DEREK Clark was right to hand out the warning to members of the public about the dangers of walking on Lochgelly golf course.

A golf course can be a very dangerous place if people don't avoid fairways and greens.

Having been almost hit by golf balls while playing the game it can be lethal if you blunder into a place you should not be.

I know someone who did get hit on the head by a golf ball and it has taken him a couple of years to properly recover.

He has suffered from severe headaches and other issues since the accident that occurred, not at Lochgelly, but another West Fife course after he was struck near a green

With the season almost upon us the traffic on courses such as Lochgelly is going to be pretty heavy for around 15 hours a day so the areas around fairways and greens will never be safe to be on, unless you are playing the course.

So it it would be foolhardy to walk anywhere near the greens or on fairways. When players are on the course they always wait until the people playing ahead have reached a safe distance before playing. The reason for that is they want to avoid hitting their colleagues in front.

But they are aware of those playing in front of them and they will never be aware not of people casually walking across the course for any reason.

So anyone straying across any golf course is leaving themselves in danger of being struck by players simply playing their shots as part of their game.

The president of Lochgelly GC has made it plain that the club members do not mind people walking on sections of the course as long as it is in a safe place on the extremities of it. So people should be careful and think where they are going to go on the course so they can keep safe.