Lightning Strikes Golfer

[texastom791 31]

[THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION IS FORWARDED BY THE NEW YORK STATE ASSOCIATION OF FIRE CHIEFS PUBLIC RELATIONS COMMITTEE FOR YOUR INFORMATION.

September 10, 2008

0908-19

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Golf Safety

Received the following from Past NYS Fire Academy Superintendent Richard Nagle.

Subject: Lightning hit golf bag

A man got hit by lightning Monday morning on a golf course in Madison, WI. The following are pics of what was left of his bag. Please pass this along to your golfing buddies. Read the what the policeman says, then take a look at the pictures.

I have been a police officer for 18 yrs and have seen a lot of gruesome and disturbing scenes (if you can imagine it, I have probably seen a variation of it) ... this one was different because it hits close to home and some of us have been in this situation.

This 75 year old golfer (no pictures of him) was out on the course with 3 other retired guys for a regular weekly tee time, and the weather forecast didn't even predict rain at 10pm the night before.

They teed off and got around to the back nine when it started to rain, and when there was a little lightning way off in the distance so they headed in. They waited under a tree half way in when the rain became very heavy. When it let up a little bit three of them then continued in but one guy decided to wait it out unde r a 50' pine with an overhang of 10' while standin! g next to his bag.

Minutes later a lightning bolt struck his bag and push cart as he was holding onto one of his clubs killing him instantly.

On the top of the first photo you will see what was left of his driver ... also in a later photo are little brown clumps which used to be golf balls.

Most of the items in the bag simply disintegrated from the heat and intense initial zap - including the labels to his ping irons and Cleveland woods (which all popped off). The electricity burned holes into the bottoms of the clubs.

The strange thing is the tree under which he was standing had no sign of a lightning strike. The bolt literally went sideways under the tree to the golf clubs.

Lesson to be learned - If you are caught out on the course or water ... distance yourself from anything metal OR graphite.

(Did you know that lightning rods are often made of graphite?)

Put your cart 50' away from you! When you see lightning off in the distance GO IN IMMEDIATELY, DON'T WAIT.

[DOC22 1]

Good post, Tom. Here's a classic example of what they mean on the Weather Channel: "If you can hear thunder, you are close enough to be struck by lightning"

[Guest]

Wow, thats just shocking!

[bob803 1]

He must have been some golfer hitting a club with an 8.5 degree driver. What was his handicap...

[IzzyEng4 427]

Sounds like a bad version of CaddyShack. Lightning is a bad thing. Look at what happend fairly recently at Hammonassett Beach in Madison, CT. Enough said, go for cover and out of the weather.

[Guest]

He must have been some golfer hitting a club with an 8.5 degree driver. What was his handicap...

I think its that he is deceased but I'm not a golfer!

[jack10562 414]

...And they say not even GOD can hit a 1 iron....

It never ceases to amaze me, how many stories you hear even in this day and age, about people taking shelter under a tree in a thunderstorm....