Clip of angry golfers slugging it out at Kent-area course finds worldwide audience
A Father's Day weekend brawl involving six golfers at Raccoon Hill Golf Club in Franklin Township was captured in a video that has gone viral on social media.
One man was taken to a hospital by ambulance for his injuries after the June 15 fight, said Jason Turner, the course's general manager. He said the other five people involved left in their own vehicles and that at that time no charges had been pressed. He added that he believed the man who went to the hospital was in his late 60s.
The Portage County Sheriff's Office said the incident is under investigation.
Turner said he thought each group consisted of a father and two sons.
"In both groups, it was an older guy with two younger guys," Turner said. "They did not know each other. On hole 14, the group that was behind the first group inadvertently hit into them. It wasn't on purpose. That hole has a bit of a dogleg and it can be tough to see. The ball came close to [the first group]."
However, at the 16th hole — another dogleg — the group that was behind had driven up to see if the group ahead of them had moved on and disrupted their game, Turner said.
"That's when the conversation about which group had more etiquette occurred," Turner said. "The irony here is both groups started a fight in the middle of the fairway, which shows that neither group was showing etiquette."
The video, captured from a distance as bystanders are heard profanely expressing their surprise at the unfolding scene, shows the men throwing punches and at times wrestling each other to the ground. It ends as voices yell at the group to "cut it out." As of midday Wednesday, the post had been viewed more than 230,400 times on X.
"I hope they are thoroughly embarrassed by all this attention," Turner said of the squabbling golfers.
Reporter April Helms can be reached at ahelms@thebeaconjournal.com
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Golfers' fight at Kent-area club goes viral
