Golfer Slaps Alligator On The Tail: Cody Gribble Gets Buzz And Backlash [Video]


The below YouTube video, titled “Cody Gribble gets brave and slaps an alligator’s tail at Arnold Palmer,” is getting plenty of attention. With nearly 45,000 views on that video alone, the description of the video explains how golfer Cody Gribble used a slap on the tail to get an alligator to go back into the nearby water.

“In the opening round of the 2017 Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard, Cody Gribble walks up to an alligator on the bank and slaps its tail, causing the alligator to jump into the water.”

The general reaction to the video of Cody slapping an alligator on the tail is one of incredulity at the casual manner at which Gribble slapped the alligator without seemingly worrying about said alligator turning tail and biting Cody instead of plopping himself or herself into the nearby water.

Reactions like the following are flowing into social media about Cody giving the alligator a slap on the tail. Plenty of people are commenting about Gribble’s seeming lack of fear at walking up to an alligator and slapping him or her on the tail.

Contemporaries Club: “Maybe he was just telling the alligator that he was a good boy.”

: “Golfer is astoundingly chill about his alligator showdown.”

“Brave/dumb/rude golfer messes with alligator, gets away with it.”

Frank Mezan: “Should have taken away a stroke for that act of courage, so cool.”
Zoltar: “Just throw it a piece of chicken.”
Brent Axe: “Didn’t he see Happy Gilmore? That’s how Chubbs lost his hand!”

As seen in the top photo above, Cody searched the tall grass or weeds as he looked for his lost golf ball on the fourth fairway. The incident occurred during the third round of the Tournament of Champions golf event. Cody was photographed on Saturday, January 7, in Hawaii at the Kapalua Plantation Course in Kapalua.

Cody Gribble sans alligator. [Image by Matt York/AP Images]

According to Syracuse.com, Cody made a risky move at Bay Hill on Thursday when he chose to use his own hand to slap the alligator on the tail on the par-5 sixth hole. The 8-foot alligator was lounging around getting some sun on the bank of the river when Gribble used his left hand to slap it away.

Cody startled the alligator enough to cause it to run and swim away, not to turn around and harm Gribble. If it looks like something Cody has done before, that’s because Gribble says he has slapped alligators on the tail before. In previous times, Cody said that alligators have turned on him, but weren’t fast enough to catch Cody.

“The gator looked like he needed some exercise. But he was sitting right there in the way and, you know, I guess I was trying to get some adrenaline going somehow. But I wasn’t really afraid of it. They’re not going to catch you a couple of steps down. They’re going to get you really quick early, but if I’m not in its way — I’m right behind him — it’s not going to happen.”

Cody Gribble missed his putt. [Image by Reed Saxon/AP Images]

The general consensus to Gribble slapping an alligator on the tail proves that many people did not realize that such an action could cause an alligator to turn tail and run away. Others are warning people not to attempt to perform the same tail-slapping feat that Cody did if they ever run into an alligator because the outcome could be deadly.

Others on social media are criticizing Cody for “messing with” the alligator in the first place, even though the video does not show the alligator being harmed.

[Featured Image by Matt York/AP Images]

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