Pensioner guilty of attack on Fife golf pro in row over sunglasses.

Man was unhappy over his order and dragged club professional over shop counter

An angry OAP viciously attacked a golf club professional when a row over a pair of sunglasses ended in violence.

The victim suffered a broken arm after customer Lawrence Ogilvie, 69, grabbed him and pulled him over the club shop counter.

Shocked club pro Chris Nugent was sent sprawling into a metal clothes holder, breaking his arm, before Ogilvie began choking him and making threats to get him and his family, a trial heard.

The normally tranquil scene at Dunfermline Golf Club, Crossford, was shattered early one morning in August last year when Ogilvie stormed into the pro’s shop demanding a replacement pair of shades.

After a two-day trial at Dunfermline Sheriff Court, Ogilvie, of Glen Moriston Drive, Cairneyhill, was found guilty.

He had denied that on August 13 last year at the club, he assaulted Mr Nugent.

Sheriff Pino di Emidio deferred sentence until December 20 for reports.

Mr Nugent, 43, told the court the incident had happened after Ogilvie came into the club shop unhappy about the sunglasses he had bought there previously.

Mr Nugent said after the purchase Ogilvie had not been satisfied with the lenses and he previously ordered another set for him.

“He wasn’t happy with the new ones either. He said they weren’t fit for purpose and wanted me to order a set he had found through a Google search,” he said.

“He had printed off a couple of sheets of paper about them. I said I couldn’t do that. They had been purchased six months ago and I could only order through my suppliers.

“He demanded that I order these as replacements.”

Mr Nugent said he was sitting on a stool behind the shop counter when Ogilvie then attacked him.

“He grabbed me by the collar at the front of my neck and shook me back and forward. He was extremely angry. He grabbed my left arm and I was pushed out to the shop floor,” the club pro continued.

“It all happened very quickly. I was spun around and I crashed into one of the clothing units. I believe that’s when I broke my arm.

“I was then thrown on to the floor and Mr Ogilvie was on top of me. He had his hand on my neck squeezing it, using a lot of force. I thought I was going to become unconscious.

“He said if he saw me, my wife and the children in the village or at Tesco he would have us.

“He got up, gathered the papers he’d brought in and left.”

The police and ambulance service were called and Mr Nugent was taken to the Victoria Hospital, where an X-ray confirmed he had suffered a fracture to the top of his right arm.

He told the court his arm had been in a sling for seven weeks after the incident.

Ogilvie did not give evidence.

I was then thrown on to the floor and Mr Ogilvie was on top of me. He had his hand on my neck squeezing it, using a lot of force. I thought I was going to become unconscious