Lightning and golf courses? Never a good combo.
Rick Tegtmeier, the director of grounds at Des Moines (Iowa) Golf and Country Club, found out the hard way July 12 when he arrived at the club after a night of thunderstorms and discovered this scene on one of the layout’s practice greens.
Overnight lightning strike on the west practice green pic.twitter.com/X2ASLf3fJa
— Rick Tegtmeier (@RDTegtmeier) July 12, 2016
Yikes. And that photo probably doesn’t do full justice to the incident. Tegtmeier noted that recovery efforts probably are futile and that the cup was a lot worse off than it appears from a distance.
That's amazing, Rick. Does the turf recover?
— Kevin Hicks (@golfsuper1992) July 12, 2016
His pessimism for recovery was echoed by a peer, as well.
that happened to me two weeks ago. pic.twitter.com/4dS5wYBByU
— Chris Strong (@cbstrong68) July 12, 2016
How does it look today? Did you have much recovery from the sides of the strike?
— Rick Tegtmeier (@RDTegtmeier) July 12, 2016
Scary stuff, especially if you look closer at the issue. As Weather.com’s Chris Dolce points out, “a lightning bolt can be fatal up to 100 feet from the point of strike.”
So it’s a good thing the storm happened at night. If this had occurred during the day and anyone had been out on the practice putting green at that time, injury could have occurred.
In this case, though, it’s just another chance to view the craziness that ensues when nature and golf collide.
– Kevin Casey
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