Englewood, Florida: Pictures Of Humongous Alligator Hanging Out On Golf Course Go Viral

Some Florida golfers got more than they bargained for earlier this week when they saw a giant alligator lumbering across the course. Pictures of the prehistoric-looking beast have now gone viral.

Golfer Dick Huber was getting heading for the green at the No. 7 hole at the Myakka Pines Golf Club to make a putt when he saw the giant alligator heading across the green. He decided, wisely, to back off and let the beast have some room, but not before snapping a few pictures. The golf club then posted the pictures on its Facebook page.

“Dick Huber took these pictures today….a nice size gator trudging across White #7 green, moving from one pond to another. Good photos, Dick! Thanks for sharing them. [sic]”

Since being published, the alligator pics have gone viral, according to the Blaze, generating 300,000 views and 4,000 shares.

Some have questioned whether the alligator pictures are Photoshop fakes, or if there’s some form of trickery afoot. Myakka Pines’ general manager, Mickie Zada, insists that the gator pictures are “quite real,” and that alligators are a common occurrence around Myakka Pines.

“They usually move when the golfers approach. And we tell golfers to just forget about any golf balls that end up in the water.”

In fact, Myakka Pines used to have a locally-famous resident gator, lovingly nicknamed Big George, who hasn’t been heard from in a while and is assumed to have died of old age.

Although alligators are terrifying to behold, they’re generally more afraid of you than you are of them. Zada says that there has never been a recorded incident of a gator attacking a golfer at Myakka Pines. In fact, gators are rarely a threat to humans: alligator-on-human attacks are rare, and the last fatal alligator attack in Florida took place in 2007, according to the Associated Press.

Gators are, however, a danger to pets, and Florida pet owners would do well to keep their dogs and cats under close scrutiny, especially if they live near water. In January, according to this Inquisitr report, a Florida family lost their beloved pet dog, Jessie, to an alligator.

In case you’re a casual duffer and are concerned that an alligator may some day interfere with your play, the United States Golf Association (USGA) official rule book has you covered: Rule 1-4 says that, in a dangerous situation, you can drop the ball in the nearest safe place and continue play (which raises the question: what is the nearest “safe place” when an alligator is about? The next county?).

[Images courtesy of: the Blaze, WBBH, Palm Beach Post]