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Member Clubs
WEATHERING
THE STORM
VSGA clubs offer different methods of keeping players safe from lightning
by ARTHUR UTLEY
World Golf Hall of Fame member
Lee Trevino is well known for
his humorous quips.
One of the six-time major champion’s
most famous is: “If you are caught on a
golf course during a storm and are afraid
of lightning, hold up a 1-iron. Not even God
can hit a 1-iron.”
An amusing take on a serious subject
because Trevino is one of only three PGA
Tour golfers and possibly a fourth to be
struck by lightning while playing in a
Tour tournament (1975 Western Open).
Trevino, Jerry Heard and Bobby Nichols
were hospitalized. Tony Jacklin had a club
knocked out of his hands and was aware of
a burning taste in his mouth.
According to Quora, a Q-and-A website,
Trevino’s seminal quote came before, not
after, being struck. In an interview, Trevino
said he figured being struck was “a fair
repayment from the Lord.”
CLUB STANDARDS
Weather forecasting and weather technology
tools today are light years beyond what
was around in 1975, but whether you play
golf at a country club, resort or daily fee
course, awareness of bad-weather policies
and rules are imperative for your safety.
“Most clubs have safety standards
for bad weather because of what is at
stake. Some clubs have more than others
because some of this technology is really
expensive, but everywhere we go we have
a plan, and it is discussed before each
event if there is a chance of bad weather,”
says Josh Coates, VSGA director of competitions
and golf operations.
Weather technology tools such as Cedar
Point Country Club’s cutting edge lightning
detection/protection warning system,
Doppler radar and weather apps on
smartphones have transformed many
golfers into amateur meteorologists.
The damage from a direct lightning strike on the
10th tee at Laurel Hill Golf Club. Thankfully, no
one was on the course at the time.
“Golf pros wear many hats, and weatherman
is one of them,” says Reid Derco, PGA
head professional at Cedar Point (Suffolk).
Coates says, “All golf administrators
have to be amateur meteorologists at
some level because so much of what we do
revolves around the weather. Depending
on how the season goes, we may spend
hours staring at the radar and monitoring
forecasts to try to predict what is going to
happen and make the best decisions.”
When people think of lightning deaths,
they usually think of golf. A National Oceanic
and Atmosphere Administration
(NOAA) campaign that began in 2001
focused on raising lightning awareness in
the golf community.
LAUREL HILL GC
10
V IRGINIA G OLFER | J ULY/A UGUST 2020
vsga.org