MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — A dispute over a golf ball led to a violent confrontation that resulted in an off-duty police officer discharging a gun on a golf course, a former officer being injured and two brothers under arrest.

Robert Ward, 21, and brother Mark "Nick" Ward Jr., 20, were charged with assaulting former Montgomery police officer William Mosely, 38, during a fight on the ninth green at Magnolia Golf Club, said Lt. Huey Thornton, a police spokesman.

Robert Ward allegedly hit Mosely in the face with a golf club, fracturing his eye socket. A Montgomery police officer who was golfing with Mosely fired twice into the air during the dispute.

"The officer's reaction to the incident was what he felt necessary considering Mr. Ward had a deadly weapon and had proven a willingness to use it to inflict great bodily injury," Thornton said. Thornton would not release the name of the officer who fired or another off-duty officer who was with him.

The father of the Ward brothers said his sons weren't at fault, however.

"They made my son out to be the bad guy, but he was just trying to protect his brother," Ward said. "There's more to it than what they've said."

The fracas occurred last Saturday. Here is what happened, according to Thornton:

The Ward brothers, who were playing just ahead of Mosely and the two officers, took Mosely's golf ball and drove away with it in a golf cart. Mosely and the brothers later met up near the ninth green, where they exchanged words.

That is where Nick Ward allegedly got out of the cart, took off his shirt

and attacked Mosely, Thornton said. The officers identified themselves and told the brothers to leave, he said.

Robert Ward then charged Mosely with the golf club, Thornton said, and one of the officers fired two shots into the air to make him put it down.

Mark Ward, who suffered a broken nose, declined comment Thursday, and Robert Ward could not be reached for comment. However, the brothers' father said he was on the phone with Robert when the fight started, and his son told him three men were punching and kicking Nick and that he had to go.

Nick Ward was charged with two counts of third-degree assault plus theft for allegedly taking the golf ball. Robert Ward was charged with second-degree assault, a felony.