Golfer Ends Up In Hospital With Broken Back After Scolding Group Ahead, Bad Mouthing Man's Wife
A 54-year-old man in Indiana decided to confront a group of golfers that supposedly jumped in front of him at the turn, and it's fair to assume that he very much regrets that decision.
The man ended up in the hospital with a punctured lung, seven broken ribs, and a broken piece of vertebrae in his back after being punched and slammed to the ground by a golfer in the group ahead.
According to court documents obtained by Fox 59, the incident occurred at Links at Heartland Crossing near Camby, Indiana.
Witnesses claim that the unidentified 54-year-old man and his group finished playing the ninth hole and decided to go into the clubhouse to order food at the turn, which is a common move.
As he and his playing partners were inside, Jerry Whitaker, his wife, and another individual decided that they would play through with the group waiting inside for their food.
Well, the 54-year-old man didn't like that move from Whitaker's group and reportedly took his frustrations out on Whitaker's wife by calling her a "c--t" and the rest of the group "a--holes." A witness said that Whitaker's wife began crying, which is when Whitaker chose to confront the 54-year-old.
Whitaker allegedly demanded that the man apologize to his wife, the man didn't, and then all hell broke loose.
Whitaker is accused of striking the 54-year-old man several times before grabbing him around his waist, lifting him up, and slamming him onto the ground, which would explain the many broken ribs and badly damaged back.
Whitaker was arrested and charged with aggravated battery, a Level 3 felony; battery resulting in serious bodily injury, a Level 5 felony and disorderly conduct, a Class B misdemeanor.
What Is The Proper Etiquette To ‘Cut’ In Front Of The Group Ahead?
Based on the report, it's clear that Whitaker and his group didn't ask the group ahead if they could play through. It goes without saying that you should always ask someone in the group ahead if it's okay if you play through, but with the 54-year-old man's group supposedly inside ordering food, Whitaker skipped that vital step and took a chance.
Any golfer reading this has done the exact same thing and gotten an earful from either the group or the club's head professional that the group ratted you out on because they were too nervous to say something, but for someone to end up in a prison cell and another end up in a hospital with serious injuries is certainly a rare occurrence.
As the Captain would say, what we've got here is a failure to communicate.