ORLANDO, Fla. — PGA Tour golfer Tripp Isenhour was charged with killing a hawk on purpose with a golf shot because it was making noise as he videotaped a TV show
Isenhour was with a film crew for "Shoot Like A Pro" on Dec. 12 at the Grand Cypress Golf course. The 39-year-old golfer, whose real name is John Henry Isenhour III, was charged Wednesday with cruelty to animals and killing a migratory bird.
The charges carry a maximum penalty of 14 months in jail and $1,500 in fines.
According to court documents, Isenhour got upset when a red-shouldered hawk began making noise, forcing another take. He began hitting balls at the bird, then 300 yards away, but gave up.
Isenhour started again when the hawk moved within about 75 yards, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officer Brian Baine indicated in a report.
Isenhour allegedly said "I'll get him now," and aimed for the hawk.
"About the sixth ball came very near the bird's head, and (Isenhour) was very excited that it was so close," Baine wrote.
A few shots later, witnesses said he hit the hawk. The bird, protected as a migratory species, fell to the ground bleeding from both nostrils.
Isenhour's agent, John Mascatello with SFX World Sports Management, did not immediately return an e-mail or telephone message Thursday.
"He just kept saying how he didn't think he could have hit it, which I think is a stupid thing for a PGA Tour golfer to say," said Jethro Senger, a sound engineer at the shoot. "He can put a ball in a hole from hundreds of yards away, and here he is hitting line drives at something that's, I don't know, a couple hundred feet away?"
Senger said it was "basically like a joke to (Isenhour)." He said no one in the roughly 15-person crew intervened, and many later regretted it.
"It was one of those cases where there's some trepidation on whether or not they should speak up and do something," Senger said.
Senger said the killing was not captured on video. The bird was buried at the golf course and later dug up by Florida investigators.
Isenhour, of Salisbury, N.C., turned pro in 1990. He had two wins on the Nationwide Tour in 2006.
He just kept saying how he didn't think he could have hit it, which I think is a stupid thing for a PGA Tour golfer to say," said Jethro Senger, a sound engineer at the shoot. "He can put a ball in a hole from hundreds of yards away, and here he is hitting line drives at something that's, I don't know, a couple hundred feet away?"
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That's a pretty stupid comment. Not even Tiger can hit a ball "hundreds of yards", unless it's over a high cliff, much less put it in a hole from that distance.
That being said, that golfer was a complete MorMon for doing what he did and not realizing that, I don't know, about almost every in the world would be on his ass for being such a dope. His staff can't be very bright either.
For some reason this story reminds me of the Beverly Hillbillies episode where they were shooting flies from the front porch toward the end of the lo-o-o-ong driveway. "No fair Jethro, that one landed." said Uncle Jed.
dob
How does a hawk, 300 yards away---make a noise loud enough to interupt a shot?
What a bunch of nancies------they should be playing in a climate controlled dome...
As a kid, five of us were walking thru town one night---we saw an owl on a ledge----my pal Steve Green threw a snow ball at it an narrowly missed.....as we walked away, five abreast----the owl swooped from behind us, Picked Steve out and taloned his head-----too bad this hawk couldn't have done the same thing..
leo
My dad has has a nesting pair of red tailed hawks (which are about the same size as a red shouldered hawk) at his farm for the past 10-15 years now.
They've had a few young ones hatch and when they're fledging, they get real hungry and screech for food that ain't coming!
The get pretty noisy, but not so loud that it could possibly bother you from 300 yards away! Their nest is about 125 yards from the barn and you can hear them screeching away, but it's not very loud. I had a young one make his way up to the barn one day and land in a big pine tree directly above me. I was working on some farm equipment right under him. Now THAT was loud enough to annoy anyone. All he did was sit there and screech until I tried shaking some of the lower branches and he flew off.
This guy should be tied to a post and then used as a target for the golf course's driving range.
What a jerk. Too bad we still don't use pillories.
