A worker at an Illinois golf course was killed recently when he was found submerged in a pond, pinned under the equipment he was operating.
Jay Roush (right), 64, died May 22 pinned under a zero-turn mower in 3 feet of water in a pond at Eagle Ridge Golf Course in Paris, Illinois, according to the Edgar County Coroner’s Office.
The incident remains under investigation, but serves as a reminder of the need for ongoing safety training on golf turf maintenance teams.
“The goal every day should be that everyone goes home safely,” said Joe Dise, operations manager of Golf Safety, a firm that specializes in developing safety plans for golf course maintenance operations. “A safety plan also can save a club from a lawsuit.”
Alliant, one of the country’s largest specialty insurance brokerage and risk management consulting firms in the United States, offers several tips to its clients to avoid such incidents on the golf course:
- Regularly inspect the golf course for uneven terrain, tree hazards and potential tripping hazards and act quickly to repair issues.
- Ensure proper maintenance and storage of landscaping tools and equipment.
- Implement pesticide and fertilizer safety measures to prevent chemical exposure and contamination.
- Maintain clear and well-lit pathways, parking lots and entrances.
- Conduct seasonal maintenance to address weather-related hazards.
- Golf Safety, Dise says, spends several hours on site to assess each property when developing a safety plan. Although having a plan is important to help ensure employee safety, such procedures only are helpful if they are followed, Dise says.
“A big chunk of our customers are part of management companies,” he said. “So we do work on a higher level with a lot of these clubs. But the most important thing for us is to get the buy-in at the superintendent level.
“Without having somebody on-site who’s going to be invested in this program, it doesn’t work.”
Signature Risk, a Toronto-based insurance brokerage firm offers the following tips to reduce the risk of golf course accidents:
- Identifying areas where steep slopes, uneven ground, ditches, drop offs, pedestrian crossings, and bunkers are likely to cause problems.
- Identifying aggravating features, poor sight lines on approach to a slope, steep slope that leads to a bunker or a water hazard. There are also weather hazards to assess such as ice, snow, heavy rain collection areas and wet grass.
- Measuring the angle of the slopes. Compare the angle to the manufacturers’ guidelines as how to safely use equipment on slopes of various angles.
- Identifying “no go” areas for machinery whereby the operator has the potential risk of rolling their equipment over and into a body of water resulting in possible drowning or rolling over and causing a serious injury. These areas should be clearly defined in a program created by the superintendent and also on an overhead map of the course and grounds in general.
- Identifying which machines may operate safely in specific areas; this will involve reference to manufacturers’ information for slope limits for individual machines and reference to roll over protection structures (ROP’s), seat belts and life jackets.
- Ensuring that machinery is maintained to manufacturers’ specification. Each piece of equipment should have its own daily inspection sheet where each operator using that equipment examines the equipment and then completes the sheet before actually using the equipment.
- Training staff to operate machinery safely on slopes. A competent and well-trained person must be the only person to do this training. It is recommended to start new employees on slopes of lesser angles first so that they can slowly build their comfort zone for operating the equipment.
- Developing safe working practices for each machine and hazardous area. Have each employee review these procedures then sign their training records accordingly. Post these procedures on the employees’ board and notify your staff if and when changes are made to the procedures.
- Audit and monitoring staff, operating procedures and any incidents that may occur. Take note of your findings and go over these in your monthly staff safety meeting.
- Review the Accident/Incident reporting program.
The goal every day should be that everyone goes home safely. A safety plan also can save a club from a lawsuit.
Employees might view complying with safety protocols as an inconvenience, but doing so can mean the difference between life and death and save the club from costly litigation.
Whenever a workplace death occurs, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration will conduct a site visit and investigation to determine whether any training or safety violations occurred.
What OSHA Does After a Workplace Fatality
- Receives Notification
- Employers are required to report a work-related fatality to OSHA within 8 hours of learning about it.
- Failure to report can result in citations and penalties.
- Conducts an Investigation
- OSHA may send compliance officers to the site to inspect the scene, photograph evidence, examine equipment, and review records.
- Investigators interview witnesses, supervisors, and coworkers.
- They may review training records, maintenance logs, safety policies, and equipment manuals.
- Determines Whether Violations Occurred
- OSHA examines whether the employer violated any safety standards or the General Duty Clause, which requires employers to provide a
- orkplace free from recognized hazards.
- Investigators look for issues such as inadequate training, unsafe equipment, lack of hazard assessments, failure to follow manufacturer guidelines, or missing safety procedures.
- Issues Citations and Penalties
If violations are found, OSHA may issue citations and propose monetary penalties. Severity of penalties can be affected by the nature of the violations and whether they are classified as serious, willful, repeated, or other-than-serious; whether they require corrective actions. Employers may be required to correct hazards, revise safety procedures, improve training, or implement engineering controls to prevent similar incidents.
What OSHA Does Not Do
- OSHA does not determine criminal guilt.
- OSHA does not assign civil liability or decide who can be sued.
- OSHA does not determine the official cause of death. That responsibility belongs to a coroner or medical examiner.
- OSHA does not typically investigate for the purpose of workers’ compensation claims.
In cases like a golf course equipment fatality, OSHA investigators would likely examine:
- Whether the equipment was appropriate for the terrain.
- Whether slope and water hazards had been assessed.
- Whether the operator had received adequate training.
- Whether the mower was properly maintained.
- Whether safety policies addressed operation near ponds, embankments, or steep slopes.
- Whether seat belts, rollover protection systems (ROPS), or other safety devices were present and used.
At the conclusion of the investigation, OSHA publishes a summary of its findings and any citations issued. Complex investigations can take several months before results are released.
“I think it’s kind of a nuanced conversation, but I think that some guys out there, they don’t care that much,” Dise said. “They’re cashing a paycheck. They don’t want the extra work.
“When we show up, we’re not trying to get people in trouble. We want people to have more pride in the workplace, and be more focused on safety so everyone goes home with 10 fingers and 10 toes at the end of the day.”
According to OSHA and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, there are an average of five to 10 fatal accidents each year related to golf course maintenance.
The Eagle Ridge fatality is at least the second this year, with both occurring in Illinois. Daniel Crumrine, died in March 2026 after being found under a mower at Lincoln Greens Golf Course.
