Golfer starts fire?

[jmc]

From the rough?

Wow... Imagine that happening.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19311639/

EDIT: title from "stars" to "starts."

[Charlie_Foxtrot]

Taking "burning up the back nine" to extremes

Blaze burns 20 acres near course after club hits something, creating spark

 

 

Updated: 9:12 a.m. PT June 19, 2007

 

RENO, Nev. - A golfer's attempt to get out of the rough and back on the fairway started a grass fire that burned about 20 acres near a golf course, officials said.

 

The golfer had knocked his ball into dry grass beyond the course on Monday afternoon, officials said. When he tried to play back to the fairway, his club struck something that created a spark.

 

"He was totally honest about it,"Â said Reno Battalion Chief Curtis Johnson.

 

About 50 firefighters responded to the blaze as it spread through tinder-dry grass, and engine trucks were brought in to protect nearby homes.

 

No buildings were damaged and no one was injured, officials said.

 

Uhhhhh, yeah. Like maybe the burning ember from his cigar??

[Rabidpenguin45]

Another reason i dont trust those hx hots...

[Johnny]

very common actually... especially with Ti woods

[italianstallion]

Sparks, I see it all the time when my buddies and I try to sneak in those last few holes at dusk. Some of them play titanium woods, and when they hit them and take a little bit of a divot, you can see a huge spark created by the impact between turf and club. Its a neat effect. Happens at times with my steel FW wood as well.

 

This can actually be a legit story, with 1 out of 100,000 odds maybe, but possible.

[oneplanedan]

I know a caddie who flicked his ash ...not the cig just the ash to put it in his pocket(good kid)....but it caught onto some pine needles...........next thing we know he's reading my partner's putt.........I look back and a huge pine is burning back down the fairway......Good news fire dept. came put it out...tree lived but has scar....he kept his job :D

[Rabidpenguin45]

So if i hit my driver off the deck during dusk or some time like that, i'd see sparks?

[jmc]

I've seen it before at the range. Just can't imagine it startng a fire. That grass must've been pretty scorched already.

[italianstallion]

So if i hit my driver off the deck during dusk or some time like that, i'd see sparks?

 

I'd be comfortable in saying that you definately would.

[MakersMarsh3]

This happened in my town and i didn't even know, that sucks, i hope it wasnt a good course

[MakersMarsh3]

Read this http://news.rgj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2007706190348

 

 

This is the course http://www.wildcreekgc.com/course.asp?HID=505

 

 

Its my high school's teams home course, i play it a ton

[thenewbie]

sometimes I go swing my driver outside at night (you know, sometimes you just have to swing a club), and I see sparks all the time. I completely beleive this.

[David D]

Wow! This course is just up the street from me, I play it fairly often as well, mostly in the winter. It is pretty dry here right now and especially dry up in the foothills where this course is. Still, it does seem a bit far fetched.

[willplaysgolf]

i can see the spark igniting the grass but wouldn't he have time to stomp it out? i guess ive never seen a grass fire but it doesnt seem like a spark from a golf club spread so fast you couldnt stomp it out.

[jmc]

Doesn't it seem too coincidental that it happened in Sparks, Nevada?

[againstthegrain]

Having been a wildland firefighter for 15 years in the western US including 2 years in The Reno-Carson area(Dog Valley, NV and Markleeville, CA) this incident is entirely possible.

 

We had a fire nearby that burned 8000 acres in 12 hours and there were local volunteer firefighters on scene when it was about the size of a campfire.

[crew_138]

You can spark your living room carpet as well.... Please don't do though :D

[Ducky]

When my friend hits his Nike TI driver occasionally it creates a spark too (it usually happens at least once a round).

[Nut_Case]

Amazing story..those grass fires spread QUICK! Someone above asked if you would have time to stomp it..well, probably not..if the grass is dry enough to be lit from a spark, then I doubt you could stomp it out. By the time you realized there was a fire, it would be big to stomp out. Not a good thing to try it anyway, you may catch on fire..

 

I gotta also comment of the your clubs cause sparks thing.. I play at night all the time, and I have never seen these sparks happen from just the turf. I've had it happen form hitting rocks before..not from just grass. Of course I don't leave divots with my woods either..

[stage1350]

If it weren't for the EPA, we could go back to Beryllium Copper. BeCu was used specifically because it won't spark when dropped or struck. But I digress...

[markheardjr]

So if i hit my driver off the deck during dusk or some time like that, i'd see sparks?

 

I'd be comfortable in saying that you definately would.

 

And keep your head down!

[againstthegrain]

i can see the spark igniting the grass but wouldn't he have time to stomp it out? i guess ive never seen a grass fire but it doesnt seem like a spark from a golf club spread so fast you couldnt stomp it out.

 

 

Depends on the fuel, wind, temp, humidity, and slope.

[Charlie_Foxtrot]

You can spark your living room carpet as well.... Please don't do though :D

 

Not to be confused with sparking one up on the carpet.

 

Also not recommended.

[El Guapo]

Hit a "sandy" golfball with a ti-faced driver and watch the sparks fly! Most of the time, the hitter doesn't see the sparks. But, his playing partners will. The thing about a grass fire is, they tend to smolder first. You wouldn't notice it until it decided to fully ignite. By then, of course, it's too late to do anything with your foot. Trust me on this! I live in central Texas and grass fires are fairly common. Thankfully not to the scale of the forest fires in Cali and Nevada, but bad enough. People start grass fires here with their lawn mowers. Strike a rock, kick a spark. By the time you come back around you've got a fun little task to put out. Keep in mind, this is typically seasonal in Texas....like January thru December : )