52″ of Snow in 30 Hours Causes Golf Dome to Deflate in Erie Pennsylvania

For those of us that are golfers in the north, we know that our golf season is cut short because of snow and cold weather. To compensate, we usually practice in indoor facilities but unfortunately for some of us, the snow can even ruin that.

If you’ve been paying attention to the news, Erie, Pennsylvania has dealt with a lot of snow these past couple days. Known as one of the snowiest cities in the entire United States, Erie gets dumped on with lake effect snow from Lake Erie regularly, but this past week resulted in record snowfall, with the city receiving 52 inches of snow in just 30 hours.

The grand total resulted in 59 inches on the ground that has caused major damage.

One of the casualties of the snow happens to be an indoor golf dome that sits in the area. Apparently, the snowfall was so much and so heavy on the dome, that it deflated on Christmas Day. Because the deflation happened on Christmas Day, there wasn’t anyone inside and there were no injuries or major damages to the facility.

Up to ten more inches of snow in Erie today pic.twitter.com/FvL9HAcJwy

— Tom_Roy_SagAftraActor (@TomRoyActor) December 27, 2017

According to Bob Catalde, president of Greater Regional Erie Athletic Team Training, the group that owns the complex, the deflation shouldn’t be a major problem for the facility. “They are thinking that once they get the snow off, they can get it up pretty quickly,” Catalde said. “No one is panicking,” Catalde said, citing that the dome had deflated and reinflated many times before. “It is just the weight of the snow. It is just one of those things.”

Having hit golf balls in similar facilities a lot over several winters, it’s hard to believe that something as natural as snow could deflate an entire dome. It makes me think that next time I hit an errant shot that bounces off of the dome itself that I better watch and make sure that it doesn’t pop a hole to cause a similar deflation.

Golf aside, we hope that everyone who has had to deal with this crazy snow in Erie is safe and can now get around the city. And for the dome, we hope that it is reinflated and operational again as soon as possible.

Cover Image via Facebook