PGA Golfer who hates Birdies

[The Nation]

Mighty interesting.

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP)—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.

Source

I hope he is punished to the fullest extent of the law....what a jerk!

[DDR]

I enjoy when someone is accused of doing something (or in this case caught) they always try to tout their character. "My family adopted three cats." Super. You still deliberately hit golf balls at an animal. I don't care if it was a protected species or not.

[DEAD!]

This could be the first... and last time we'll hear of Tripp Isenhour.

[dfwabel]

He is a player on the Nationwide Tour for 2008. This is like a Triple-A player committing a crime. Too much attention.

[ShinyHubCaps]

I'll never understand people who do cruelty to animals. I like animals, and I know that a lot of people do not, but at any rate, this guy sounds like a total jerk. It sounds like frustration because his golf play never got him news, and then this did.

[HedleyLamarr]

Should this guy really be making an instructional video if it took him over 10 shots to hit a bird?

[IronChefShark]

its much more fun to run over squirrels with your truck or better yet, drop bricks on them after stunning them with a rat trap

[DEAD!]

Should this guy really be making an instructional video if it took him over 10 shots to hit a bird?

Should this guy really be making an instructional video if he's on the Nationwide Tour?

[Seadragon76]

Should this guy really be making an instructional video if it took him over 10 shots to hit a bird?

Should this guy really be making an instructional video if he's on the Nationwide Tour?

Should this guy really be making an instructional video at all?

Plus, here at CCSLC we don't kill birds... We just flip them!