Hard Hats Cancel The title field is required!

1. Robert Shetter

   

   3 posts
   
   5/6/2014 6:05 PM

   I would like some feedback on employees wearing hard hats on the course. Thank you in advance.

   
   
   
   
2. Jeremy Hreben

   

   0 posts
   
   5/7/2014 7:05 PM

   Good Luck! It sucks! They are super hot and restrict hearing. Teaching that new trick to old dogs is gonna be tough. I tried it for 3 years to no avail.

   
   
   
   
3. Peter Bowman

   

   11 posts
   
   5/7/2014 10:05 PM

   I took a golf ball on the fly in the forehead right above my nose one day about 34 yeras ago. I was pulling a walking greens aerifier on a foggy morning, and the golfer couldn't even see us on the green, nor could we see him. Knocked me down but didn't knock me out, luckily. I didn't miss a beat with the aerifier.
   
   I was supposed to be wearing a helmet, according to company policy, but my hair was too perfect back then.

   
   
   
   
4. Canedo Alberto J

   
   5/8/2014 11:05 AM

   All maintenance employees including the Superintendent have to wear hard hats at all times, while on the golf course. I have gotten used to it and never leave the office without it.

   
   
   
   
5. Richard Lavine

   

   3 posts
   
   5/8/2014 2:05 PM

   Peter Bowman, CGCS said: I took a golf ball on the fly in the forehead right above my nose one day about 34 yeras ago. I was pulling a walking greens aerifier on a foggy morning, and the golfer couldn't even see us on the green, nor could we see him. Knocked me down but didn't knock me out, luckily. I didn't miss a beat with the aerifier.
   
   I was supposed to be wearing a helmet, according to company policy, but my hair was too perfect back then.

   
   
   I always suspected there was something going on there.

   
   
   
   
6. Dennis Kling

   

   0 posts
   
   12/16/2014 10:12 AM

   Sorry for posting a replay so late after it was created but we too have a "hard hat" policy for our golf division. I too like most of you guys tried to hold out as long as possible without a hard hat policy but was forced to come up with a mandatory policy requiring hard hats to be worn at all times when performing maintenance on the golf course. We have had the policy in place for about 4 years now. It took a lot of work and "coaching" to get all crew members on board and understanding the value of safety by wearing the hard hat. I was probably the worst offender at first till I made it a habit when I leave the shop and head out onto the course to automatically grab the hard hat. This is a great example of practicing what you preach and being a strong leader. I agree with a few of the other guys that the "old dogs" on the crew are the worst and took the longer to get it corrected. Funny how sometimes you just have to say this policy is a condition of your employment to get people to finally comply. One thing you might want to bring up when training employees on wearing the hard hat is to not fall into that false sense of security by wearing this hard hat that they are invincible and can't get hurt.
   
   Thanks,
   Dennis

   
   
   
   
7. Wally Dowe

   

   0 posts
   
   12/24/2014 12:12 PM

   I'm curious for those that have a policy in place who is required to wear the hard hats? Just maintenance staff? rangers/player assistants? Beverage cart staff? If anyone gets a tour of the golf course are they required to wear a hard hat?
   
   It would seem this policy would be similar to a construction site policy. Anyone entering the construction area (golf course in this case) must wear a hard hat.
   
   Wally Dowe
   Ventana Canyon
   Tucson, AZ

   
   
   
   
8. Andy Jorgensen

   

   1 posts
   
   12/24/2014 6:12 PM

   Wally Dowe said: I'm curious for those that have a policy in place who is required to wear the hard hats? Just maintenance staff? rangers/player assistants? Beverage cart staff? If anyone gets a tour of the golf course are they required to wear a hard hat?
   
   It would seem this policy would be similar to a construction site policy. Anyone entering the construction area (golf course in this case) must wear a hard hat.
   
   Wally Dowe
   Ventana Canyon
   Tucson, AZ

   
   
   
   When we made our policy, I said the same thing. ANY employee on the course should have to wear them. My boss agreed. The golf shop staff wore them for about three months and started get lackadaisical and eventually quit. My staff still pretty much wears them, but there are also a bunch of reminders to the staff about the policy. I'm just waiting for the $*** to hit the fan for the golf shop staff. Just trying to stay out of it.

   
   
   
   
9. James Smith

   

   112 posts
   
   12/30/2014 7:12 AM

   Andy Jorgensen said:

   Wally Dowe said: I'm curious for those that have a policy in place who is required to wear the hard hats? Just maintenance staff? rangers/player assistants? Beverage cart staff? If anyone gets a tour of the golf course are they required to wear a hard hat?
   
   It would seem this policy would be similar to a construction site policy. Anyone entering the construction area (golf course in this case) must wear a hard hat.
   
