What Did You Do That Fore?
Golf etiquette went out the door at Stockwood Park Golf Course when a player was attacked with a golf club.Harold Stafford was at the 3rd hole when he must have hit a shocker because he came racing over to the 13th hole where Barry Barnes and his friends were playing and accused them of playing his ball.Despite denials from the group Mr Staford continued to scream at them, making Mr Barnes miss his putt. One thing lead to another and it was then alleged Mr Stafford began hitting Mr Barnes with his club. Not happy with with his effort he began kicking Barnes while he was lying on the ground. Prosecutor Natalie Carter said during the trial “Although golf is usually thought to be a relaxing pastime, on this day in September it was not.” Ya think? So how much does a golf ball cost these days?
I have known Harold Stafford (Ricky) for over 12 years and he is intelligent, thoughtful and respectful. I have also read the statements from Barry Barnes and his group and they do not corroberate each other. Mr Stafford has been a Psychiatric nurse for many years and is trained to deal with difficult residents in his care and moreover, I have been with him and seen him disarm situations of this sort. In fact I have never seen him loose his temper. Therefore, I do not believe Mr Stafford started anything but that this has an udercurrent of racism from the other party and that Mr Stafford would only have defended himself in a situation like this.