Interesting story I came across...
“I fought a ‘gator with my putter”: Tony Aarts found himself toe-to-toe with a man-eater as he looked for his ball
I play golf on the Magnolia Landing course near my house in North Fort Myers, Florida two or three times every week. It is a beautiful course, with lots of water features that are home to plenty of alligators. Before this year I had never heard a bad story about any of these animals, but on February 8 a 10-footer decided to try and have me for lunch.
“The incident happened on the 4th hole. I’d hit my shot onto the green and instead of riding in the cart around the lake; I grabbed my putter and took a short cut across the beach area. I had walked this route 20 or 30 times in the previous six months with no alarm, but on this occasion I heard a big splash. I quickly turned round and then even more swiftly jumped in the air. The course’s biggest alligator was right there.
“He bit my foot, started shaking his head and pulled me onto my back.
I tried to dig my heel into the sand, but it was no use. He was too powerful and I found myself being dragged into the water. In less than 10 seconds, I was
up to my ankles. I had never been in
a situation like this before, but
I remembered getting bitten by a dog when I was younger. The mutt clamped its teeth around my leg and only removed them when I hit it on the head. Given this, I tried to do the same to the alligator. I lifted my putter and smashed the gator across the head as hard as I could.
“It was like hitting a barn door. The gator did not inch. By now I was up to my knees in the water and in real trouble. If I had got up to my chest or been turned onto my stomach it was all over. I figured I had two or three seconds to save my life, so I stopped hitting him randomly in the head and started concentrating on his eye, as I thought it might be a weaker spot. Thankfully, this made a difference. After a few blows to the area, he let me go and I scrambled back up the beach and into the arms of the guys I was playing with.
“Amazingly, the whole incident took less than 20 seconds from start to finish. And even more incredibly, I escaped with a swollen foot and four stitches, so was able to get back on the golf course after a couple of weeks.
“A lot of people are surprised that
I am still playing at Magnolia Landing, but it’s a great course and the rogue alligator that attacked me has gone (he was removed right away by the wildlife people).”
“That said; a few things have changed since the incident. I now drive the cart rather than ride and walk. All my mates now call me ‘Alligator Tony’. And, because I used a Cleveland putter to fight off the beast, the company has sent three new custom-made wedges featuring pictures of alligators. It’s a neat reminder of the day and hopefully they’ll work wonders for my short game.”