That's FORE as in watch out!

I love to play golf.  Love it. One time I when was out with a couple of friends, we hooked up with another player who had never played the game ("Rookie").  Rookie shanked balls left and right all day.  On the 9th hole, Rookie tees up his ball.  So you know what I'm talking about, the tee box is where the person who is about to hit the ball stands and when they initially hit a golf ball ("tee off"), the ball takes off really fast.  Really, really fast.  

Anyway, my buddy was not paying attention to where he was standing as Rookie set up to tee off.  Sure enough, Rookie shanks the ball off the tee and RIGHT INTO my buddy's groin.  Painful as all that sounds, it was epitome of all guy moments and except for the guy rolling on the ground screaming in pain, the rest of us were laughing our heads off.

Apparently, this sort of thing happens all the time.  In fact, we had a guy come into the library the other day with a big old bruise on his head.  Seems he had been out golfing and as guy was about to tee off on on the 5th hole, he heard someone yell, "INCOMING!"  The problem with this is that normally, when a golf ball goes where it's not supposed to go, you yell, "FORE" to warn people that they are in danger of getting hit.

Anyway, about 15 minutes after hearing "INCOMING," guy opens his eyes and stares up into the faces of a couple of  other golfers.  Seems he had been hit by an errant (i.e. shanked) ball that had been struck by someone who had teed off on the 2nd hole (yeah, that was quite the shank).  Of course, who expects to be hit by a ball hit from three holes over?  Guy now wants to know if I (the law Librarian) have anything that can help him win a case against either the golf course or the guy who shanked the ball.

The thing about golf is that the rules of golf are pretty universal all over the world. As it turns out, there is this really great book we have in the library about golf and the rules of golf called The Little Green Book of Golf Law: the real rules of golf (ABA).  I also suggested he take a look at:

• Personal Injury: actions, defenses, damages (Lexis)
• Dobbs' Law of Torts (Thomson Reuters)
• Insurance Claims: A comprehensive guide (National Underwriter Co.)
• California Forms of Pleading and Practice (Lexis; Vol. 33, Chp. 380 (Negligence))

Interesting the kinds of questions that come across my desk daily.  If ever you have a funky question (or even a "normal" one), why not head over to your local county law Librarian and let them help you do whatever you need doing.