Golfer Drowns After Trying To Recover His Ball From Water

The 90-year-old died on Thursday morning in a tragic accident

Golfer Drowns After Trying To Recover His Ball From Water

The 90-year-old died on Thursday morning in a tragic accident

Golfer Drowns After Trying To Recover His Ball From Water

Last week, a man tragically died after trying to recover his ball out of a water hazard at Rogues Roost Golf Course in New York, according to New York State Police.

Alan J. Goldberg, a 90-year-old lawyer at the Sugarman Law Firm in Syracus, lost his balance and fell into the eight-foot-deep water that was described by police as murky before drowning. 

The accident happened last week at around 11.30 am on Thursday morning and all the initial evidence indicates that Goldberg’s death was an accidental drowning, although the results of an autopsy have still to be released. 

Related: Golfer arrested after fight breaks out in Korn Ferry Tour qualifier

Although rare, incidents like this can happen. At the end of February, another golfer, Hermilo Jazmines, was found dead in the middle of a pond at East Lake Woodlands Country Club in Florida. The 74-year-old’s death was also ruled accidental with his friends saying he “like to go looking for lost balls along the way.”

It's a reminder for golfers out there to be careful as water hazards, while often a source of amusement on the course, can be dangerous and, in extreme cases, lead to fatal accidents.

Andrew Wright
Freelance News Writer

A lifelong golf fan, Andy graduated in 2019 with a degree in Sports Journalism and got his first role in the industry as the Instruction Editor for National Club Golfer. From there, he decided to go freelance and now covers a variety of topics for Golf Monthly. 


Andy took up the game at the age of seven and even harboured ambitions of a career in the professional ranks for a spell. That didn’t pan out, but he still enjoys his weekend golf at Royal Troon and holds a scratch handicap. As a side note, he's made five holes-in-one and could quite possibly be Retief Goosen’s biggest fan.


As well as the above, some of Andy's work has featured on websites such as goal.com, dailyrecord.co.uk, and theopen.com.


What's in Andy's bag?

Driver: Callaway Mavrik Sub-Zero (9°)

3-wood: TaylorMade Stealth 2 Plus (15°)

Driving iron: Titleist U500 (17°)

Irons: Mizuno mp32 (4-PW)

Wedges: Titleist Vokey SM9 (50°, 54° and 58°)

Putter: Titleist Scotty Cameron Newport 2.5

Ball: TaylorMade TP5x