Lawrence Slovin, 86, fell into a water hazard on the three-hole golf course of the Hilton Head Island, S.C., retirement community on November 10 after losing his footing while retrieving a golf ball. Slovin’s golf partner said he had just started playing golf again after a hospital stay. EMS responders pronounced Slovin dead at the scene.
A report from the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office says that a man drowned after he fell into a golf course pond at The Cypress of Hilton Head retirement community while reaching for a golf ball, the Columbia (S.C.) State reported.
Lawrence Slovin, 86, fell into a water hazard on the Hilton Head Island, S.C., property, near his home in Hilton Head Plantation, at about 2 p.m. Sunday, the report said. Slovin’s golf partner told deputies Slovin had only recently begun playing golf again after a hospital stay, the State reported.
Slovin had hit his golf ball back onto the fairway from near the water hazard when he spotted another golf ball closer to the water, the report said. The man said Slovin’s recent health issues prevented him from bending down to grab the ball, so he tried to knock it toward him with his golf club, the State reported.
Slovin lost his footing trying to hit the ball, falling backward into the water hazard. The man tried to grab his feet, but Slovin began to thrash in the waist-high water and went under, the report said. The man said he couldn’t immediately find Slovin in the muddy water. He located Slovin’s body about five minutes later, pulling him to the bank of the water hazard to wait for members of the Hilton Head Island EMS to arrive, the State reported.
EMS responders were unable to detect Slovin’s heartbeat, and he was pronounced dead at the scene. Slovin’s body was sent to the Medical University of South Carolina for an autopsy, the State reported.
Editor’s Note: The State originally reported incorrectly that the incident occurred at the Country Club of Hilton Head.
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