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South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com
Pro golfer Tripp Isenhour charged with killing hawk with golf ball
Sarah Lundy
Sentinel Staff Writer
11:34 AM EST, March 6, 2008
Pro golfer Tripp Isenhour took aim with his golf club and shot a birdie at Grand Cypress Golf Club.
Well, it was actually a red-shouldered hawk with an annoying song.
The ball soared nearly 75 yards in the air, smacked the noisy bird out of tree and killed the feathered creature.
Orange County prosecutors were not amused. They filed two misdemeanor charges -- cruelty to animals and killing an migratory bird -- against the Nationwide Tour player.
Tripp, 39, could face up to a $10,000 fine.
The fatal swing took place on Dec. 12 while Isenhour was taping a video "Shoot Like a Pro." A film crew was taping the Orlando golfer saying some lines when the hawk started singing about 300 yards away. Its noise stopped the taping at least twice, said sound engineer Jethro Senger.
That's what appeared to set Isenhour off, according to Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission reports. He hopped into a golf cart and drove around a lake to the tree where the bird sat. For 10 minutes, while the crew waited, Isenhour hit several golf balls toward the bird.
The golfer gave up and returned the set, Senger told investigators.
The bird then flew closer to the crew and perched in a tall tree about 75 yards away. He continued singing. Isenhour started hitting drives at the bird -- getting closer with each swing, witnesses told investigators.
One ball hit the tree trunk, making a loud sound.
On his 10th swing, the ball hit the bird, causing it to fall more than 30 feet to the ground.
Isenhour yelled, "I didn't think I would hit it."
Senger and others ran to the bird.
"The bird was on his back, bleeding from his nostrils, his mouth was opening and closing slowly, and it was looking up at me as people ran over," Senger told wildlife officials.
The sound engineer picked up the bird and put it on a golf cart.
"I saw its eyes slowly close and I was pretty sure that the bird had died," Senger said to investigators.
The bird was buried on Grand Cypress property.
Wildlife officials later dug up the bird, however, and preserved it in Ocala if needed for trial, according to investigative records.
A prosecutor, who reviewed the case for charges, suggested the golfer do community service at Audubon Center for Birds of Prey, if the center will have him, according to the case report.
Copyright © 2008, Orlando Sentinel
South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com
Pro golfer Tripp Isenhour charged with killing hawk with golf ball
Sarah Lundy
Sentinel Staff Writer
11:34 AM EST, March 6, 2008
Pro golfer Tripp Isenhour took aim with his golf club and shot a birdie at Grand Cypress Golf Club.
Well, it was actually a red-shouldered hawk with an annoying song.
The ball soared nearly 75 yards in the air, smacked the noisy bird out of tree and killed the feathered creature.
Orange County prosecutors were not amused. They filed two misdemeanor charges -- cruelty to animals and killing an migratory bird -- against the Nationwide Tour player.
Tripp, 39, could face up to a $10,000 fine.
The fatal swing took place on Dec. 12 while Isenhour was taping a video "Shoot Like a Pro." A film crew was taping the Orlando golfer saying some lines when the hawk started singing about 300 yards away. Its noise stopped the taping at least twice, said sound engineer Jethro Senger.
That's what appeared to set Isenhour off, according to Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission reports. He hopped into a golf cart and drove around a lake to the tree where the bird sat. For 10 minutes, while the crew waited, Isenhour hit several golf balls toward the bird.
The golfer gave up and returned the set, Senger told investigators.
The bird then flew closer to the crew and perched in a tall tree about 75 yards away. He continued singing. Isenhour started hitting drives at the bird -- getting closer with each swing, witnesses told investigators.
One ball hit the tree trunk, making a loud sound.
On his 10th swing, the ball hit the bird, causing it to fall more than 30 feet to the ground.
Isenhour yelled, "I didn't think I would hit it."
Senger and others ran to the bird.
"The bird was on his back, bleeding from his nostrils, his mouth was opening and closing slowly, and it was looking up at me as people ran over," Senger told wildlife officials.
The sound engineer picked up the bird and put it on a golf cart.
"I saw its eyes slowly close and I was pretty sure that the bird had died," Senger said to investigators.
The bird was buried on Grand Cypress property.
Wildlife officials later dug up the bird, however, and preserved it in Ocala if needed for trial, according to investigative records.
A prosecutor, who reviewed the case for charges, suggested the golfer do community service at Audubon Center for Birds of Prey, if the center will have him, according to the case report.
Copyright © 2008, Orlando Sentinel
