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The man was between the 6th and 7th holes during a thunderstorm at the Burlington Country Club in Westampton Township around 3:45 p.m., several news reports say.
The incident was the first deadly lightning strike in New Jersey since Sept. 7, 2012, the National Lightning Safety Council says.
It also was the first lighting fatality this year in the United States, according to the AccuWeather Global Weather Center.
The South Jersey golf course is about 30 minutes northeast of Philadelphia. A storm near Willingboro, NJ, was believed to have caused the deadly lightning bolt, weather authorities said.
Of all sports-related lightning fatalities, golf is the second-most dangerous activity after soccer, according to the NLSC.
Fishing accounts for four times as many fatalities as golfers, however, and beach activities and camping each account for twice as many deaths as golf, according to an analysis by the lightning safety council.
“Thunderstorms were popping up across the mid-Atlantic all afternoon with frequent lightning," AccuWeather Meteorologist Brian Lada said. “Thunderstorms are typically considered severe when it is producing hail or wind gusts over 55 mph."
The National Weather Service recorded 17 lightning fatalities during 2020. Lightning kills an average of 49 people each year in the U.S., and hundreds more are injured.
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