Ideally, a round of golf is a good long walk, spoiled by intermittent swings of a club at a small, stationary ball, producing more or less attractive and effective arcs of flight. The more sinister golf courses impede this walk and the ball’s trajectory towards a hole with various hazards of trees, water, hills, and sand, tormenting players of various skill to corresponding various degrees.

What no golfer expects, while making the leisurely rounds of nine or eighteen holes, however, is to find himself chest deep in quicksand.

Quicksand Trap

To be clear, we’re not talking about being on a golf course named “Quicksand,” which, to us, doesn’t seem like the best way to advertise a round of golf. No, we’re talking about actual quicksand, the geological feature comprised of fine granular material and water known to swallow heavy objects, like humans.

Kenneth Falk was one such human, enjoying a round of golf on Connecticut’s Candlewood Valley Country Club in September 2015. Mr. Falk, like many golfers before and since, “drove a shot that went off the fairway and into the rough.” He went in search of said wayward shot and found his ball “in plain view, atop some leaves.”

Out of Bounds?

Surprisingly, that’s not what Mr. Falk is suing the Candlewood Valley Country Club over. Instead, Falk claims his detour into quicksand (from which he required rescue by other golfers) caused him:

Mr. Falk is asking for money damages to compensate him for his injuries, and perhaps a ruling from the United States Golf Association on whether he has to play his ball as it lies.

(a) left knee pain; (b) left knee MCL sprain; (c) difficulty walking; (d) difficulty standing; (e) difficulty ascending/descending stairs; (f) gait change; (g) left knee effusion; (h) left knee swelling; (i) fear for his life; (j) suffering, both physical and mental.

Related Resources:

  • Golf Course Quicksand Swallows Most Of Golfer, Lawsuit Follows (Golf Dispute Resolution)
  • Golf Ball Goliath Sues Bunch of Davids Over Patents (FindLaw’s Tarnished Twenty)
  • Transgendered Golfer Lana Lawless Takes on LPGA (FindLaw’s Tarnished Twenty)
  • Robin Yount Hunts Quail, Shoots Cubs Manager in the Head (FindLaw’s Tarnished Twenty)

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