Anyone who has ever played golf knows that tempers tend to flare on the course. Players have a tendency to be frustrated with their game, are often drinking alcohol, and for some reason feel the need to flex their muscles in front of other golfers. Arguments on the golf course are a common occurrence, but fortunately what happened to 48-year old Clay Carpenter is not. According to the Star-Telegram, Carpenter was reportedly stabbed with a broken club by another golfer after Carpenter’s threesome tried to play through the attacker’s foursome.
The stab punctured Carpenter’s femoral artery and could cost him his leg. He was released from Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital on Sunday and could need more surgeries.
“People get in arguments every day on every golf course in America,” Carpenter said. “But 99.9 percent of the time no one takes it this far.
“If (the blood flow in my leg) does not regenerate it will be no good to me. I’ll never be able to lift my feet up again. I’ve run full marathons, and I’ll never be a runner again. I’ve lost the ability to properly use my leg. I’ll have to use a brace on this right leg forever.”
Police in Tarrant County, Texas are investigating the incident. As if the story isn’t unusual enough, the 9-1-1 call is even more strange. A man who identified himself as a member of the foursome that was playing in front of Carpenter placed an 11-minute emergency call and sounded unsure about how the injury occurred.
“He fell on a golf club or something,” the caller reportedly said. “He’s passed out once already. We’ve got his artery clamped with our hand. We don’t know this guy. They were golfers behind us. He’s not in our group.”
Carpenter said the attacker tried to hit him in the head with a club before stabbing him, and he grabbed the club and snapped it. If the caller was playing ahead of the threesome that was trying to play through and was present when the brawl broke out, it would be tough to imagine he does not know what happened. Somebody should remind these people that golf is just a game.
H/T Devil Ball Golf
