Potential Risks Associated With Junior Camps

Junior camps are organized to be a fun and exciting learning experience in the development of young golfers. Although everything affiliated with these clinics are designed to be safe and informative, potential risks are always relevant when dealing with children. Junior camps are typically for children between the age of 6 and 14. With the proper hiring, training and supervision, the risks associated with junior camps can significantly be lowered.

Hiring the right staff is crucial for any golf club to implement. It is easy for anyone to act a certain way or hide their true identity. A golf club hiring staff for junior clinics must assess the potential client through a police background check. Through the website, www.mybackcheck.com, you can find results for your potential employee by the next day. This will help you meet industry standards, while showing upper management that the right individual has been hired.

One term management must understand is in regards towards taking proper action with children when their parents have gone. The term, In Loco Parentis means “In the place of a parent.” This shows that accepting children for junior camps, your staff must ensure they take the legal responsibility on some of the functions and responsibility that a parent would. Understanding this will help your staff with many basic health and safety standard in the camps. Basic procedures such as hydration for the children during warm days, golf cart rules and safety, children to instructor ratio (6 children to 1 instructor) and always making sure there is adequate space before any child swings a golf club.

During junior camps, traveling out on the golf course is an everyday occurrence. Sometimes the golf cart limo drive can take upwards of 10 to 15 minutes. Making sure the staff instructing the junior clinics are certified with CPR and First Aid Training can be of great value and potentially lower the any health related risk. There are many local areas within Ontario that provide courses and certification for these categories. One of the most common ones is the Canadian Red Cross, www.redcross.ca Having your staff complete one of these courses will add knowledge, confidence and skills to deal with any emergency situations that may arise.

The last major consideration that I would encourage golf clubs to take is the completion of the Canadian PGAs teaching and coaching certification program. This course is specifically designed by golf professionals in order to ensure younger employees understand the basic skills in teaching golf, the safety and risks associated with it and understanding how children first react to the sport. This will add confidence, moral and experience to anyone looking to teach junior clinics. http://www.rcga.org/innerpage.aspx?x=blo7lhvsComrBgsF5YMQplh0SJBKITlQK7Go8nQKx4cw71aidbkRm6pu84BlZ%2FEa

By ensuring your golf club has taken all necessary steps and requirements, junior clinics will run smoother, more effective and reduce the potential risks involved. These clinics are important to the club, as well as the teachers due to the large generated income conducted from them. By managing, training and supervising your staff, your club can help manage the risk and provide a safer learning atmosphere for children.

Shaun Wizniak

Branching Out Your Risk Management

Proper tree care and management can be essential to minimizing risk in such heavily treed areas as golf clubs and various gardens. Golf clubs can learn from incidents that similar businesses or organizations have encountered. One example sticks out which happened in the Humber Bay Park East located in the Greater Toronto Area:

“A woman in the GTA was out for a picnic on a beautiful summer day with her family. Then something they never could have imagined happened, a large tree on the side of the path they were walking on feel over and landed on mother. It took almost an hour for police to get that and free her from this terrible situation. She was rushed to the hospital with very serious injuries leaving her family in shock and dismay.” (Haniff, 2011)

All courses have trees within their design and with that come various risks

Improper branch removal can leave sharp edges on trees that can result in cuts and bruises

Improper removal of fallen limbs and branches opens the opportunity of slips, trips and falls into any of the surrounding objects which opens the door for different degrees injury

Falling trees and branches can strike players or workers causing injury or even death as noted in the Humber Bay Park East incident

Action Plan

• Ensuring that during the offseason and throughout the season maintenance is done thoroughly and properly. This includes such things as:
• Removing all dead or dying trees within play
• Removing any small trees that will not survive due to lack of sunlight or nutrition which may also kill other healthier trees around
• Maintaining any branches that have broken off
• Ensuring that you remove all debris or remains from any area on that course that is in place and relocated to an out of play location
• Frequently checking up and evaluating any large trees that are within any high traffic areas

Going the extra mile

Seeking the help and advice of an Arborist can be very helpful in evaluating and building a plan to locate and properly move any trees that are dying or are restricting the availability or exposure of sunlight to the surrounding area

Bringing in specialists to help specify and evaluate any issues concerning building codes, procedures or policies with power lines or buildings

Added Benefits

Proper removal and maintenance with a solid strategy or plan can have additional benefits apart from risk management:

• Keep your other trees healthier
• Increases the sunlight availability to the grass and surrounding areas
• This will help with the health of your grass and trees which can reduce the time, staff and materials required to maintain the area
• This can also help to reduce the use pesticides and fertilizers which is a benefit both to the club`s budget and the environment

Works Cited

Haniff, A. (2011, July 20). Woman Seriously Injured After Tree Falls On Her. The Toronto Star. Toronto, Ontario, Canada: The Toronto Star.

