One of the suggested origins of the word FORE in golf: A warning cry of the Scottish military of “Ware before!” to signal those in front that they should “git yurrr hed duwn if ya dunna care t’be feeling’ a rright smarrrt boomp!” as guns would be shooting soon overhead. Soo what should you do if you hear FORE? Drop and Cover!!
There is a real concern for our resident’s safety when there is the chance of you, your child/grandchild, or dog getting hit by a golf ball traveling at great speeds.
From Golf digest (June 1999):
Each year, nearly 40,000 golfers are admitted to emergency rooms after being injured at play, most by errant golf balls and flying clubheads.
Justin Tune was doing his buddy a favor — jogging back down the fairway to retrieve a dropped bottle of water — when he was drilled in the head by a ball from the tee 150 yards away.
“It hurt,” the 12-year-old from Twain Harte, Calif., recalls of that day last August. “And then I couldn’t move my right hand all that well.”
What Justin had suffered, the doctors later realized, was a cerebral hemorrhage to the area of his brain that affects muscle control. The good news: After six weeks and many test-filled trips to the hospital, Justin is back to normal.
Getting hit head-on is every golfer’s greatest fear. For good reason: The test data indicated a force of impact about a tenth of what would be expected in a head-on car crash. The likelihood of a fatality is quite small from such a blow. However, “impact at that speed could cause a concussion, cerebral bleeding or, for a child or an older person with osteoporosis, a skull fracture,”
From Yahoo: Tiger Woods generates approximately 125 MPH of club head speed and the ball (because of compression) leaves the club head at approximately 150 MPH. Tiger is not average.
The average good golfer will swing a 45″ driver @ about 95 MPH and achieve an initial launch speed of approximately 115 MPH
The articles above refer to golfers need to be alert to miss-hit golf balls. When I am walking on the streets of our neighborhood I am not as alert to the possibility of a golf ball coming my way, but after researching the web for this article I intend to be more aware of my surroundings, especially when the street I am on comes close to one of the courses and I hear someone holler FORE. And I plan on following the rule of not walking on the golf course during the day when there are possible balls flying.
The best part about living in a golf community is the beauty that we enjoy daily. We can enjoy this beauty and stay safe at the same time, by staying alert and remaining off the golf course unless golfing during daytime hours.
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