Summary
holding that plaintiff assumed risk of injury when walking over mound of earth between putting green and a cart path, given plaintiff's general familiarity with the course from previous rounds
Summary of this case from Hahn v. Town of W. HaverstrawOpinion
July 25, 1994
Appeal from the Supreme Court, Westchester County (Nastasi, J.).
Ordered that the order is affirmed, with costs.
The plaintiff was injured while walking over a low mound of earth that separated the seventh green from the golf cart path on the defendant's Sprain Lake public golf course. We agree with the Supreme Court's conclusion that the plaintiff, by voluntarily traversing this topographical feature of the golf course, assumed the risk of injury therefrom and is precluded from recovery (see, Morales v. New York City Hous. Auth., 187 A.D.2d 295; Pascucci v. Town of Oyster Bay, 186 A.D.2d 725; Melko v. Town of Islip, 172 A.D.2d 729). The plaintiff testified that she was aware of the mound of earth having traversed it on a prior occasion, and the photographic evidence reveals it to be a gently sloping feature of the golf course separating the golf cart path from the playing area. We thus agree with the Supreme Court that the risk of injury, if any, was apparent, foreseeable, and voluntarily assumed by the plaintiff (see, Murphy v. Steeplechase Amusement Co., 250 N.Y. 479, 482-483). Moreover, we find that the terrain around the green was inherent to the nature of the golf course and that, under the circumstances, the plaintiff was not unnecessarily or unreasonably exposed to danger (see, Csukardi v Bishop McDonnell Camp, 148 A.D.2d 657; Roberts v. Ausable Chasm Co., 47 A.D.2d 979).
We have reviewed the plaintiff's remaining contentions and find them to be without merit. Rosenblatt, J.P., Miller, Ritter and Santucci, JJ., concur.