Lithium Battery Storage Policy

Background

There have been numerous reports of lithium batteries catching fire whilst being charged. For the Club, this poses a risk of not only the cost associated with such an event, but also the possible downtime of Club facilities.

As of 2023/24 the Club’s insurance policy covers the cost of fire, including fire caused by lithium batteries. However, insurers are tightening up on insuring this risk and it may well be an exclusion going forward.

There are two main groups of lithium battery risk for the Club:

1. Batteries used in by the Golf Carts which are stored behind the Pro Shop and in the Members Cart Sheds.
2. All other lithium batteries used by the Club itself and members, usually but not limited to batteries for walk behind buggies. These are currently stored in Pro Shop or in Members Cart Sheds.

Golf Cart lithium batteries are more stable (fixed to the cart in a more permanent fashion). These batteries are of a high quality and a special charging unit which detects overheating and shuts down. There are no known fire events associated with this type of battery and as such they represent a low risk to the club.

Other lithium batteries are of unknown origin and as they are portable, they can present a danger of being dropped which may compromise the battery. This would represent a high risk to the club.

Insurers are currently classifying all push behind buggy batteries in one general category (they are not discerning between manufacturers).

Policy

All Lithium Batteries used to power walk behind buggies (including those used in the
running of the Club) are to be charged and stored off Club grounds. Members that own such batteries have been sent a letter informing them of this and the rational for the Clubs position.

In the event of a breach of the policy the club will take such action as it deems fit to remedy the breach and enforce the policy. The Club will continue to monitor the risk associated with Buggy batteries. Policy should be reviewed on a six-monthly basis while the golf and insurance industries are compiling data and making decisions.

Note, any change to the capacity to insure Buggy batteries is to be brought to the attention of the CoM.