Poor golf swing sparks a massive 12-acre fire

A golfer accidentally started a 12-acre fire when he hit his club on a rock in California causing sparks and the resulting blaze.

The hapless golfer had been playing at the Shady Canyon golf course in Irvine, when the accident happened.

It's said he'd taken a swing at the ball but that his club struck a rock causing a small spark.

But this was enough to start a fire in the parched area and the blaze soon covered a massive 12 acres of the densely wooded hill.

Almost 200 firefighters attended the scene and the fire burnt for over seven hours… and we thought our golfing endeavours had been embarrassing.