What To Do When You Hear Fore Shouted On A Golf Course.
The Shout of ‘Fore’ can happen at any time on a golf course, and your reaction should be similar, though not identical, whether you a spectator watching a competition or playing on the course. There are some differences that we will go into here between being a spectator and a player and offer you some choices on what you should do to When you hear ‘Fore” Shouted on a Golf Course and avoid being painfully hit by a golf ball.
When hearing ‘fore’ on a golf course both players and spectators should do one of two things. If close then use, golf carts, golf bags or even umbrellas for protection. If not crouching and covering both head and face with your arms is advised. Running or looking for the ball in flight is not recommended.
NB: If you just heard fore, googled it, and then found this page then it’s too late. if you are still reading the ball missed you, and you should keep reading so you know what to do next time! if you are not reading we guess it hit you, so come back later and learn or next time.
General Rules when you Hear ‘Fore’ Shouted on a Golf Course
Unlike a lot of other ball sports, like Football, Baseball, and even racket sports like squash offer some form of protection. All golf has is a warning. With this lack of protection it is important to know what do do when you hear that warning of a wayward ball ‘fore’ ring out on a golf course.
We will start with what you shouldn’t do when you hear ‘fore’ shouted.
What Not To Do if you Hear ‘fore’ Shouted on a Golf Course?
Although when you hear fore the first instinct will be to turn in that direction and try to spot the 1.6 inch ball flying, possibly, towards you. This instinct needs to be resisted.
The ball will be coming fast and you are unlikely to be able to see it, never mind where it is headed before it gets there. This is even more true if it is a tee shot with a driver which is the fastest and most powerful stroke, although any stroke other than putting of course, can pose a risk.
So do not try to search out the ball, and certainly do not face the direction you think it is coming from.
What to Do if you Hear Fore on the Golf Course
If you hear someone shout “fore” on the golf course, it is important to take immediate action to protect yourself. If you hear fore on a golf course your best action is to:
- duck down in place,
- crouched,
- with your hands covering your head which should be lower than your shoulders.
Unlike climbing where you stay standing, and staring ahead, or sailing where you move to a safer position with a stray golf ball you are unlikely to spot it in time to be proactive and move out of the way.
Remaining alert even if you spot the ball is also important, as upon bounce it could change direction, or it could move in the air if it has been sliced ( and if a player is shouting the warning ‘fore’ this is a high probability. So be prepared for changes in the ball movement, if you have spotted it, especially upon landing. however, if you take the advice above you will be well covered up and not be looking and waiting for it to hit you straight in the face anyway!
We have a couple of exceptions to this advice however.
if there is obvious shelter close by like a restroom, your golf cart, tree or similar sturdy structure Even your golf bag or trolly then sheltering behind that might help. Do not, no matter how tempting use a caddy or another player though – you will not be thanked for it! Only do this if they are right next to you however, other wise as the saying goes shelter in place!
Notes if you hear ‘fore’ shouted on a Golf Course.
Although most likely it will come from behind you it is not guaranteed that the ball will be coming from that direction. golf course have multiple designs and tee shots can be close to the fairways of other holes both behind to the side and ahead. So be aware that shouts may come from in front and too the sides of you and not just from behind.
It’s also important to note that, a shout of ‘Fore’ is not a guarantee that a ball is coming towards you, so be cautious but not overly alarmed. If you notice the golfer who said it is not that close and you see the ball flying off into a different direction, then the warning may not have been meant for you. Also with the use of shotgun starts ‘fore’s houts can happen right form there start of a golf match so be aware.
It’s important to be alert when you’re on a golf course, and to always be aware of your surroundings and the potential hazards that may be present, but its not Laser Quest or Paintball and no one is gunning for you, unless you are using some of the cheats like the Chapstick on a driver cheats we mention here.
Are There Other Warning Shouts on a Golf Course?
Although fore is the more common shout when a golf ball is heading off target, sometimes very common in your early days of golf! In more professional matchs especially tour matches there will be a lot more people on the course as spectators.
Then the shout of ‘fore’ may be suffixed with left or right to give additional information to these fans and spectators on which side need to duck and cover up. So “fore right “or “fore left” may be heard.
Which leads us neatly to what do if you are a spectator and hear the shout of ‘fore’ go up.
What to Do as a Spectator if you Hear ‘fore’ During a Golf Match.
