Pennsylvania

Fight Over Puddles That Included a 3-Wood to the Head Lands 2 Men in Legal Hot Water

Two golfers have been charged with assault after they came to blows while arguing about the rules at a Pennsylvania course, and one of them allegedly hit the other in the head with a 3-wood, police said.

State police in Uniontown filed the charges Wednesday against Roger Lee Harris, 63, and Bryan Bandes, 42, both of North Union Township. They were golfing in a group with three others at the Springdale Golf Course near Uniontown on Sunday when they argued about rules involving “casual water” -- or puddles -- after it rained briefly.

After settling that dispute on the fifth hole, the men argued again on the seventh hole, with Harris hitting Bandes with the club and the men trading punches, Trooper George Mrosko wrote in a criminal complaint.

Harris “who has his club in his hand, gripping it near the head, swung the club, striking (Bandes) in the left forearm and the top of the head,”Mrosko wrote, noting that Bandes was trying to fend off the blow with his arm.

After that, the trooper wrote, a “melee ensued” with both men trading punches. Harris wound up with a swollen jaw, a fat lip and a scratched eye. Bandes went to Uniontown Hospital where he was treated for a mild concussion and an injury to his forearm.

Harris was charged with aggravated assault and simple assault, because he allegedly used a weapon -- the golf club -- while Bandes was charged only with simple assault. Both face a preliminary hearing Aug. 13.

Online court records don't list attorneys for the men. Bandes did not answer calls to his home telephone, while The Associated Press could not immediately locate a number for Harris on Thursday.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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