Ball flies off Cavendish golf course, hits car windshield with driver inside

A Prince Edward Island woman wants Parks Canada and Green Gables Golf Club to do more to keep the public safe after a golf ball hit her car last Sunday.

Kathy Carver said she was driving along Route 6 by the Green Gables Golf Club on July 18 when the incident occurred. She was on her way to Cavendish Beach.

"I had just passed the green at the 17th hole and all of a sudden I heard this awful noise. I didn't know what it was," said Carver. "I looked down and I could see blood."

A golf ball smashed into the windshield of Carver's SUV and sent pieces of tempered glass flying. Carver pulled over and turned her hazard lights on.

"I was just completely in shock. I thought maybe I'd been shot," Carver said.

According to Carver, the golf ball almost came through her window. She did not require any stitches after the event, but her arms were bleeding from pieces of her broken windshield.

'Upset, hysterical'

After she pulled over, Carver said she got out of her car and walked toward the golf course to see who the golfers were.

"I'm standing there bleeding and probably looking like I'm insane," she said.

Carver found the golfer who had hit the ball and explained to him what had happened.

"He turned as white as I probably looked."

The golfer helped to pay the cost of replacing Carver's windshield, she said.

Carver later called her brother, Murray Campbell, to come pick her up at the golf course's clubhouse as she was not in a state to drive.

"She sounded really upset, hysterical. She was crying," Campbell said.

'I don't feel safe anymore'

Carver said she's worried this will happen to someone else. She wants a net installed at the golf course or for the 17th hole to be redesigned.

"I do have anxiety and I have not been able to drive on Route 6 since because I don't feel safe anymore," she said.

Green Gables Golf Club is privately managed but located on land owned by Parks Canada. Management of the golf course declined to be interviewed by CBC News. In a statement, Green Gables Golf Club said it is looking into ways to prevent "this unfortunate event" from happening again.

In a statement to CBC News, Parks Canada said Carver had not directly contacted the organization yet. However, Carver said she emailed both Parks Canada and the golf course.

"We extend our concern to [Carver]," the statement said.

"Parks Canada is in communication and working closely with the golf course operator on this matter."

The statement also said Parks Canada management will meet this week to discuss the incident and next steps. It did not specify what those steps will be, but Parks Canada said it has redesigned golf holes and installed nets at other golf courses in the past.

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