A Striking Topic

We all can relate to Bishop Fred from Caddyshack, where he's having the round of his life and on the precipice of breaking the course record in severe thunderstorms.  We've all been there where we feel we need to finish the hole, but let me assure you it's an ill advised decision that can end much like it did for Bishop Fred in Caddyshack.  On average 54 people every year are killed by lightning strikes, and as one might guess the majority of these strikes occur during the summer months when people are outside enjoying the warmer temperatures.  Lightning strikes cause more deaths annually than tornadoes and hurricanes in the United States, a statistic that certainly caught me off guard (As of research conducted in 2001).  Overall there are 25 million cloud-to-ground lightning strikes annually in the United States, so it's very important that proper safety measures be taken to prevent potential accidents.

A retrospective photo depicting the path the lightning traveled after
striking the green.

The Golf Course Industry has really made a concerted effort to stress and implement safety measures for not only golfers but for golf course employees.  Lightning detection systems are currently the status quo for golf courses around the world.  Technology has advanced (and continues to advance) to allow each course to customize their system, allowing them to dictate the radius at which the lighting detection horn sends out their signal to alert golfers to impending thunderstorms. For instance the lightning detection system at Willow Ridge is set to sound the horns when lighting strikes within a 0-5 mile radius.  Thus it's critically important to immediately stop playing and seek shelter, preferably at the club house.

A breakdown of lighting caused deaths based on location

Here at Willow Ridge our system will send out a continuous high pitched tone when lighting is within our set parameters, alerting golfers to immediately stop playing and make for the clubhouse to seek shelter.  When the storm cell moves through and is no longer in close proximity to the course, the lighting detection system will send out an intermittent tone alerting golfers that if they wish they can go back to finishing their round of a lifetime.  It's imperative to get off the course in the event of thunderstorms, because there are miles of wires running beneath the turf and they can conduct current if struck.  While the likelihood of this happening is very slim, there's no sense in playing with fire.  Also when playing with a group remember that it's just not about you and finishing out your last hole, the well being of group is being jeopardized by a fool-hearty decision.  Safety is paramount, it's much easier to come back and finish the round or play another day than to survive a lightning strike, just some food for thought.   Lightning, the threat is real and we take it very seriously, and we will continue to educate and make sure our system is running properly.  So we only ask that you value your safety and well being, and make judicious decisions when thunderstorms are headed our way.  Live to golf another day.