By Paul Ngimat

Are your staff properly trained? – PROVE IT!

The maintenance equipment that golf courses use is fantastic for what they are design to do. They can maintain the course quickly and at an efficient cost. The downside of this equipment is that they are generally high powered machinery with many moving parts that can cause severe harm if misused. There are several cases of accidents such as lost limbs, disfigurement s and large lacerations occurring to the staff while operating the equipment. The main reason for this is that courses are not properly training their staff how to use the machinery properly. They give out basic training that allows for the job to get done but do not go over the entire machine and every potential situation that may occur.

Here are a few helpful tips to assure safe operations on turf equipment

• all staff must watch training video on specific machinery
• all staff must receive full on-machinery training from supervisors
• all staff must be signed off my supervisors on what machines they are permitted to use
• prior to use and during use, staff should be able to identify any mechanical errors occurring in order to prevent an accident for happening.
• all machines should be stowed and locked in their proper areas and keys should not be accessible to unauthorized staff and the public

It is very important that each employee is trained on the machinery they operate. It is even more important that this training is documented. Under the Ontario Health and Safety Act, it states that employees should be trained regularly in order to prevent accidents. By documenting the training, the course is showing their due diligence in properly training their staff. This can be done by having the Superintendent or assistants train and sign off on each employee for every machine they use. However, the way to assure the best documentation would be to video tape every training session and keep the video on file. This is easy as video files can be electronic and transferable. This is becoming more common for the larger courses, but is also very important that the smaller, public courses are on board and begin documenting their employee training. They also need to educate their staff on their rights. Every employee has the right to: know the risks involved in a task, participate and or refuse any unsafe tasks. If both the staff and the employers are educated and take the necessary precautions prior to operating machinery, the number of accidents will drop drastically.

OHS - http://www.healthandsafetyontario.ca/HSO/Home.aspx

WSIB - http://www.wsib.on.ca/en/community/WSIB

John Deere Turf - http://www.deere.com/wps/dcom/en_US/parts/parts_by_industry/golf/golf.page?

By Rick Leendertse

Inappropriate golf cart use

I determine the risk level to be significant.

My research states that from 1990 to 2006, approximately 147,700 people were treated in emergency rooms for injuries relating to golf carts. Interestingly enough, numbers are only going up. In 1990, 5,772 people went to the emergency room. In 2006, 13,411 people were treated. Falls from golf carts are the most reported problem. If a person falls from a golf cart and hits their head, the consequences can be catastrophic. In the summer of 2008, a Chicago man fell from a golf cart driven by a course employee at Indian Lakes Resort and suffered a severe traumatic brain injury. If you are tasked with driving the golf cart, take this responsibility seriously. Do not drive to fast, and take into consideration the weather and terrain. Brake carefully and slowly, especially on slopes. And always slow down for turns. Finally, remind other passengers to keep arms and legs inside the cart at all times, and never engage in horseplay.

Please go to my research link:

http://www.avvo.com/legal-guides/ugc/golf-course-accidents-injuries-from-golf-balls-golf-clubs-and-golf-carts

If a reckless driver causes a golf cart accident, an injured passenger can be compensated by the driver’s homeowner insurance policy. Other golfers who are hit by the cart can also file a claim for negligent driving. There may also be dram shop liability if the driver was served too much alcohol.

http://www.azrichlaw.com/practice-areas/premises-liability/golf-course-accidents/

A study done by Gerald McGwin associate director of research at the Center for Injury Sciences at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and published in the Journal of Trauma: Injury, Infection and Critical Care, states conservatively there are about 1,000 golf cart injuries per month in the United States. Roughly half of these accidents occurred on golf courses.

http://www.al.com/news/birminghamnews/index.ssf?/base/news/1213085734222891.xml&coll=2

The likelihood of someone getting hurt on our golf course is quite likely and the consequences are at least moderate which can lead to significant consequences.

