A golfer who has apparently achieved his goal of hitting a golf ball in all 50 states is apologizing for teeing off in Yellowstone National Park and in Mount Rushmore.
Jake Adams is under investigation for both acts as the National Park Service has said that his actions constitute an “illegal act.”
Speaking to his followers on Instagram Friday, Adams said he thought using a biodegradable golf ball would make the act of hitting a golf ball in a national park (or national memorial in the case of Mount Rushmore) acceptable.
“It was never my intent to disrupt, you know, the environment or anybody’s day, you know, I just never realized the magnitude of hitting a golf ball in any of our national parks,” Adams said.
“If I can do anything on this platform and just encourage everybody to not do what I did, and do not hit any golf balls biodegradable or not does not matter, in our national parks,” he said.
To his credit, Adams did not tee up a golf ball and smack it into a crowd of thousands watching Old Faithful erupt or into a group of flag-waving senior citizens exiting a bus to see the presidents’ faces at Mount Rushmore.
In both cases, Adams appeared to hit the ball into unpopulated areas. But that makes no difference to the National Park Service.
“He violated regulations designed to preserve Yellowstone and protect the experience of other visitors,” a Park Service spokesperson told Cowboy State Daily in April. “[He] showed a lack of judgment and common sense.”
Whether his apology will satisfy the National Park Service thus nullifying the investigation is uncertain. As of press time, the National Park Service has not provided an updated comment.
As for Adams, following his apology he did release a compilation video of his many golf shots in different states and both the Yellowstone and Mount Rushmore footage were not present.
