Golfer hit by errant ball wins £10k damages

A golfer hit on the head by an errant golf ball has won £10,000 in damages after a judge ruled that the incident was “reasonably foreseeable”.

Lord Brailsford ruled in favour of John Ure, 46, after a hearing at the Court of Session.

Stewart Muir, a member of Bellshill Golf Club since 2005, was found to be liable for the injury caused when his ball went “out of control”.

He was playing on the ninth fairway and struck Ure on the tenth.

Another player in Mr Muir’s group had already played an errant shot towards Ure’s group, prompting calls of “fore”, leading the judge to conclude Muir should have realised Ure was playing in range of an errant drive.

Mr Muir told the court: “I wouldn’t have thought of any problem arising. I wouldn’t have surmised anything that far right that would create a problem.

“It never came into my mind as any sort of risk. If it came into my mind as a risk I would not have played the shot.”

Mr Ure suffered a head injury after being struck by the ball, which knocked him to the ground and led to him reporting nausea and physical sickness for the rest of the day, forcing him to go to hospital.

His counsel, Geoff Clarke QC, said damages in the action had been agreed at £10,000 if liability was established.