Page 14 - GM summer French 2025

the fatal strike or were just steps away
from safety. Communicating the
known location of the shelter ahead of
time reduces time delay and
uncertainty.
5. Communication structure
Designate someone to monitor
weather and make decisions to
respond quickly and appropriately to
weather risks. Include the
communication channels, cadence,
stakeholders and people responsible
for communicating weather risks.
Once the weather risk plan is
complete. Conduct a tabletop
exercise to test the plan. It is
recommended to run the exercise
annually to update the plan if needed
and ensure that new employees are
aware of the process.
When the plan is established,
determine the level of weather
awareness needed to make confident
decisions that prevent, reduce or
minimize risks.
6. Choose the right weather
information
The advancement in the science of
meteorology, technology and data
science, such as AI (Artificial
Intelligence) and machine learning,
provides greater access to reliable
weather information. Forecasts are
the first line of weather awareness.
These can come from government
sources, weather apps or websites,
and enterprise services. Each offers
situational awareness of evolving
14
• CGSA • GreenMaster
weather conditions but vary on
quality of data, forecast, granularity of
impact and meteorological support.
For example, DTN Weather Sentry
provides location and/or company-
specific weather forecasts, custom
thresholds and alerts , and
meteorological consultation with a
risk communicator.
Risk communicators are meteor-
ologists with industry expertise to
help decision makers plan, assess
and determine the next course of
action. For golf, a risk communicator
would work in partnership with the
superintendent to assess weather
risks and response procedures. They
monitor the weather and advise on
play decisions such as moving start
times, delaying play and even using
precision wind forecasts to help
position holes and tees for optimal
play.
During the event, the on-site or
consulting meteorologists are
actively watching real-time weather,
particularly for lightning or damaging
winds and providing guidance as to
when spectators and players may
need to be moved to safe areas.
Risk Communicator Model
WHAT IS NEXT FOR THE INDUSTRY?
Historically, meteorologists have
used surface and satellite
observations along with numerical
weather prediction model guidance
to provide the most accurate
forecast. The advances in computing
power and cloud technology,
improved weather models, and
machine learning have relegated
some of the age-old constraints in
weather forecasts to the past. Here
are a few examples:
•  AI, along with machine learning,
uses large amounts of historical
data to “learn” weather patterns
and use that along with the current
conditions to help determine a
forecast. This is not too dissimilar to
how meteorologists learn pattern
recognition over years of observing
and forecasting weather conditions,
but on a much larger and faster
scale. This gives golf
superintendents reliable weather
insights up to seven days in advance
to plan and prepare for changes in
the weather.