Manson boy hurt in golf cart accident: “A 15-year-old Manson boy was flown to a Seattle trauma center Tuesday night after he was thrown from a golf cart and showed signs of a possible skull fracture, authorities said…. He was riding in a golf cart with a friend at the Lake Chelan Municipal Golf Course, when the friend drove down a steep hill near the 18th hole and turned left, causing Lolos to fall out of the cart…” The Wenatchee World, June 23, 2010

There are roughly 15,000 golf cart related accidents requiring emergency room treatment in the United States each year. The majority of these accidents are related to either braking, cart rollover or passenger ejection. These problems are common to golf carts due to their open design, lack of seatbelts, poor braking capabilities and the uneven terrains they are driven on. Although industry standards prohibit golf carts from exceeding a maximum speed of 15 mph, rollovers and ejections still occur due to sharp turns, steep inclines, mechanical failures and driver error. In addition, most golf carts are equipped with mechanical rear brakes only (instead of four wheel brakes like cars), significantly limiting their stopping ability.

What Are Some Injuries The Owner Of A Golf Course May Be Liable For?

Golf cart injuries: Liability to a course's owner arises from improper maintenance of the golf cart or failure to repair a dangerous condition of the course on which it is used.

If I Am Injured On A Golf Course, Do I Need A Personal Injury Attorney?

A personal injury lawyer will be able to evaluate the seriousness of your injury, the degree of negligence of the golf course, and the likelihood that you will be able to recover for you claim. If you are injured while driving a golf cart rented from the course on its grounds you should contact an attorney for advice on your claim.

We all have a common sense about what negligence is, but the official Black’s Law Dictionary (8th edition 2004) definition is:“The failure to exercise the standard of care that a reasonably prudent person would have exercised in a similar situation; any conduct that falls below the legal standard established to protect others against unreasonable risk of harm. …”

Call to Action: The last thing any golf course wants is an injury to their members or customers. The golf course needs to take golf cart injuries more seriously. The increase in lawsuits in Canada for personal injuries requires a more diligent effort on behalf of the golf course owners. A signed waiver or informed consent and a back shop employee explaining golf cart operation at the pro shop before the golf cart is issued to the golfers using the golf cart (include driver and passenger), before teeing off on the first tee the Starter will go over some golf cart fundamentals and rules plus any issues on the golf course that may be prevalent at the time such as cart path only and golf cart out of bounds markers. The Marshall or Play Coordinators that patrol the golf course to monitor golfers driving golf carts as well as their other duties. This will not eliminate all of the golf cart accidents but will go a long way in eliminating quite a few of them.

By Dean Bezanson

Avoid the spill that could cost you a mill!

Chemical storage is both risky and dangerous not only in a remote area, but especially in close proximity to public places, such as a golf course, which see a large number of people pass through everyday. Although the risk cannot be completely eliminated, there are methods to mitigate the risk that can reduce the seriousness of the risk and help avoid serious consequences. While there are risks involved there are ways to mitigate these risks but one should bear in mind that the risks still exists and there can be serious consequences involved.

The risk of storing harmful chemicals at a golf course can be grave but if the golf course takes the correct precautions these risks can be greatly reduced. They can store the chemicals in areas that are located at a distance from the course where individuals visiting the course will not have access to them. However, even at a distance, signs should be posted surrounding the area where the chemicals are stored and should be safely locked away. By implementing such measures the risk of golfers coming into contact with the chemical can be greatly avoided.

Not only are their risks to the public in regards to chemical storage at a golf course, but there are also considerable risks to the environment. If for some reason the chemicals were to leak they could have disastrous effects on the environment surrounding the course. A way to mitigate such a risk would once again involve storage, in which chemicals should be stored in well-sealed containers meant for chemical storage to avoid the chance of leakage.

The million dollar saving:

· Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS)

· Organized storage area that are properly ventilated

· Compiling all safety regulations

· Efficient and effective staff policies and procedures

Additionally the course should have an action plan in the event that chemicals do leak, causing damage to the environment or causing injury to an individual. This plan can be made in partnership with the local fire department that would have information regarding what to do in such an event.

Nonetheless chemical storage at a golf course is risky. It may be a good idea to limit the amount of chemicals being stored at the course, so that in the case of an accident or malfunction it would occur on a smaller scale and have less of an impact.

Implementing such measures will both mitigate the risks of chemical storage and allow the course to maintain efficient access to the chemicals needed to maintain the grounds.

By: Paul Magliocchi