David Clark Scott of CSMonitor.com reports on a bizarre, golf-related court ruling in Canada recently. Justice Arthur J. LeBlanc recently ruled that running up to the ball to whack it, like Adam Sandler in the movie Happy Gilmore, should be considered a legal breach of “the standard of care owed to other players on the course.”
“I am convinced that the “Happy Gilmore” shot,” wrote Judge Le Blanc in his decision, “would have been less controllable than a normal tee shot, both because it involved a run-up to the ball (rather than an aimed shot from a stationary position) and because the defendant had been drinking throughout the day
Uh, Ohhh-kay. So why the heck did this even come in a Canadian court?
A Canadian man sued his golfing buddy for $227,500 after he was struck by a tee shot in which his friend employed a Happy Gilmore-style run-up to the ball. The judge ruled that because of the unorthodox ball approach and swing, the plantiff was entitled to hundreds of thousands of dollars in damages.
With our world populated with millions of idiots with bizarre golf swings and a healthy disrespect to golf etiquette, that judgement sounds like it could possibly be a rather expensive precedent for the goofy shooter in your life.
Not to mention John Daly.
Amazing though that Happy Gilmore’s golf game ends up as part of a court judgement and it doesn’t involve Bob Barker.
5:12 pm on November 25th, 2009
Happy Gilmore did more to raise awareness of the beloved Canadian sport than NHL and winter Olympic marketing combined…and now a judge does this. Those crazy Cannucks. Next thing they will adopt government health care.
7:02 pm on November 25th, 2009
Spoken like a true a**hole.
Least he probably won’t do something as crazy as lie about a threat to start a war with Iraq that had no ties to 9/11 simply to establish crude oil control and major corporation contracts at the expense of 5,000 Americans’ lives, 30,000+ critically wounded, at a few trillion dollars on the backs of American taxpayers. Now that would be crazy if that ever happened.
You may not want health care for your fellow Americans, and that’s fine–conceded and shortsighted, but fine. I’m sure you have many sound reasons why the commonwealth of a nation couldn’t possibly benefit from assuring your child, brother, sister, father, or mother that they would be able to get an early diagnosis and proper treatment to preserve their right to pursue life, liberty, and happiness that you just might possibly be taking for granted. I know, you already pay so many taxes most Americans have to choose between the light bill that allows them to charge their new iPhone with their monthly data plan so they can tweet about their incredibly unfortunate life and going hungry. Oh wait, people can spare a little more to help their neighbor? No, no. That’s crazy.
But, assuming your a big fan of the “way things were” from 01-20-01 to 01-19-09, justifying that you don’t mind shipping young men, women, our fathers, mothers, halfway across the world for a yet to be determined good reason and then shipped back in body bags, or deformed and mutilated, or with such guilt they suffer everyday for the rest of their lives some eventually take it themselves is obviously a worthy endeavor that will shine bright with pride without defect in our history books for all time.
But yeah, I agree this was a pointless and totally uncool act by Canada’s legal system.
Happy Gilmore is in big trouble, Jack. He’s lost the power to hit the long ball.
10:02 am on November 26th, 2009
WTF! Manifesto Canadian Man paid us a visit? Dude, chillax - “placebo” made a funny and you got boned while we pissed our pants laughing - get over it.
BTW - the judge is a douche, eh?
11:30 am on November 26th, 2009
feel better You Know Who? that was one tirade you let out of your system.
12:11 pm on November 26th, 2009
when the day comes that we blow up Canada and destroy them like we do every other country, the maple syrup will be ours!!
8:14 am on December 9th, 2009
What is Gilmore swing ?does there is number of different swings in golf?then how it was categorized.