The law of negligence is based on the principle that people have a duty to use due care to avoid injury to others and that they may be held liable if their careless conduct injures another person. In sports, however, conduct or conditions that otherwise might be seen as dangerous often are an integral part of the sport itself. Accordingly, defendants are under no legal duty to eliminate or protect a plaintiff against risks that are inherent in the sport, but they do have a duty not to increase the risks to a participant beyond those that may be expected. Albert was playing golf when his partner's hooked shot ricocheted off of a wooden yardage marker and struck him in the eye. Albert sued the golf course for negligence, but a state appellate court dismissed his claim. The court found that golf is an active sport, that Albert was injured because he subjected himself to an inherent risk in golf, and that the golf course had not increased the risks inherent in playing a round of golf.

An expert testified for Albert that the golf course increased the risks because the marker should have been made of softer material and placed farther from the fairway. The court disagreed. The fact that safer materials or conditions were possible will not give rise to a duty of care if the accepted standards for the sport were met. The construction and location of the yardage marker were typical of other courses. Moreover, there were no reports of prior injuries caused by any of the many such markers located all over the golf course.

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