Emergency Response Plan Is Critical

We’ve had a number of incidents that illustrate the importance of a good emergency response plan.

Recently, two guys were out fishing on the Bow River. One of them came running up and said, `Call 911.’ The other man was in diabetic shock, but he was showing signs of a stroke.

We had one golfer last year who was stung by a wasp that he didn’t realize was in a drink. All of a sudden, his tongue swelled, his eyes went back in his head and he was down. He didn’t know he was allergic because he’d never been stung before.

Doing the quick math, we have approximately 30 staff members who are certified in first aid, CPR and use of the defibrillator and we have to be CPR certified every year.

At any given time, we will have a minimum of four or five on duty. We always make sure that there is a core of certified marshals, starters and food and beverage people because of our catering facility.

There will also be at least one in the clubhouse. Our golf pros, office staff and management team are certified and so is our superintendent, assistant superintendent and many of our grounds crew because, typically, if something happens on the golf course, the marshals or grounds crew will be first on the scene.

I have a walkie-talkie with me at all times and all of our departments do. In an emergency, communication is key. When the most recent incident occurred, I just got on the radio and said, `Emergency Response Plan. X person goes here. Y person goes there – 911 had been called.’

When emergency vehicles show up, whether it’s fire, EMS or whatever, they’ll hit the top of the hill, get directions from one of our staff members and we’ve got staff lined up along the way to direct them to the building where we need them.

We work with the local hospital and EMS so when they bring up Cottonwood, they know we have an emergency response plan and this is what they should expect to see. We put that plan into action about four or five years ago.

A golf course is no different than your gym, where there’s a defibrillator on the wall, there’s a plan and the staff knows CPR. A golf course is recreational place as well and we’re a walking course.

In our case, we have 18 holes out there. For the most part, we see them when they check in, we see them at the turn and we see them when they come in. That’s two hours that we don’t see them, then two more hours.

Anything can happen and an emergency response plan will prepare you for it.

Related Posts:

• All Systems Go Without A False Start
• We Miss Somebody From Golf’s Extended Family
• Take Advantage Of Down Time During The Holidays
• Spacing Out Tee Times To Improve Pace Of Play