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So you and your pals have driven to northern Michigan to play a round of golf at one of its many, beautiful golf courses.  You get to the starter shack at the first tee box and the person takes down your assigned golf cart number and then presents to you a “Golf Cart Agreement”.  You likely are told it is required that you sign the agreement before you can tee off.  Chatter about the course and where the pins are located that day coupled with cart-path-only rules, follow as the signature sheet is placed in front of you to sign.  You are consumed with the moment and beauty of the anticipated round; you could care less about the golf cart agreement because you know you will be a responsible person and nothing dramatic will happen.  You tee one down the middle of hole number one and off you go.  Unbeknownst to you, however, the grounds keeping crew forgot to put a sprinkler drain head-cover back on an irrigation system being worked on that morning.  Tall grass grows around the large uncovered hole by the green.  You make your put and walk off heading to your golf cart and…..down goes your foot and leg.  You hyper-extend your knee and tear your ACL.  Golf season is now over.  And then the really bad news is revealed: that so-called “Golf Cart Agreement” was less about the golf cart and your responsibility for any damage you may cause to it and more about your having just completely released the golf course of any liability, whatsoever, for its negligence which caused your torn ACL.  The dirt literally is in the details.  Read any such form that is shoved into your hands while you are pulling out the driver on hole number one.  You likely will sign it anyway because you want to play; but just be informed of what it is that you are signing and giving up in the process.  For those of you who did not have to sign a “Golf Cart Agreement” or its equivalent and were injured because of the negligence of a golf course or its employees, please contact Smith & Johnson, Attorneys, P.C., for your free consultation about your legal rights.

Authored by L. Page Graves

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