I saw a group in front of me throw and hit an older lady in the head on a hyzer. She staggered to the ground leaving a pool of blood on the path. Paramedics and police came, thankfully she ended up recovering and was kind enough not to sue or make a case of it. I did hit a teenage girl by accident once; threw a R-Pro boss that just flip over and went crazy in the wind about 75 feet outside the fairway. Thankfully, the disc was gliding and basically landed on top of her head; she was more surprised then hurt. I have never since thrown that disc or anything like it since and am always watchful of pedestrians.
If there are people in the fairway, I do one of the following:
- If they are walking, simply wait. Talk discs if they are slow walking...
- If they are sitting, either attempt to get their attention or just throw a disc I know will never go far enough (putter) or just skip the hole.
- If they are standing and there aren't young children, I may throw a roller...they usually are mildly startled and confused as a disc rolls past them.
If the park has a designated Disc Golf area, then I may kindly let the know what is happening. Many people are just ignorant about Disc Golf and what the baskets are for. I've seen families picnic with the basket in the middle of there group. I've even heard of people using Disc Golf baskets as grills (no idea how that even...ya...). If the park is multi-purpose without a designated Disc Golf area, then I typically don't approach them since (as many have stated) they have as much right to be there as we do. Exception would be if a tournament is going on...
I live in Idaho, so as far as cows on the course...ya well...I just drive. I doubt they'd even feel it if I hit the with my noodle arm. If there were bulls well, that'd be a different story. And no, I've never hit a cow. Seen geese hit tho.