Medinah CC installed a satellite-based, lightning warning system that predicts when lightning will occur by evaluating the dynamics of electrical energy within the atmosphere.
Collectively, the staff at Medinah (Ill.) Country Club, a private, member-owned club in Chicago’s near-northwest suburbs, has many talents.
But weather prognostication is not necessarily an ability that any of the management team devoted much study to when preparing for their careers as golf professionals or club managers, or that they ever expected to become a major part of their current duties.
But when you are part of an operation that offers 54 holes of golf on a relatively flat, 600-plus-acre property in Illinois, and that frequently hosts thousands of guests and spectators for major golf tournaments (including the upcoming 2012 Ryder Cup), your job description must expand to not only include storm watching, but storm-damage prevention.
THE GOAL:Take a proactive, rather than reactive, approach to identifying potential lightning strikes and minimizing their danger to golfers and others at Medinah Country Club’s three 18-hole courses.THE PLAN: Install a lightning warning system that predicts when lightning might strike, rather than reacts to it, and activates warnings well in advance of its proximity to the property. The system also issues an all-clear signal when danger has passed, and has been upgraded with sophisticated weather detection capabilities.
THE PAYOFF: Sensors on roof of golf shop and at both ends of property detect lightning within 2 1/2-mile radius. Coordination with Chicago District Golf Association helps monitor surrounding area conditions. |
As the devastation caused by this spring’s storms in Alabama, Missouri and many other parts of the country have once again shown, this is not an easy skill to master, even for meteorologists who make it their sole focus. But the management team at Medinah was determined to begin to take steps several years ago to enact a comprehensive, integrated approach for ensuring the safety of everyone on its property. Around 2004, Medinah installed a satellite-based, lightning warning system that predicts when lightning will occur by evaluating the dynamics of electrical energy within the atmosphere.
“It does not react to lightning,” says Director of Golf Mike Scully. “It tries to predict it before it occurs.”
Sensors for this system are installed on the roof of Medinah’s golf shop, and also at the north and south ends of the property. A main computer terminal in the golf shop indicates the type of lightning that is in the area, as well as its strength and its distance from the golf courses. When lightning is within a 2-1/2-mile radius of the club, the system sounds a siren to warn golfers of a potential lightning strike. A different audible alarm gives the all-clear signal when the danger has passed.
“It takes the human element out of the equation,” notes Scully.
Medinah was one of the first properties in the Chicago area to install the technology, and the Chicago District Golf Association (CDGA) also selected a system by the manufacturer, Thor Guard, to provide real-time weather information to its 400 member facilities.
Even with the reliability demonstrated by the system, the Medinah staff has continued to stay current with, and add, technology that can help it stay ahead of storms, as part of this increasingly important part of everyone’s jobs. With new computer applications that became available two seasons ago, reports Head Golf Professional Chris Crouch, staff members and golfers can now download weather data from other CDGA courses in the network.
“We now have a weather detection system that has evolved to include lightning detection and software applications with radar and detailed weather forecasts,” says Crouch.
In the past, staff members at Chicago-area properties called each other on the phone to ask about current and developing weather conditions, he explains. Now, with the online application, they can log into another property’s website to check weather conditions. In addition, club members can check weather conditions at one of three computer terminals in the clubhouse.
“We battle weather all the time on the golf courses,” adds Medinah’s General Manager, Barry Garrett, about the ongoing attention to storm tracking that is paid by everyone on his team. “This system gives us the ability to protect our golfers, members, guests and staff. It lets them know when to clear the course.”
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