Imagine stepping into the tee box, carefully adjusting the tee height, concentrating on keeping your left arm straight and head down. You take a deep breath in and exhale slowly as you ease your driver into a backswing, drop the club face down, and listen to the beautiful "ping" sound of a golf ball taking flight. You look up and realize in horror that the ball is indeed traveling fast and far ... as it hooks left, directly towards the parking lot full of BMWs, Mercedes, and Lincolns.

One would think that a scenario like this would be commonplace -- and the reason for many gnashed teeth, broken club shafts, and golf course insurance claims. But according to Travelers' recent study, there are other, more likely reasons for a course to make a call to its agent to report a claim.

For instance, fires account for just four percent of all claims made by courses, but they add up to 40 percent of property loss costs. According to Travelers, fires typically originate from electrical deficiencies in golf cart storage areas, often due to the use of improper chargers or lack of electrical capacity.

Next, Travelers said that slips, trips, and falls are more prevalent at golf courses because of the rolling terrain, water hazards, and various pathways and walkways. Combining severity and frequency, slips, Travelers said that trips and falls have the largest impact on golf courses and are typically the most preventable.

Lastly, destruction from storms -- including wind damage and inclement weather -- make up 23 percent of total claim costs for golf courses. This is often due to falling tree limbs and leftover debris following a storm.

So be sure to still yell "Fore!" if you strike an errant ball, but you might want to make sure that you are a safe distance from the clubhouse, and standing on solid ground.

To read Travelers' complete study on risk control for golf courses, go to www.travelers.com.

Interested in more risk management news and in-depth articles? Head over to Claims' risk management channel for more information.

Special Reports /

FORE! Travelers Tees Up Golf Course Claims

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