Tripp Isenhour, PGA Golfer, Charged With Killing Hawk

PGA Tour golfer Tripp Isenhour was charged with killing a hawk on purpose with a golf shot because it was making noise as he videotaped a TV show. Isenhour was with a film crew for "Shoot Like A Pro" on Dec. 12 at the Grand Cypress Golf course. The 39-year-old golfer, whose real name is John Henry Isenhour III, was charged Wednesday with cruelty to animals and killing a migratory bird.

The charges carry a maximum penalty of 14 months in jail and $1,500 in fines.

According to court documents, Isenhour got upset when a red-shouldered hawk began making noise, forcing another take. He began hitting balls at the bird, then 300 yards away, but gave up.

Isenhour started again when the hawk moved within about 75 yards, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officer Brian Baine indicated in a report.

Isenhour allegedly said "I'll get him now," and aimed for the hawk.

Keep reading

Read more on Isenhour's career

Watch a short video on the red shouldered hawk, a "natural vocalizer" (read: noisy).

Read more about the red shouldered hawk here

Comments

[MGhamma]

He lobbed golf balls at the hawk until he hit it, and then was 'mortified' when he hit and killed it. Puuuleeze!!!!

[Realisticat]

The guy kept hitting drivers at the bird, laughing as he got closer and closer to hitting the bird. then they tried to cover it up. Of course, next he'll release a tearful apology in the next few days. Funny how these guys develop a sense of character only AFTER they face the consequences of their actions (i.e. Michael Vick) .

Blatant case of intentional cruelty to an animal and a protected species. If he doesn't get the convicted, they should just take the cruelty to animals laws off the books.

[ming099]

..if this guy is so accurate he can hit a hawk at 75 yards........why isnt he as famous as Tiger Woods?.......

[mrcontinental]

You've never been to a PGA tour event obviously.

[rodeman]

Which also begs the question, if this guy plays on the "Nationwide Tour" as opposed to the regular PGA tour because he lost his card. What the hell is he doing making a video "Shoot Like A Pro"???

Apparently he doesn't watch his own videos.......??

[davy]

Reminds me of that "silver ring thing" guy.

[ICantBeBothered]

Let me see if I understand this....

It's perfectly legal to intentionally kill animals a la "Deadeye Dick" Cheney but if you "accidentally intentionally" kill an animal you can go to jail?

It's no %^&*%^ wonder our prisons are so full!

This reminds me of my favorite Filter song: Hey Man, Nice Shot!

P.S. - I'm against hunting as a sport. That's some %^&*&^ up stuff.

[notepad2]

Maybe global warming made him do it.

[Felicty]

That's because everyone knows Dick Cheney is ABOVE any of our laws.

[Dendroica]

Certain animals are protected by endangered status, or by the treaty we signed with Canada the Migratory Bird Act IIRC 1908 or 1911... (I wasn't there at the time.)

People who hunt pheasant, or some members of the chuckar family don't bother me as much, as they're an introduced species and are crowding out other native birds. I do find it a bit repulsive when they hunt mourning doves and woodcock (which reminds me they should be migrating through any day now.)

[LITU]

Didn't you read the article? He intentionally hit the bird. Maybe he didn't intend killing it, but he certainly intended hurting it, and in either case that is against the law. All raptors are protected in this country, because without protection, idiots like this would bring about their extinction (in the worst extreme).

As cruel as it may seem, many game birds are reared for the express purpose of being hunted, as in the case of Cheney's hunts. They are not protected.

[sarge]

I once hit a Canadian Honker on a drive and broke it's leg. It was an accident.

I was golfing with a friend as a teenager and he picked up a small rock, for fun, and sidearmed it at a green winged teal on a pond about 20 yards away. 1 attempt, hit it in the temple (a teal's head is about the size of a golfball), and it fell over dead.

But the most amazing shot, was another friend that hit a cropduster in the wing using a 5 iron in his back yard.

[Boboday555]

Awww...your Cousin/Mom & Uncle/Dad must be so proud of Y'ALL!

[Wilburrr]

It would be a shame if golf fans everywhere made bird noises every time this jerk addressed a golf ball...

