As the summer season gets into full swing, errant golf balls aren’t the only things of which players need to be careful. June 19-25 was National Lightning Week, and, across the nation, the National Weather Service, along with major television networks and organizations like The Weather Channel, sought to educate the public about lightning safety.
Golf courses, and accordingly many private clubs, with their wide-open spaces, plentiful water features and hilly terrain, are prime areas of concern for lightning strikes. Each year there are an average of 25 million cloud-to-ground lighting strikes with an average yearly death toll of 57. On average years, deaths due to lightning equal the number of fatalities due to tornadoes and heartily surpass those resulting from hurricanes, despite the much scarier perceptions of these other weather phenomena.
Lightning safety should be a primary concern for those heading out to the green in questionable weather. Despite perceptions of safety when a storm seems far away, lightning can strike five to ten miles away from a thunderstorm, so, if golfers can hear thunder—even if there are no signs of lightning—they are still at risk and should seek shelter indoors immediately. As the saying goes, “When thunder roars, go indoors.”
Lightning hits the Earth 100 times per second, and the temperature of a bolt can be as high as 50,000 degrees Fahrenheit, so the risk is very real. Despite tales of people surviving lightning strikes, almost all suffer from lasting, residual damage. According to the National Weather Service, hundreds of people survive strikes each year, but most are left with long-term, debilitating symptoms such as memory loss, attention deficit, sleep disorders, chronic pain, numbness, dizziness, stiffness in joints, irritability, fatigue, weakness, muscle spasms, depression, and more.
With these dire consequences, how can clubs protect themselves and their members from the dangers?
While lightning has long been seen as “an act of God” for liability purposes, all but absolving private clubs of any legal liability for lightning damage, injury, or death, new technologies make it feasible to help protect members from lightning hazards. While taking steps to protect members from the dangers of lightning may seem like an obvious choice, especially when industry leadership organizations advocate doing so, it may create more problems than it solves for some private clubs.
If clubs do not provide appropriate lightning warning systems, at worst, they may be considered negligent. However, if they implement systems for warning or protection that fail to work (whether due to technological or human error), claims can arise that a club undertook to provide for members’ safety and then failed to do so, thereby further exposing clubs to potential liability.
Golf course operators need to carefully evaluate the lightning detection, warning and shelter information the course will provide. Having made that determination, and considering the club’s obligation to provide safety services competently, the club must ensure that its members are educated and its staff well trained to execute those procedures and safety features. Clubs should devise a comprehensive lightning safety policy that (1) is appropriate to their facilities, consistent with applicable industry standards for their area and type of facility; (2) is communicated to members in a manner that is clear; and, (3) is implemented in a manner that reduces risks of injury and risks of liability to the club.
Regardless of a club’s individual lightning safety policy, recent court rulings find that golf courses have a duty to inform club members of any safety measures in place at a particular course, or inform golfers that, if no safety measures are in place, they then play at their own risk. At a minimum, courses should conspicuously post the USGA warning signs and golf stickers, include safety information in club documentation, address in the club’s rules and regulations mandatory compliance with safety rules, and take other steps that are appropriate to the club’s specific circumstances to ensure that members are well advised of lightning risks and safety measures.
If your club does decide to consider certain safety measures, here are a few common options:
- Educating members about lightning issues and risks.
- Installing lightning detection and warning systems.
- Implementing a siren system or utilizing golf course marshals to alert golfers of dangerous conditions.
- Strategically positioning lightning-proof weather shelters around the course in the event that members are caught on the green during a storm.
Since many lightning incidents are water-related, and most clubs also have pools, boating facilities or other water sports facilities, clubs should consider taking certain precautions.
Water is an excellent conductor of electricity, and lightning strikes to the ground anywhere near a pool can induce shockwaves in both the water and surrounding areas. Pool activity should be suspended as soon as a storm is expected, during a storm, and for a 30-minute window after a storm has passed.
Further information about lightning-related liability for private clubs can be found in NCA’s publication, The Legal Reference Guide for Private Clubs.
Of course, there are general lightning safety tips that everyone should know. For more information on lightning safety, visit the National Weather Service: Lightning Safety.