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Tour Pro Accused Of Killing Hawk With Golf Ball
File AP Photo By Arnulfo Franco
Tripp Isenhour, of Orlando, tees off on the fifth hole during the third round of the Nationwide Tournament in Panama City, Panama, in this Jan. 28, 2006 file photo. Isenhour is charged with killing a protected migratory hawk with a golf shot. It occurred in December when Isenhour was filming a video segment for the television show "Shoot Like A Pro."
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Published: March 6, 2008
ORLANDO - PGA tour golfer Tripp Isenhour has been charged with killing a hawk on purpose with a golf shot because it was making noise as he videotaped a TV show.
The incident happened Dec. 12 at the Grand Cypress Golf course, when Isenhour was with a crew making a segment for the show "Shoot Like A Pro." He was charged Monday with cruelty to animals and killing a migratory bird.
Isenhour's real name is John Henry Isenhour III. His agent, John Mascatello with SFX World Sports Management, did not immediately return an e-mail or telephone message Thursday.
According to court documents, Isenhour grew upset when a red-shouldered hawk began making noise, forcing him and the crew to film another take. The 39-year-old allegedly began hitting balls at the bird, then 300 yards away, but gave up.
He started again when the hawk moved within about 75 yards, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officer Brian Baine wrote in a report. Isenhour allegedly said "I'll get him now," and again 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 actually hit the hawk. The bird, protected as a migratory species, fell to the ground bleeding from both nostrils.
Jethro Senger, a sound engineer at the shoot, said he didn't hear Isenhour apologize.
"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," Senger said. "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 the incident 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 incident was not captured on video. The bird was buried at the golf course and later dug up by Florida investigators
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