The Pellucid Perspective - May 2011 - (Page 11)

WEATHER SAFETY A weather word to the wise By Jim Dunlap Recent storms illustrate need for courses to protect their customers and staff H istory has proven time and time again that some golfers, or golf course staff, are not sufficiently wise to come in out of the rain, particularly when it is accompanied, or preceded, by thunder, lightning or even funnel clouds. The recent barrage of tornados in the Southeast is the latest evidence of the damage Mother Nature can wreak, but the fact that over 100 people are killed annually by lightning in the U.S. is an ongoing reminder that golf, which is played outdoors, is a tempting target for nature’s wrath. The question is, what can courses do to protect their human assets from injury or death, or their own foolishness? Slowly, but increasingly, golf course owners, operators and members are accepting the fact that there are more immediate, more localized and more accurate severe weather warning systems to protect human life on the course than national or even local weather channels or web sites. Companies including Thor Guard, WeatherBug, Wxline and others are finding that golf courses and resorts, as well as their commercial, industrial and institutional customers, are increasingly finding room in tight budgets for technology that can prevent injuries and even death on their properties more effectively. The key to prevention of mishaps is twofold, according to Frank McCathran, director of club safety for WeatherBug, a relative newcomer to the golf industry which began serving golf facilities at the behest of the Club Managers Association of America three years ago and currently serves just over 100 golf courses and resorts. “When you have lightning in the area the club wants to know about, we don’t just activate horns, but we also notify club personnel through their mobile devices as well as providing visual notifications onscreen to their computers,” McCathran said. “Then it comes down to policy. It’s having two things – the technology to get the knowledge, plus [courses] have to have a policy for handling the threat with their people and their players.” Bob Dugan, president of Thor Guard, which has over 800 golf course clients including the USGA and LPGA, with a standard 3-horn system going for around $20,000, agreed that enforcement is critical to providing the best protection for golfers on the course. “Probably the most difficult element is the time element in getting people to come in [after alarms sound],” Dugan said. “Now, if a player who doesn’t come in is suspended for 30 days, that works.” The latter is key for operators. Some courses, sadly, merely rely on the horn to alert players, and trust that they will have the good sense to return to the clubhouse immediately, or find suitable shelter, which does NOT include the nearest tree or, frankly, anywhere outside a building with insulated wiring and lightning protection. Other courses are more proactive, immediately dispatching course marshals or shop personnel throughout the course to insist that players return to the clubhouse immediately, regardless of whether their match is hanging in the balance or they’re “feeling it” and want to finish the hole they’re on. The key to preventing injuries or death, however, is early detection. Obviously that is a selling point when competing weather detection and warning companies call on golf courses and other potential clients, and there is some debate in that arena. Dugan said that the edge Thor Guard’s technology has is the ability to “predict” the incidence of lightning before an actual strike in the surrounding region, whereas other companies calculate the likelihood of a strike based on lightning incidents within a certain proximity to, in this instance, the client golf course. McCathran disputed that, saying that most lightning experts say that lightning “prediction” is not possible, but that is a debate The CONDITIONED FOR SUCCESS. The golf landscape in America has changed. In a market overcrowded with golf courses and little prospect for demand to grow significantly, today’s course owners and operators are experiencing extreme competitive pressure in nearly every aspect of their business. Never before has there been more reason to work smarter and more efficiently—or more reason to partner with ValleyCrest Golf Course Maintenance. As the national leader in golf course maintenance contracting, we’re a trusted steward of all manner of golf properties throughout America. 24151 Ventura Boulevard Calabasas, CA 91302 (888) 406-GOLF www.valleycrest.com Comprehensive Golf Course Maintenance www.PellucidcorP.com The Pellucid PersPecTive 11 http://www.valleycrest.com http://www.valleycrest.com http://WWW.PELLUCIDCORP.COM

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of The Pellucid Perspective - May 2011

The Pellucid Perspective - May 2011
Contents
Golf 20/11: A House With No Information Foundation?
Sharp Tools for Cutting Maintenance Costs
When Is a Survey Not a Survey?
Short Courses Disappearing, but Some Find Success
Apr 2011 YtD Weather Impact, Mar 2011 YtD Utilization
A Weather Word to the Wise
New York, NY Core Business Statistical Area (CBSA)
Environmentalists Seeking Closure of Revered SF Muni
Comings & Goings
The Bad, the Good and the Ugly

The Pellucid Perspective - May 2011