Lightning strike scorches Florida golf green in real-life 'Caddyshack' moment

A lightning strike at Gator Trace Golf Course left a scarred putting green and a serious reminder: storms can turn deadly fast.

Golfers at Gator Trace Golf Course in Fort Pierce, Florida, got a close-up look at the raw power of lightning, right on Hole 3. A lightning bolt struck the green during a storm on Friday afternoon, exploding the flagstick and leaving a scorched, branching scar across the putting surface.

“It completely exploded,” general manager Lantie Hughes told local news affiliate WPTV. “Never hit a flag stick, never hit a green like this.”

Thankfully, no one was hurt. Hughes said staff cleared the course and called all golfers in as the storm approached. Residents nearby felt the blast and said it sounded like a bomb.

Golfer John Engel, who was on the course earlier that day, returned to find a literal lightning print etched into the green.

“It’s just amazing to look at,” he told WPTV. “You can see where the lightning went through, how it stretches out like fingers.”

“It’s like a 'Caddyshack' type of event,” Hughes said, referencing the cult golf film where lightning famously strikes the course during a game.

But while the moment had cinematic flair, experts say lightning risk is very real—especially during summer.

So far this year, at least 12 people in the United States have been killed by lightning, including two recent fatalities in New Jersey. On July 8, a 28-year-old man died after being struck on a golf course in Hardyston. Just days later, a 61-year-old man was killed and 13 others were injured, including children from a local Scouts troop, when lightning hit an archery range in Jackson Township.

Each year, lightning kills about 20 people on average in the U.S. and injures hundreds more, according to the National Weather Service.

Lightning safety expert John Jensenius, says many deaths are preventable but often tied to behavior.

“Men are four times as likely to be struck and killed by lightning as women,” Jensenius told AccuWeather. “Men are involved in more vulnerable activities…fishing, boating, golfing, working outdoors.”

While many associate lightning risk with golf, Jensenius notes that other outdoor activities like fishing account for even more deaths. He adds that metal doesn’t attract lightning, but being the tallest object in an open area, like a person on a fairway, makes you vulnerable.

“If you’re outside and hear thunder, you need to get inside a substantial building right away,” Jensenius said. “If you can’t get to a building, a fully enclosed, hard-topped car is the next safest place.”

And once inside, stay there for at least 30 minutes after the last thunderclap, he adds.

As for Gator Trace, the “bolt-in-one” left behind more than a talking point—it’s a reminder that storms move fast, and lightning strikes with no warning.

“We’ve got too many good days in Florida to be out playing in the rain and lightning,” Hughes told WPTV.

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