Car hit in car park

[oakey22]

Went for a game on Saturday morning, and noticed Sunday morning that there is a dent in the door with an impression of the dimples from the golf ball. Asked at the golf club about it and they said not much they can do. Is this the case? Should the golf club carry insurance to cover this?

 

[Birchy]

I would of thought they should be insured. At our golf club if you hit a golf ball towards any houses or the car park you need to tell the pro shop so they can claim on insurance if its necessary.

 

[bigslice]

depends if they have a sign up saying park at your own risk and we are not liable. if not take it further

 

[GreiginFife]

Simple answer is yes they should but not all do sadly. Clubs that have car parks close to fairways/greens tend to, but again that's not all.
My old club, Aberdour, has the car park right behind the 16th green and they carry full liability insurance for such incidents.
I have played at a couple locally though that carry high risk due to position of the car park but they don't.

 

[oakey22]

No signs up at the car park saying park at own risk. I will see what they say. The car park is about 260-270 yardscaway down the left side the fairway from the tee. Seen a few balls in the carpark before.

 

[MegaSteve]

depends if they have a sign up saying park at your own risk and we are not liable. if not take it further

Sorry, its a bit more 'complicated' than that... Signage counts for nowt... You just have to prove negligence on their part... Proving negligence can be the difficult part though...

 

[chrisd]

Sorry, its a bit more 'complicated' than that... Signage counts for nowt... You just have to prove negligence on their part... Proving negligence can be the difficult part though...

It's probably difficult for the golf club to argue negligence. For a golf ball to leave such a mark as to be able to see the dimples on the car it was fairly certain to be travelling at speed and way off line, so, even though we all hit bad shots, the one that hit the car was almost certain " negligent" I would think

 

[anotherdouble]

Feel for you but cant see how this can get sorted. At my club there are signs on all tees telling golfers to be careful of property when a hole is near houses. This could be argued that the club is doing everything possible to protect it neighbours. The club also asks that people whos balls go over fences to report it to pro shop after their round, whether they know damaged has been caused or not.

 

[Doon frae Troon]

One of my old clubs had full insurance for surrounding properties but true to form some residents were apt to make dudious claims.
One guy rung my office saying a golf ball had broken his glass conservatory door.
Slightly on the defensive I asked how he was so convinced it was a golf ball that broke his door.
'because it is inbedded on the glass', came the response. oops.

 

[MegaSteve]

It's probably difficult for the golf club to argue negligence. For a golf ball to leave such a mark as to be able to see the dimples on the car it was fairly certain to be travelling at speed and way off line, so, even though we all hit bad shots, the one that hit the car was almost certain " negligent" I would think

Making a claim where public liability insurance is involved is not necessarily straightforward... The key statement is that the OP has noted seeing other golf balls in the car park previously... So there is potentially a problem with siteing of car park... What has the club put in place to 'combat' this problem? "Parking at own risk" signage is not normally a sufficient 'defense'... When dealing with insurers they make it difficult in the hope you go away basically...

 

[leaney]

Fixing the panel on your car will cost around £300.

If you tell them that you will leave the club if they do not fix the problem, they'll be set you lose a lot more than £300.

You should be able to park your car at any golf club, safe in the knowledge that it will be in the same condition you left it in.

 

[Stub]

The key to a claim would be demonstrating that the club had not taken adequate precautions to safeguard cars in the car park. That may not be straightforward and is to some extent subjective.

The best approach is a firm negotiation with the club secretary along the lines of 'if you don't accommodate me I'm going to keep complaining'. His problem will be the danger of setting a precedent...if this is a first such incident? If it is not that might suggest the club is not taking adequate precautions!

 

[Matty]

I'm no legal expert but having seen balls in the car park before would count both ways wouldn't it?

The club could argue you knew the risk you were taking parking there having seen balls in the car park before, right?

I've seen balls in one area of the car park I generally use at the back of the 9th and final green at my home course - result, I park on the other side of the car park!

As a suggestion though you could try a "painless dent repair" service local to you. My wife's car had a car door opened into it and this left a fairly huge dent! A chap cam out and fixed it so it cannot be seen (at least not by my eyes) and for less than £100. It's worth asking - they'll tell you if they can or can't fix it without charging usually too.

 

[duncan mackie]

fwiw I frequently leave golf balls in the car park.

there are loads of pick-ups in the back, and when the doors opened they can fall out and roll away - I'm not goin gto pick them up again if they roll under a car (all the loose ones are destined for the practice box anyway.)

 

[jpenno]

Your other problem is that you have no witnesses that the incident actually took place on their property, and whilst it probably did you cant actually prove it.

The incident was not reported as it happened and they had no chance to inspect and record the incident.

Chips away should be able to sort it

 

[HawkeyeMS]

You could see the dimples in the dent? What's your car door made of, plasticine?

 

[MegaSteve]

I used to manage a club that hosted two or three events a year that attracted up to a thousand attendee's...

At one of these events a PA mast fell on to a parked car damaging its roof... Car was parked in an area designated for spectators and not intended for parking vehicles... Driver was to say a little upset and demanded club agreed to footing the repair bill... Despite my pointing out his car was incorrectly parked he kept argueing his point... His wife/girlfriend also waded in using some language a lady shouldn't even know let alone use!

To cut a long story short he eventually agreed that the matter was refered to clubs public liability insurers... His solicitors argued that club was at fault for failing to secure mast properly and insufficient signage etc etc... Well he got his payout... Personally still puzzled as to why...

 

[richart]

Our car park is right behind the 18th green. Fortunately it is mostly committee cars that get hit. The Captain had a dent in his door the other day, with no one owning up to it.

 

[Crow]

I was playing with my brother in-law and nephew a couple of years back, nephew hits a horror duck hook towards the car park and we hear breaking glass, brother in law goes to have a look and comes back smiling and looking relieved, "That was lucky, it's gone through a car window, but it's your car".

 

[barrybridges]

Interesting one. I was driving yesterday from Tunbridge Wells to East Grinstead and the road runs past Sweetwoods Golf Club, where one of the greens is maybe 10 yards from the main road. Have a look at this:

http://g.co/maps/v57sq

I do sometimes wonder what logic process takes place when a course designed is looking to weave a hole next to a road, or buildings, or trainline.

I was thinking this also in relation to Seaford Head Golf Club, which I played about this time last year (and never again!) - pretty much every tee box is a few yards away from the green, so if you're playing an approach shot you have to wait or else there is a reasonable chance that a less-than-perfect shot will travel towards the group in front (hence why play is so slow).

The point I'm trying to make is that the OP simply needs to demonstrate - and this wouldn't be hard - that a typical golfer isn't very good and that stray balls in the direction of the car park are not a possibility: they are a probability over the course of a year.

That said, if you push this then I can't see the golf club wanting to fork out to relocate their car park, so probably the best way to resolve this is quietly through diplomatic channels - the more you shout the less likely they'll pay your repair bill.