East Greenwich Country Club Chaos As Golfer Bashes Man's Head With Putter: Cops

EAST GREENWICH, RI — A dispute between two groups of golfers led one man to bash another's head with a putter, prompting the injured man's brother to throw the attacker's clubs in a lake, police said.

The men were golfing at the East Greenwich Country Club shortly before 7:30 p.m. Friday when a member of one group, 20-year-old Cameron Chase, teed off while the other group was still on the putting green, according to an East Greenwich Police Department report.

Chase told police he "realized there was still a group on the green but stated he 'duffed' the ball anyways," according to the report.

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"Chase stated the group approached him and were upset about him teeing off too early," the report said. "Chase stated the two groups began yelling at each other. Chase stated a man in a dark shirt with a hat approached him aggressively."

At that point, Chase told police, "he grabbed his golf club because he was scared 'they were going to jump him,'" the report said, and someone pushed him to the ground, according to the report.

Chase told police he then "got up and hit one of the guys in the back of the head with his golf club" before fleeing "through pricker bushes when running from the incident," suffering scrapes and cuts to his arms and legs in the process, the report said.

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After Chase ran off, the brother of the man he struck in the head with his putter, 38-year-old John Folco, pursued him, according to the report.

Folco failed to catch up to Chase, the report said, so he returned to "where (Chase's) golf clubs were and threw them into the lake."

The clubs, bag and the key to an Audi were worth a total of $4,125, according to the report, and Folco was arrested on a charge of vandalism.

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Chase was arrested on charges of felony assault and/or battery and disorderly conduct, the report said.

The man Chase was charged with clubbing with his putter, a 54-year-old Cranston resident, suffered a "large pump to the lower left side of (his) head with little bleeding," according to the report.

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