Lightning kills golfer in Pennsylvania — and he’s not first to die that way in 2021

A 71-year-old golfer was killed by lightning in Pennsylvania — the second time this year a fatal strike has occurred on a golf course in the U.S.

It happened around 1:30 p.m. Friday at Pine Hills Golf Course near Scranton, according to Lackawanna County Coroner Timothy Rowland.

Joseph Slivinski, of Blakely, “was attempting to seek shelter” when he was struck, Rowland said in a release. “He died at the golf course.”

Slivinski’s death is the third documented lightning fatality of 2021, two of which occurred on golf courses in the Northeast, according to John Jensenius, Lightning Safety Specialist with the National Lightning Safety Council.

The previous golfer death involved 70-year-old Michael Ward, who was playing on June 9 when he was killed at the Burlington Country Club in New Jersey, according to the Burlington County Times.

There have been a dozen documented cases of golfers killed by lightning since 2006, officials say. Nine of them were hit as they actively played, while the others were standing under a tree or other unsafe sheltering spot, data shows.

Golfers are endangered during thunderstorms because they are often caught in an open space, while holding metal golf clubs, the National Weather Service reports.

“If you are golfing and a thunderstorm approaches, put down your clubs, get away from metal golf carts, take off your golf shoes, and stay away from isolated trees,” the NWS says.

“If your hair stands on end, lightning is about to strike you.”

This story was originally published July 19, 2021 at 5:08 PM with the headline "Lightning kills golfer in Pennsylvania — and he’s not first to die that way in 2021."