Topgolf settles Hillsboro lawsuit over a woman hit by a flying club

Topgolf has settled a federal negligence lawsuit brought by Kendal Spencer, a woman who suffered a head injury when a golf club flew into her at the Topgolf in Hillsboro, Oregon. Her law firm, Smith Foster King, announced the settlement on October 19 and called it multimillion-dollar. Golfweek, KGW and The Portland Focal all reported it this week. At Spencer's request, the amount was not disclosed, and court records show only that the case settled.

What happened

Spencer was at the venue with friends in June 2023, sitting on a couch in the bay they had reserved. According to her lawsuit, a club slipped from a man's hands during his swing two bays away and hit her in the back of the head. She went to the hospital by ambulance and needed nine staples to close the wound.

The suit says she was diagnosed with a traumatic brain injury and went on to have headaches, memory loss, vertigo, blurred vision and chronic pain. Her attorney, Anne Foster, told KGW that Spencer had a teaching job lined up and had to give up that career. Foster also said the man was a first-time visitor and got no instruction on how to hold or swing the club.

The claim, and Topgolf's position

The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Portland in early 2025, said Topgolf put seating areas near hitting bays without protective barriers. The firm's announcement says Topgolf denied the allegations and admitted no liability. KGW said Topgolf had not answered its request for comment.

This is the firm's second big result from the same location. In September 2025 a federal jury in Portland found Topgolf negligent and awarded $16 million to a 9-year-old boy who was hit in the head by a club. "These cases involve remarkably similar allegations," firm partner Sam Smith told Oregonlive.com, as quoted by Golfweek.

Foster told KGW she wants barriers between bays, and said even plexiglass would stop clubs from reaching people two bays over.

What to do

If you book a venue bay, keep people seated well behind the hitter and make sure first-timers get a quick grip check before they swing hard. If you run a home or shared simulator, the same rule applies: no couch inside the swing zone. Watch for whether Topgolf answers the lawsuit's barrier complaint with any change to its bay layouts.