I'm not saying you shouldn't call the cops and report the guy. My point is in the situation described its completely irresponsible to present the situation to law enforcement as a crazy or random guy in public wielding a weapon. It's obvious the guy was a disc golfer and wasn't a threat to anyone other than a couple branches.
The thing is, the object in question could be utilized as a weapon very quickly had the individual wielding it had been combative when confronted about their actions. I'm sure LEO's have no shortage of stories where a seemingly innocuous situation turned into a life threatening one in a hurry.
If you're bringing a hatchet out to the most popular course in town during broad daylight at peak playing time, that's at the least the sign of a self absorbed screwball whom society would probably better off if a couple of angry misandric women took that same hatchet to their nether regions, deep fried the severed appendage, and fed it to their dog.
So I'd have absolutely no problem with an alternate ending where an LEO shoots said individual dead because a small tree was blocking his hyzer line to the basket.