After being injured by a stray golf ball, one novice golfer has made a £750,000 accident claim for the injury he suffered to his eye.
Sale, Manchester native Anthony Phee, forty four years of age, says that as a result of being struck by an errant golf ball in the face, his damaged eye needed to be removed by medical professionals. According to the man’s personal injury claims, Mr Phee had been walking at the Niddry Castle golf club’s path leading between the sixth and seventh tee when the incident occurred.
Now both the golf club and James Gordon, the golfer whose shot injured Mr Phee, are facing a £750,000 personal injury compensation claim launched by the injured man. Explaining in court that he had been at the eighteenth tee at the time of his shot, Mr Gordon said that the ball had hooked to the left and went headlong into a group of four golfers, one of which was Mr Phee, but he had immediately called out ‘fore,’ the traditional warning shouted by golfers, before the golf ball careened into the group.
A martial arts enthusiast, Mr Phee holds a black belt in karate, said that even though he was not an avid golfer, he was fully aware that he needed to use caution in the event of hearing another golfer shout the warning. The man both put up his hand to protect his face and also ducked down upon hearing the warning, yet the errant golf ball still struck him, causing irreparable damage to his eye.
Both Niddry Castle golf club and the golfer dispute Mr Phee’s claims, stating that if the injured man had indeed ducked down as he said he did, the likelihood of his being struck by the ball would have been extremely low. As the court case continues, liability for the incident remains an issue.