Golf Course Brawl|Could Cost a Leg

DALLAS (CN) - A drunken, slow golfer sliced through a man's femoral artery with a broken putter after a golf course marshal told the victim's threesome to play through, the man claims in court.

Clay Carpenter sued The Resort Golf Club in Dallas County Court. He claims he nearly bled to death and may lose one leg below the knee because of the drunken attack on the back nine.

Carpenter says he was playing a round of golf with two friends at The Golf Club at the Resort, in Fort Worth, when they encountered a slow-moving group of golfers ahead of them at the twelfth hole, on Feb. 3.

Carpenter say his threesome never asked to play through the foursome ahead, but were content to play as they were.

Nonetheless, he says, the course's "golf pro/golf course marshall insisted they play through ... because there were empty holes ahead."

Carpenter says the golf pro/marshall asked them to wait until he cleared it with the foursome.

"After a period of time, the golf pro/marshall returned and stated the threesome could play through," the complaint states. "The golf pro/marshall then stated 'One of them up there ain't right.'"

Carpenter claims the pro instructed them to play through despite the potentially volatile situation.

He claims that as he approached the tee box of the 13th hole, he was approached by Roy Vinson, who "appeared to be intoxicated, was cursing, making threats to 'kick their [expletive],' using heated words and asking 'which of you [expletives] called the marshall on us?'" (Brackets and Bowdlerization in complaint.)

Vinson is not named as a defendant in the heading of the complaint, but is referred to as "defendant Vinson" in the body of the complaint.

Carpenter claims that "defendant Vinson was obviously intoxicated and presented a clear danger to himself and others."

He says the rest of Vinson's foursome "also began shouting expletives and making threats of physical harm to the other individuals in the threesome."

A heated argument ensued, when "Without warning, defendant Vinson stepped back and assaulted plaintiff Clay Carpenter with his in a 'tomahawk-chop' manner," the complaint states. "Plaintiff Clay Carpenter attempted to block the club with his left hand. The club was brought down with such great force that it not only broke plaintiff Clay Carpenter's thumb, but it also broke the head off the shaft, leaving only a jagged golf club shaft."

Carpenter says he tackled Vinson and tired to subdue him, in self-defense, but fell onto the broken club shaft Vinson was holding. The club "traveled through (his) lower abdomen/groin area ... and pierced (his) right femoral artery," Carpenter says.

"Carpenter briefly stood, noticed the large amounts of blood flowing from his body and fell back to the ground where he proceeded to bleed profusely and lose consciousness," the complaint states. "Carpenter remembers very little due to the large amount of blood that was lost."

Carpenter claims says he almost died in transit to the hospital. He says he has lost the use of his right leg and foot and faces the possibility of a below-knee amputation.

He seeks actual and punitive damages for negligence, premises liability and dram shop liability.

He is represented by Kevin Edwards with Edwards & de la Cerda.

Follow @davejourno

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