If you are fortunate enough to be watching a professional match with others and you hear the shout ‘fore’ or see marshal with a paddle with their paddle in the direction the ball is travelling. Then you will either be in a tight crowd with no near shelter, or on the course with little more than an umbrella ( if you thought ahead) for projection.
If this situation happens then you do what you would do if you were on the course playing. Crouch, cover your head and hope!.
Although of course we do not wish ill of others, but if everyone else stands there looking for the ball while you are crouched covering your head then you are even less likely to get hit.
What do Professional Golf Players Do if They Hit a Ball in the Crowd?
Although rare, for obvious reasons, it does happen that an errant professional tee shot slices off the face of the driver and rockets at 200 miles an hour into the crowd. it can be quite distressing for both the pro and the person it hits.
While there is not penalty for them not shouting fore, it is good manners, and the person hit will be attended to and, if not requiring immediate medical assistance, will often get a signed momento to go with their apology and bruise from the player.
Spare a moment to think of those spectators hundreds of years ago before dimples on a golf ball allowed a better control on the direction of a shot!
What Happens if you Don’t Shout ‘Fore’ When You Miss Hit a Golf Shot?
Well if you batter the ball into another player and did not shout ‘fore‘ at best you can expect a less than pleasant conversation, the worst can depend on the damage you do and to who you did it to.
Shouting ‘fore’ is more than a courtesy to other players, It is a safety issue that all should adher to. A golf ball travelling at 200, well unless your a pro, 120 miles an hour is at best painful and at worst lethal.
You would expect them to do it for you, so treat others with the same respect you expect. Golf is a sport of etiquette and it’s not classy to not show some in this situation.
Other Warning Shouts in Sports
Golf is not the only sport that sometimes needs to warn spectators and participants when something unexpected or dangerous may be happening. We take a look at a few other warning shouts in sports and what to do if you hear them briefly below.
Climbing: Although a climbing wall, or rock face is not going to be as busy as a Saturday morning on a golf course it does still come with dangers. Climbing equipment like carabiners and belay devices are fairly heavy and chunky pieces of kit. On occasion they can fall either from the climber or the top of the climb.
If this happens you may hear the shout of ‘Below’. Which is shouted to warn those around something is on its way down and gathering speed.
The instant reaction, and one that you should avoid is to look up to see what is on its way down. if you are climbing you should be wearing a helmet and looking up just asks to be hit in the face by whatever is falling. You should keep facing forward and under no circumstances look up. realistically if you are actually on the wall or climbing route there is not much you can do to get out of the way and your helmet is literally for this reason!
If you are at the bottom, and not wearing a helmet then you should at the minimum put your arms over your head. If impact occurs then your arms have more, to be blunt, flesh on them and although painful for sure, will be less damaging that something hitting your head.
Unlike golf there is no real need to crouch down as the object will be coming straight down rather than at an angle and crouching offers not real protection and might even make matters worse.
Sailing: To avoid passengers, and crew, taking an unexpected dip in the ocean sailing has a warning when the boat is about to turn and the Main Sail is going to move over to the other side of the boat.
The main sail will actually move when both tacking and Jibing but Jibing is a quicker and potentially more violent move and there is a shout usually of Jibe Ho or Jibing when it happens to make sure all people on the boat are aware of what is about to happen.
Conclusion
The key things to remember when you hear the shout of ‘fore’ on a golf course is to not look for the ball, but to crouch and cover your head and face ( as much as you can). Do not try to find shelter by running across the fairway, and only seek it if it is close, like a restroom, cart, golf bag or umbrella.
Your instinct will be to look for the ball in flight and move out of its way, but being 1.6 inches and travelling at such a speed (if its a tee shot especially) by the time you spot it it may be too late, covering and crouching will be your best bet to both avoid being hit, and if you are, to avoid at least serious injury as well.
References
- https://www.golfmonthly.com/news/why-bryson-dechambeau-thinks-shouting-fore-is-more-harmful-for-golf-fans
- https://www.golfshake.com/news/view/9357/Why_do_some_Pros_not_shout_FORE.html
- https://www.golfsidekick.com/knowledge/why-do-golfers-shout-fore/
- https://en.as.com/other_sports/why-do-players-yell-fore-in-golf-and-what-does-it-mean-n/