   Wally Dowe
   Ventana Canyon
   Tucson, AZ

   
   
   
   When we made our policy, I said the same thing. ANY employee on the course should have to wear them. My boss agreed. The golf shop staff wore them for about three months and started get lackadaisical and eventually quit. My staff still pretty much wears them, but there are also a bunch of reminders to the staff about the policy. I'm just waiting for the $*** to hit the fan for the golf shop staff. Just trying to stay out of it.

   
   
   Wow how you hit the nail on the head with your last sentence!
   I have been doing that for almost 20 years! been through 4 different golf Pro's so far. the second was the worst because he simply made up lies about me to get the attention to his mistakes away from himself. I think that now my club understands not to believe everything a pro tells them.
   
   We do not use hard hats at our club. If it came down to it I would personally have an issue with it (I simply do not wear hats) but since I am the leader I have to be the first to make the move! It does make it easier to tell your crew "if I can wear one so can you".

   
   
   
   
10. Wester Dustin A

    
    4/27/2015 1:04 PM

    The policy at a golf course I worked at in the past required a hard hat until you knew the golf course. Once you knew where to look and took a drive around test, you didn't have to wear them. They make hard hats that fit inside a regular baseball cap. Kind of uncomfortable but better looking for the crew.

    
    
    
    
11. Keith Pegg

    

    0 posts
    
    4/27/2015 4:04 PM

    All on my staff have hard hats and must wear them! One trick is to drill a few small air holes to help with summer heat, yes it most likely would not pass an inspection however if done right and nice looking it seems to work. Most of my staff have two hard hats one for summer and one for winter or (rain days). Myself I have one in my cart and do put it on if I need to. I have been hit a few times in 40 plus years never in the head (some my dispute that) . With a lot of new and light weight approved hard hats on the market these days I am not sure why anyone would fight it. Note Proshop employees do not have hard hats; this will change when safety office thinks about it I am sure.
    
    Keith
    US Army Golf Japan

    
    
    
    
12. Max Lamas

    

    0 posts
    
    1/30/2016 7:01 PM

    If an employee gets killed due to a golf ball; OSHA will most likely fine you as well as the employee family havinh a field day in court. As a manager it is our responsibily to determine what is a risk and to supply the proper PPE.

    
    
    
    
13. Larry Allan

    

    0 posts
    
    1/31/2016 2:01 PM

    Laws obviously differ but the law up here states that PPD's are only to be used if there is no other way to avoid a dangerous situation....There is!. Tell the employee to move to a safe place until the players have hit, and then return to the job at hand.
    
    The last thing I want to tell an employees parents or spouse is that your kid/husband died as a result of taking a line drive in the temple...but at least he was wearing a hard hat.
    
    While a golfer would never think of hitting a shot into a group of golfers ahead of them, they seem to think that an employee, wearing what amounts to a dinner plate on his heat is fair game.
    
    Picture a guy wearing a hard hat from a side view. How much is he protected? I bet it's less than 1 percent of his body mass. I was told by a workplace safety trainer that in his opinion, anything short of an air conditioned suit of armour would not meet PPD requirement to stay in the line of fire. The solution is to remove the worker from the situation until the situation has been made safe...period.
    
    A hard hat , in my opinion, gives everyone a false sense of security, which can only end tragically. Lose an eye wearing a white hat? WTF are we thinking?

    
    
    
    
14. Christopher Thuer

    

    101 posts
    
    1/31/2016 3:01 PM

    As an intern at a local private in 1985, we complained to the superintendent about members hitting at us too much. He took our complaint to the board and they mandated the use of hard hats. It only made it worse and more members started hitting at us. They were heavy, hot, and would not stay on when bending over doing things like irrigation leaks, etc.
    
    I know a local irrigation sales and service rep who took a ball on the base of his skull, behind his ear, several years ago while helping a course fix some wiring problems. The location of where it hit him would not have been protected by a hard hat. He nearly died, was in a coma, and had bone fragments removed from his brain. It took him months to recover.

    
    Chris Thuer, CGCS, Bear Slide Golf Club, Cicero, IN
    
    
15. Sean Hoolehan

    

    0 posts
    
    2/1/2016 9:02 AM

    If a employee gets hit by a golfer playing a adjacent fairway (a really bad shot) that's a inherent job hazard. If a employee gets hit while working in the general vicinity of where the golfer is aiming that's a bad decision by someone. I tell my staff to get out of the way, take shelter, avoid working in the vicinity of where golfers are hitting/aiming. I expect golfers to give my staff time to get out of the way. I have warned players that hit into my staff that there are multiple attorneys in town who would love to get a 3rd of their fortune.
    
    How this generally happens is someone tees off early, jumps from hole to hole, or sneaks off the back-nine because they do not want to wait. Hard hats are OK but i agree with Chris and Red, they give either the golfer or the employee a false sense of security. Employees need to get out of the line of fire.

    
    
    
    
16. Max Lamas

    

    0 posts
    
    2/8/2016 6:02 PM

    Hard hats also need to be replaced every 5 years.