On Florida’s Atlantic Coast is Hammock Dunes, a private, oceanfront country club with two 18-hole golf courses approximately 3 miles apart. With over 1250 courses across the state, Florida has the most golf courses of any US state and both Hammock Dunes courses, the “Creek Course” and the “Links Course,” are placed in the top 50.
Maintaining this premium experience for the players at the Hammock Dunes Club is a priority for Director of Golf, Matt Stewart, and one of the largest factors affecting the experience is the weather. Hammock Dunes chose to implement Perry Weather as their lightning detection and weather monitoring solution in order to keep their players and staff safe from the unpredictable Florida weather conditions.
“Early to mid-May, all the way through September, you just don’t know how fast something can roll up on you. And this time of year, it can come from any direction. So having Perry Weather up and running is very important.” – Matt Stewart, Director of Golf
Florida: The US Lightning Strike Capital
Year over year, Florida maintains its position as the state with the most lightning strikes per square mile. These conditions make it extremely important for golf clubs in Florida to have a solution in place to monitor lightning strikes in the area.
“Here in North Florida, we get lightning ahead of the storm. A lot of people might wait for the rain to come while the lightning is out ahead of it. That’s the dangerous part. Water doesn’t hurt us.” – Matt Howes, Director of Agronomy
Matt sees the coastal thunderstorms as not only a risk to the players on the course, but also the maintenance staff. The frequency of strikes in the summer paired with the unpredictable nature of the weather make having a solution in place to monitor and alert the staff and players essential.
Lightning Detection for Golf Courses
After implementing Perry Weather for lightning strike detection and weather monitoring, unpredictable thunderstorms became a much more manageable disruption.
With Perry Weather, Hammock Dunes gained capabilities that greatly increased the safety and certainty around weather events:
- Lightning Detection & Mobile Alerts – Perry Weather detects lightning near the course and sends Hammock Dunes staff a mobile notification letting them know how close the lightning is
- Outdoor Warning System – Once lightning is detected, the Perry Weather outdoor warning system triggers, sounding a siren blast and a bright strobe light, letting everyone know to seek safety
- Golf Cart Integration – Perry Weather alerts and radar are cast directly to all E-Z-GO and Club Car golf cart screens so that members can stay informed anywhere on the course
- Membership App Integration – Club members can view the weather conditions straight from their membership app and monitor how much time is left in the lightning delay or what the wind speed is
Perry Weather’s Lightning Alerts in Action
Before installing Perry Weather, there was no reliable way of alerting people out on the course of the presence of lightning. Now, everyone knows exactly when they need to seek safety.
“Three weeks ago, we had two trees get hit over at the creek course. The alarm went off. It was actually at reset. So it was its second time going off when we had a couple of trees catch fire. The course was cleared.” – Matt Howes, Director of Agronomy
Efficient Tournaments and Events Operations
Hammock Dunes Golf Course relies on Perry Weather for more than just lightning detection and alerts. They also utilize it while hosting outdoor events such as tournaments.
24/7 Meteorologist Access
Before any outdoor event, Hammock Dunes staff can consult with Perry Weather’s expert meteorologists and get customized weather forecasts for a given day.
The forecasts help Hammock Dunes plan tee times and avoid delays caused by unexpected rain or storms. With 24/7 access to meteorological support, staff can get real-time guidance whether skies are clear or thunderstorms are imminent.
Efficient Communication Through Text-to-Speech
“One of the more frustrating parts of trying to start a shotgun tournament is getting people off the range so that you can get your event started on time. We can use that PA system, send a text saying, please return to the cart staging area at this time so that we can begin morning announcements. Perry Weather helps us with that.” – Matt Stewart, Director of Golf
Perry Weather’s PA integration also allows the event to begin simultaneously across all holes and ensures that messages—such as schedule updates or other announcements—are heard loud and clear, keeping participants informed anywhere they are.
How Perry Weather’s On-site Weather Data Drives Course Maintenance
Another critical component of Perry Weather is its ability to monitor essential metrics for tracking the health of the grass.
“The weather station itself is critical to our role…We look at the future weather pattern along with the evapotranspiration rates and that tells us how the grass is growing, what needs to be watered, what might need to be fertilized. I’ll even go as far as saying the onsite weather stations at each course helps us with our insect activity.” – Matt Howes, Director of Agronomy
Using Perry Weather, Hammock Dunes maintenance staff can track metrics like:
Evapotranspiration – Track the amount of water leaving the soil so that you can properly plan irrigation
Precipitation – Perry Weather accurately monitors rainfall using its 6 inch rain gauge
These features made Perry Weather a great investment not only for the safety of the maintenance staff and membership, but also for the health of the grass.
Ensuring the safety of the staff and membership
By providing advanced lightning detection, automated weather alerts, and meteorological support, Perry Weather enables the Hammock Dunes team to give members the premium and safe experience they’ve come to expect despite Florida’s unpredictable weather conditions.
Beyond safety, Perry Weather has made course operations for tournaments and the maintenance team more efficient, filling gaps in communication and giving the team confidence when it comes to decisions around the weather.
