A Conway man whose vehicle was struck by an errant golf ball as he traveled along S.C. 544 near the General James Hackler Golf Course has been awarded $3,250.
William Wood sued course owner Coastal Carolina University after a golf ball struck and damaged his truck on April 15, 2011.
Wood, who said he would have settled for $300 at the time of accident, had hoped to force the course to shut down until something was done at Tee 14 to prevent golf balls from landing on the highway and a nearby sidewalk, but Circuit Judge Edward Cottingham ruled that “was a another procedure for another day.”
“The issue in this case is the amount of damages and who if anyone is responsible,” Cottingham said when the trial got underway Tuesday afternoon.
Wood, who served as his own attorney, was seeking $1,128 in actual damages and between $6,975-$14,000 for depreciation.
“We’re here today because Coastal Carolina University forced me to trial,” he said. “It took almost three years and this lawsuit to make them move the tee box at the 14th hole. Over time that $300 ballooned and ballooned and ballooned.”
Wood told the court that he was more interested in public safety than money. He said he blames Coastal Carolina University instead of golfer James Michael Hamilton of Michigan, who hit the ball because the S.C. Department of Transportation provided $35,000 to correct the problem years ago.
Wood said the money that was supposed to be used to erect a protective wall was instead used to plant trees that don’t do the job.
“I hold Coastal Carolina University responsible because of the design of the golf course and their arrogance in not fixing it years ago,” he said. “It’s a safety hazard. It’s a public nuisance at the 14th tee and other parts of the golf course.”
Wood said the tee box for the 14th hole is too close to the highway, creating a dangerous situation for drivers, walkers and even residents of a mobile home park on the other side of the highway. He said CCU recently moved the men’s and women’s tee boxes at the 14th hole farther from S.C. 544, but golf balls can still easily make it to the highway and beyond.
“Every time I go by there I get nervous,” he said. “I want them to put up safety netting. It’s not about me, it’s about the community.”
According to Charles Thrash, who headed up the Professional Golf Management program at CCU before retiring in June, the school has received a “handful of complaints about balls from the 14th tee landing on the highway.”
Thrash said he isn’t aware of anyone ever being injured by flying golf balls.
“My opinion of the hole is it was designed pretty good,” he said. “It’s been there since 1968. There’s been a handful of incidences we know of.”
The jury ruled yesterday that the University was solely at fault for Wood’s damage. Although Wood didn’t name Hamilton in his lawsuit, the school brought a counterclaim against him.
Hamilton was not at the trial, and the jury asked Cottingham, because its members had found Hamilton had no fault in the incident, if it could make CCU pay for his attorney’s fees, but the judge said no.
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