Ed Vance and his friends were preparing to take out their short irons at the golf course in Savannah, Georgia
Suddenly a colossal 11ft alligator rustled out from the bush and strode across the fairway and onto the green. ‘Y’all wanna play through,’ one of the men jokes as the beast heads towards the 17th hole and lies down. Vance said he could hear its feet thudding with each step across the green at the Savannah Harbor Club.
Stunned golfers yelled in astonishment as an enormous 11ft alligator, which sounded like a ‘dinosaur’, thudded onto the green as they tried to wrap up their round of golf.
Ed Vance and his golf friends were left aghast when the giant beast suddenly stepped out of a bush and nonchalantly walked through on the 17th fairway at the Savannah Harbor Club on Hutchinson Island, Georgia.
Hilariously, at one point, as the golfers can be heard shouting expletives, the terrifying reptile flopped to the ground and began to sun himself just inches from the hole.
Flag in or flag out?: Ed Vance and the others on his round were left stunned when a ginormous 11ft alligator decided he wanted to stroll down the fairway and lie on the green as they were preparing to take out their short irons at the Savannah Harbor Club on Hutchinson Island, Georgia on Sunday.
The colossal beast casually wandered out of a bush and began striding towards the green to the amazement of the golfing friends who were trying to finish up their round on the short 17th hole. Vance can be heard saying: ‘Dude, that’s a monster!’ while his friends yell expletives.
‘Let’s get the f**k out of here,’ says one of the men as the alligator strides towards the green in the sunny deep south of the United States. Vance says: ‘Listen to his feet on the green,’ as it pounds across the turf before heading towards the cool water hazard.
As the alligator heads out of the baking sun and into the cool waters of the water hazard beside the 17th green, one of the men can be heard saying: ‘That’s the craziest sh*t I’ve ever done, I have never seen that on a golf course – look at that monster.’
Vance, who lives in Savannah, Georgia, captured the amazing two-minute video on his mobile phone. Vance said he was getting ready to chip up to the green when they heard a loud noise coming from the brush line.
In the video, Vance can be heard saying: ‘That is nuts. Dude, that s a monster.’
While another player can be heard joking, ‘Y’all wanna play through’.
Speaking after the event on Sunday, Vance claimed: ‘We weren’t scared, we were in awe. We see alligators out there all the time but not that size and not like that. They are usually just laying next to a pond or are in a pond around the golf course.’
‘When it came out of the brush from behind the green, we were amazed because of how huge it was.
‘It was at least nine feet, probably close to 11. Once it made it on to the green, you could hear a thud from each step it took, almost like you would think a dinosaur would sound like.’
Those who tune in to the PGA Tour will have seen alligators before at courses in Florida and Georgia – notably at the Masters in Augusta – but for one to so brazenly stride out across the green is certainly a rarity.
The golfers reckoned this dinosaur was around 11ft long, which is in fact, slightly below average for alligators which are 13ft on average and usually weigh around 790lbs – the largest ever recorded was in Louisiana, at a staggering 19.2ft long
Golf fans will know from watching the PGA Tour in places like Florida and Georgia – notably at the Masters in Augusta – that alligators are not an uncommon sight but for one to so brazenly stride out across the path of play is certainly rare
Vance said he was getting ready to chip up onto the green when they heard a loud noise coming from the brush line, while another player can be heard joking, ‘Y’all wanna play through,’ that being the etiquette for golfers to allow for faster players to ‘play through’
You’re in my line: At one point the alligator slumps down on its front as if to take a rest as Vance can be heard chuckling in the background, the huge alligator begins to roll onto its back slightly like it is sunning itself in the glorious Georgia day
The alligator soon gets up from its brief rest right beside the flag pole of the 17th hole and waddles off, luxuriously rubbing its belly across the smooth short grass before slipping into its water habitat to relax.
Alligators can be found throughout the wet marshes of Florida and Louisiana, southern Georgia, as well as in Alabama, Mississipi, the coastal Carolinas, east Texas, the southern most part of Arkansas and the southeast corner of Oklahoma.
The huge animals make a deep bellowing sound, like the rumble of a lion’s roar, but much deeper and you definitely do not want to catch a whiff of their breath.
The fearsome reptiles are the apex predator wherever they roam and are known for their terrifying ‘death roll’ where they take prey in their mouth underwater and spin round and round, tearing carcasses to pieces.