[Boris]

It's just a damn bird! Its not a school kid, or a class full of college students or a bus of Iraqi soccer students. Use some freakin judgement!

[MelFamy]

So you are in favor of killing a beautiful animal like that? I hope the jerk spends every day of 14 months behind bars, away from his precious 9-iron. And as for you, I hope your kids, assuming you have any, are not being raised to think that killing for fun or convenience is good thing.

[Annette]

Every golfer I have ever met, and I grew up in Palm Springs and met a lot, seemed to think that the entire world must stop and hold it's breath when the golfer wanted to hit the ball. I have seen a golfer go totally berserk when a frog croaked in a pond and chase the frog in to the water in an effort to kill the frog. I saw a respected entertainer lie down on the ground and kick and scream like a 3 year old when an air conditioner came on at a nearby house. After working my way through my first year of college as a caddy at Tamerisk countyclub, and Thunderbird country club in the early 1970s, I was thouroughly innoculated against golf. There is nothing funnier than watching a golfer waggle his or her rear end before hitting a little ball. Just can't take a game where the players only exercise is clambering out of a golf cart as a sport. I will say it is entertainment.

That said, The guy who went to the trouble of trying to hit a bird with repeated balls should be tried and serve whatever sentance the court hands down. It obviously was not an accident, it is against the law which makes him a criminal. Not it is not the crime of murder but it is still a crime.

Boris, there are other crimes than murder, but they are still crimes. The law tries other crimes than the murder of a human being. Most thinking people do not see all other species on this planet as something to be eradicated.

I hope at all future golf events that this guy plays at there will be people with bird calls in the gallery to hoot at just the right moment.

[JGatsby]

Have you ever seen a red shouldered hawk? Its an incredibly beautiful, majestic animal. Its so sad that people who talk about reverence for all life draw artificial borders around living things that aren't the same species, race, religion, ...

[Dendroica]

People who have no respect for animals, often have little or none for other humans.

[PingMama]

It is a federally protected bird. In other words, it's against the law to kill this bird, in addition to hundreds of others, because they are critically endangered.

It's not just a damn bird.......it's a very protected bird and we should do all we can to care for wildlife and give them their space. I live on a golf course and we compete with geese, hawks, foxes, and other wild animals for space, but none of the residents would ever dare to harm an animal. If anything, they bring them over to my damn house for rehab!

If it were a complete accident, we wouldn't see this story in the headlines. But he clearly was agitated at the bird and kept trying to hit him with the shot.

He deserves the maximum punishment.

[Boboday555]

Laffinatlibs08',
Still Stateside four years into the Iraq Oil War???
Yup...he's your typical Loyal BUSHY all right; Red-Stated and Yellow Bellied!
"Bawwww kawwwk!"

Heh, heh, heh...Red-States are red because of their cowardice...they're blushing!

[jonbeveridge]

Sorry to make light of animal cruelty, but that's one hell of a shot from 75 yards away.

[Annette]

He tried a long time before he hit it.
I would say more luck than skill.

[Boboday555]

Makes Y'ALL wonder what shortcomings Mr. Isenhour is making up for doesn't it?
"Yeee har har har har!"

[cultkicker]

I love golf, and love the PGA Tour, but I love animals and all living things much, much more. Shame on you Mr. Isenhour. This is an act of pure stupidity and dare I say cruelty. The hawk meant you no harm... if I had my way you would see the inside of a jail cell. Disgusting.

[Boboday555]

What a little boy!!!

[Boboday555]

I'd love to take a look at this pathetic hillbilly's wife.
I bet the poor girl is dying for some attention from a man for once!

[Boboday555]

I'm sure his wife/sister supports him...."Yeee har har har!"

The Confederate South....disproving the Theory of EVOLUTION on a daily basis!

[Annette]

I don't know. This guy may be on a branch of human beings that is planning to become extinct because it cannot adapt to changes in its environment.

No great loss.

[Shannonroger]

Hey not all of us Southerners are inbred rednecks. I live 2 hours from where this jackass committed this heinous act and I and those around me want him brutally punished.