Golf course safety : Getting the shaft - Brief Article

This really happened, but don't worry, nobody died: Two friends are playing golf in southern California. One vents his frustration by banging his putter against the cart. The shaft snaps and the putterhead goes flying, impaling the man's partner. The shaft enters his neck near his right clavicle, narrowly missing both the carotid artery and jugular vein. The jagged end of the broken shaft, nearly seven inches long, can be felt through the skin of his back. "A fraction of an inch one way or the other and it could have paralyzed him, or even killed him," says the trauma surgeon who performed the emergency operation, adding that the golfers did the right thing by not removing the shaft themselves. "I've thrown clubs before," the surgeon says, "but no more. Please tell your readers that golf is just a game, one that can turn very dangerous in a careless instant."

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