to the fairway with a locked gate at the bottom. One morning my mom was getting dressed in her bedroom when she was startled to see a man in her back yard just outside her bedroom windows looking for his golf ball. This guy had to scale the wall or climb over the gate to get to the yard. That's trespassing.

To me, living on a golf course means I accept the chance my home could get damaged by a golf ball, but it does not mean I accept people tromping over my back yard to retrieve a ball. Think about this. You may be one person going into the yard, but you are seen by other golfers doing this, so it must be OK, right? And you're not the only one on this homeowner's lot that day. Multiply that by the number of days people are on that hole every year. I wholeheartedly agree with the policy prohibiting retrieving a ball from private property. It is not unique to TV.

I don't think my wallet will be coming from my pocket if that's what you mean. I would apologize if I saw the owner, though. Sorry if that offends your sensibilities.

Mikeod, Thank you!
We have golf front on Palmer. Good news is we are lined up with tee boxes and very few balls come into our yard.
Yesterday I was sitting in my birdcage having a drink. A golf ball hit the bird cage and scared me to death. Ball landed in my yard and I thought what a terrible drive, went straight right but at least I got a golf ball.
Then with me sitting and watching, all 4 in the party came into the yard to look for the ball. I have a great deal of landscaping with white rocks. Also the golf course has evergreen trees and tall grass protecting my yard and house. I just sat there in shock like I was watching an Easter egg hunt. They looked everywhere, found it and waved bye to me. Hope it was a good ball!
Our house is all windows in the back. The wife and I often don't have enough clothes on for the uninvited guests all over our yard!!!! I hope most golfers don't trespass into yards.

I live on a course and have no real problem with a golfer retrieving a ball a few feet into my property. However, the other day a golfer was looking for his ball in my newly planted landscaping right next to my birdcage. When I confronted him with it, he said he was looking for his ball. I told him that it was no longer his ball and that it was now mine. He got the message and left my property.

Most golfers are very polite and respect the privacy of homeowners. However, a few months ago, I was sitting in our lanai (which we had enclosed with glass sliders), when a woman walked over from the course right up to the windows, cupped her hands over her eyes to see better inside and proceeded to look around the room. When she saw me sitting there, she gave me a smile and a "thumbs up" as if I should feel complimented by her approval of my house.