I believe as the person hitting the golf ball, you should give a warning if you believe the ball you just hit could potentially hit a person, especially if that person is in your sightline.

A course that I play at has the same issue. #'s 1 and 10 run down either side of the range. I have shanked a couple over toward #10 tee and thought good thing no one was teeing off. Probably should yell out if there is the possibility of someone getting it. That is if you can see them.

Anytime a golf ball is struck regardless of where on the course and heading in a direction that could put anyone in peril not only should you warn the person, but you have the responsibility to warn the person.

I feel your pain (not literally). Back when I lived in Texas, the 9th hole at my course (Squaw Creek, Willow Park) was on the right side of the range. It was common to pull a tee shot into the range. Most people warming up would see you and wave you up while holding off hitting shots but occasionally there was that one jerk that would keep hitting and put your life in danger. Luckily I survived and have not had that problem at our courses here in Surprise AZ. Stay safe!

Just one person's opinion...

- If you willing walk into a range, you have put yourself at risk. This is a known firing zone. Live to fight another day and consider it lost. Range is OB anyway.

- If you are on the course and ball is then hit from the range towards you, the FORE should defintiely be yelled as an alert. Ideally, the FORE would be followed up by the hole number (ie. FORE on 9!!!!)

Andrew - Just to be clear, my ball was outside the range but with no net there are a lot of balls along the left side of the fairway that make it difficult to find your own unless it is a different color (range balls are white). Whenever I see someone actually enter the range to get a ball, I think "my life isn't worth $4".

BTW, not all ranges are OB. My home course in TX was not. It was marked red stakes so you had the choice to drop or play. It has been over 10 years and had a major remodel so might be different now, I have not been back.

The courses should identify all the root causes. Common enough to warrant a fence? White stack your fairway to limit their exposure? One course near me limits driving range to 250 yards, but does not marshal the area. I’ll also assume that most of the shots offline are from not so good golfers. Less likely to yell fore. In this case, not sure how binding the clause is for “accept all risk” is if players in actual fairway are at frequent risk.

Me, I would have taken a drop and played on. Not putting myself in danger. I am just not going to spend time looking for my ball among range balls, in a danger zone. If this is a public course, most on the range do not know where their ball is going to begin with. We have that issue on our first hole. The range is very wide, but yet they hit their balls with those big slices thru the trees onto the first fairway. One of our elders is out now, having had surgery because his was hit by a golf ball while picking up golf balls on the range. He works there part time. And yes I know how it feels to get hit by a golf ball. I wore a Titleist logo on the back of my knee for a few weeks when someone next to me on the range hit an errant shot. Would be nice if they would yell fore when they hit into you on the course as well on public courses. Golf etiquette just ain't what it use to be.

Chuck - Unfortunately they don't get that excuse. I paid good money to be a member here. And on more than a couple of occasions out on the course I have had to remind people about yelling fore.

I feel your frustration. I have had to remind people about yelling fore and remind them that if it happened again them might just see it coming back at them. Which I would not do but they got the point. We were on the range this morning, warming up and a husband and his wife were there practicing. They were in desperate need of help and I recommend that they see our teaching pros because golf can actually be a fun game when you hit the ball correctly. They almost hit my buddy on the range and did not apologize. No etiquette, no idea where their balls were going. Tried to be friendly and explain that they need to practice with a purpose not just to try to hit the ball. This is so true of a lot of golfers. Tiger has bought on a boom of newbies over the past years who want to be like Tiger, with getting a solid foundation, understanding the game, the rules, the etiquette, and so on. And then you have the jerks who just do not care about others on the course. Unfortunately, things we have to live with if we want to play the game. If this is a private membership club, I would speak with the head pro pointing out the violators. Let management handle it. If it is semi-private or public (some public courses do have memberships/passholders), kinda hard to regulate. Bottom line they should yell fore. Are they going to? Some will and some will not.

I honestly just think it’s common courtesy to yell fore. Yeah it might be embarrassing to yell at a driving range but heck, hit it straight.

Shouldn’t matter if it’s from the range or the practice green, it’s good form to yell fore if someone is in harms way.

I would but I'm just that way, you know taking personal responsibility.

Whoa!

They should have given you a warning, but didn't. My course's range is also marked with red stakes. #10 runs along the right side of the range and I've played out of it several times (probably more than I should) if is isn't busy. I've also dropped to avoid the possibility of getting schwacked as well. Regardless, don't let the action (or inaction in this case) of one idiot spoil your fun. There are clowns everywhere, don't let them get to you and don't turn into one!

You should always yell fore if in doubt for some someone’s safety.