Lightning Kills! (beware)

[chollyred]

DouginGa and I played Wednesday and quit when an afternoon thunderstorm popped up. This one had the kind of lightning that crackles for a few seconds. We made a beeline for the clubhouse even before any rain started. We passed several golfers who looked at us like we were the crazy ones....

This wasn't our course, but it shows what lightning can do...(taken from another forum...with pics)

Lightning and Golf - be afraid! photos

 

[clemsonhacker]

wow...lighting is tough...it really fried every thing...all the fibers from the graphite shafts were seperated.....one thing though...this guy was 75 years old hitting a 8.5 head...nice

 

[Eracer]

Amen. I see lightning and I'm out of there. I really should go when I first hear thunder. Lightning can strike up to 10 miles from a storm, so when you hear thunder, you are at risk. Besides, I've seen lightning come out of a clear blue sky, when the storm was still a couple of miles away. Now THAT scared the crap out of me.

Played once here in Tampa (lightning capital of the US) and a really nasty storm came up fast. Lots of powerful lightning. I scampered off the course, passing golfers who had this "what, me worry?" look on their faces. Later found out that four golfers on the course had been struck.

 

[IrishGolfer]

Hey that looks exactly like my putter.

Crappy Cleveland 460Ti, eh Rock?

 

[Rockford35]

Hey that looks exactly like my putter.

Crappy Cleveland 460Ti, eh Rock?

I've sent a note to his family to see if they'll sell it to me. A little spray bomb, she's good as new.

I actually have a hard time believing some of the things in that photo. Obviously, the resulting fire did most of that damage, not the strike. It wouldn't burn the grips off the clubs like that. You'd need some heat to do that, not voltage.

Anyways, cool pics, nonetheless.

R35

 

[Fourputt]

I've sent a note to his family to see if they'll sell it to me. A little spray bomb, she's good as new.

I actually have a hard time believing some of the things in that photo. Obviously, the resulting fire did most of that damage, not the strike. It wouldn't burn the grips off the clubs like that. You'd need some heat to do that, not voltage.

R35

I find this a peculiar statement considering that lighting causes hundreds of forest and grass fires every year... even causes house fires. Seems to me that there would be all the heat needed to melt down a bag of golf clubs.

See Lightning and Temperature for the skinny. It says that the temperature in the channel of a lightning bolt can reach 30,000° K or about 50,000° F. I don't want to be near one....

 

[Rockford35]

Yes, the resulting fire is what causes burns in lightning strikes. But paper burns are 451*F.

For the number of times lightning actually hits someone, you die about 1 in 8. So, odds are you will survive the hit with burns only, and usually only from metal that you are wearing (belt buckles, watches, rings, necklaces, etc.).

The time that a lightning strike is heated to many times the surface of the sun is milliseconds, not an intense burn that you would need for that intense charring.

My guess is that he was hit by a tree, and the grass/brush lit up and burned the bag.

R35

 

[Eracer]

Yes, the resulting fire is what causes burns in lightning strikes. But paper burns are 451*F.

For the number of times lightning actually hits someone, you die about 1 in 8. So, odds are you will survive the hit with burns only, and usually only from metal that you are wearing (belt buckles, watches, rings, necklaces, etc.).

The time that a lightning strike is heated to many times the surface of the sun is milliseconds, not an intense burn that you would need for that intense charring.

My guess is that he was hit by a tree, and the grass/brush lit up and burned the bag.

R35

I agree with your thoughts about the fire damage. But to say that the odds are you will survive a lightning strike with burns only is wrong. Most strike victims suffer burns (as you described) but also suffer a variety of neurologic symptoms, including persistent headache, neuralgias, paresthesias, amnesia, even personality disorders and epilepsy. Almost every lightning strike affects the victim in a profound way, even if it doesn't kill them.

 

[ManchesterGolfer]

If it looks like there's gonna be a Thunder storm I take my one iron out with me

 

[Eracer]

If it looks like there's gonna be a Thunder storm I take my one iron out with me

God proved Mr. Trevino wrong.

 

[Bravo]

We got caught out in it yesterday....luckily we were near one of our bathroom/shelters which have the lightning arrestor/widgets on the top and grounded underground...

The bathrooms have a large covered front porch with an ice machine and several benches. This is where folks wait it out and there were 8 of us in there for about half an hour before it came through. I called the shop and asked if we were going to be cleared and they said no bc there was more in the area...they have a handheld device that somehow indicates the presence of lightning...

I got close to being hit about 15 years ago near that same shelter....only about 75 yards away. It scared the sh** out of me....

finally the shop said we had about a '30 minute window' to complete our round before more weather would move in...none of us thought about it for a second. We packed it in after completing 14 holes and went home.

Those pictures should be displayed in every pro shop where lightning is a factor as a reminder to people...

 

[Rockford35]

I agree with your thoughts about the fire damage. But to say that the odds are you will survive a lightning strike with burns only is wrong. Most strike victims suffer burns (as you described) but also suffer a variety of neurologic symptoms, including persistent headache, neuralgias, paresthesias, amnesia, even personality disorders and epilepsy. Almost every lightning strike affects the victim in a profound way, even if it doesn't kill them.

From a direct strike, this is true. But more often than not, strikes that hit people and cause them to go even unconsious are from standing under something they shouldn't be.

Statistics show that direct shots from lightning are less apt to kill a person than getting hit by a car sometime in your lifetime. It's second only to accidental firearm discharge as the least likely way to die from an accident according to many life insurance policies.

So, if you wann commit suicide, don't do it by standing on the 15th tee with a 2 iron in your hand. You're better off stepping in front of a bus.

R35

 

[sandwedge]

Lightning scares the sh!t out of me. When I was in high school a guy from our rival high school was struck by lightning right after football practice and died. He was staying after practice to hit the sleds when he was struck. Ever since then I have been scared to death by it. People think I am crazy but as soon as a storm comes and I see lightning I am out of there and in shelter.

 

[LyleG]

As someone on that forum pointed out. What the hell is a 75 year old man doing hitting an 8.5* driver?


On a more serious note. Lightning is the real deal, do not mess with it. I was 10 feet away from a metal post that got hit. The lightning went through the post, through the ground and came out the paint roller I was holding. My wife tells me a blue streak came out the roller and my elbow, both were burnt, and I just collapsed. She said she was hysterical as both her and my friend thought I was dead. I was relatively uninjured, the only real problem I had was a severe loss of balance for almost a month, that and having to take a piss every 15 minutes. It was weird as hell. Walking on level ground felt like a 45* slope. Doctor said it was a result of my inner ear being affected. I am simply glad it went away and I came out fine (relatively speaking). I hate cloudy weather now and have the utmost of respect for mother nature.

 

[DouginGA]

DouginGa and I played Wednesday and quit when an afternoon thunderstorm popped up. This one had the kind of lightning that crackles for a few seconds. We made a beeline for the clubhouse even before any rain started. We passed several golfers who looked at us like we were the crazy ones....

Was a good time tho Chuck, we still managed to get in 31 good holes of golf. Too bad we had to leave right when we were getting in to "zone" and really striking the ball well :biglol::biglol::biglol::biglol::biglol: