Golf swing sparks wildfire

Here's a story you don't hear everyday: a golfer's club created sparks which caused a 25-acre wildfire in California recently.

Thanks to the quick response from the golfers, the crew at Shady Canyon Golf Club in Irvine, Calif., and the hard work of local firefighters, a disaster was averted.

I spoke with David Major, CGCS and a 29-year Class A member of GCSAA about the fire. He's the director of agronomy at Shady Canyon, and said that even though it's a strange thing, it's not the first time he's seen a fire started by sparks from a golf club. "This was like the movie 'Groundhog Day,'" Major laughed, telling me a smaller fire was started at Shady Canyon a few years ago, but that fire was contained before it got out of control.

Major said he had just gotten home when he received the phone call that a wildfire had broken out at the course. He also said he's lucky he didn't get a speeding ticket getting back to the course. But it was a well orchestrated effort, and the 25 fire trucks and 63 helicopter loads of water managed to control the fire. Damage to the course was at a minimum as the fire blew away from the course, into some surrounding hills and chaparral. "(The fire trucks) didn't even hit a sprinkler head -- it was amazing," he said.

The story caught fire all its own, and the news of a golf shot sparking a fire went worldwide, making headlines as far away as the U.K. and Australia. "The uniqueness of the way the fire started made headlines, but it's our second fire from a golf club," Major said. "I've often hit shots where I've seen sparks come off."

We talked about how common this really is, and wondered: could there be something in the air at Shady Canyon that makes golf clubs more prone to shooting sparks there? The course is located in Southern California, west of Newport Beach, only 5 miles from the ocean. Perhaps this could be the subject of a future research story...

Look for more on this story in the October issue of GCM, and to see more photos Major took of the fire, click over to the Shady Canyon course maintenance blog here.

Comments

[Orlando Golf Course]

Wow, I have never heard of a golf club actually sparking a fire. How is this possible? I can't imagine that happening during a hot summer at an Orlando golf course.

[John]

25 fire trucks and 63 helicopter loads of water but only minimum damage to the golf course? That is pretty hard to believe, but congrats to the owner.