wildlife run ins on the course.

anyone have any stories of animals you have run into while playing a round ?

At a course here in maine called woodland valley a black bear was just chillin on hole 3.

I have nearly hit a turkey with a drive at dragan field in auburn maine.

of course there is always the annoying woodpecker on the clutch putt to seal the victory.

[Ben Calhoun]

I saw someone hit a deer in the side with a drive once. Saw and took pics of a deer on the course today, and a duck chillin' on a log by a basket.

[Jamie 'gr8rocshot' Ruane]

Oh man, I got a few. The most recent, coolest, was a pair of mature Bald Eagles having a bit of a dispute. They swooped around, in front of us... one was getting frisky with the other. One landed, the other dive bombed it, they both went tumbling in a flurry of eagle feathers...something right out of wild kingdom.

Back in January, a friend of mine almost stepped on a pretty big gator, stomping through the brush at Red Hawk looking for a disc on hole 2 ....it was a big one. I didn't see it, but I heard that sucker hit the water, accompanied by some choice 4 letter words.

A few years ago we were playing 17 at Tuscawilla, when a Red Shouldered Hawk nabbed a squirrel right in front of us.. if a fellow golfer hadn't ducked, he would have worn that squirrel across his face...it was a little too big for the hawk to gain some quick altitude. I was walking along side of him when it happened, the tail just brushed the top of his head. none the less, It did not end well for the squirrel.


Back in the late 90's we were working on a temp course at a place called Gemini Springs...I had to go...so I went...behind a tree...darn near on top of a fairly large Barred Owl. I never saw him sitting on his furry little snack...till mid stream ....and he let out this blood curdling screech that quickly gave away his position ...right at my feet. He didn't move, I had too...rather quickly. I turned away, finished taking care of buisness, went and got my buddy, Chris. The look on his face when I said "Hey, go look what I almost pee'd on" .....Priceless!!!

[Bruce Brakel]

Kelsey and I saw a fox get a rabbit early in the morning at IUP.

[Mark Stephens]

At Goldenrod (Davison, MI) there is a bald eagle's nest by a hole... You get to see it every once in a while.

[Cary Trotter]

At Solitude Mountain Resort just outside Salt Lake I have seen moose several times. In 2004, I think, we were warming up in the field when a full grown bull came down the mountain with his calf. The bull was angry. He saw us and came running at us while spitting and stomping. All of us were able to make it to safe distances, but the bull wasn't done. He went over to the Ski Village where he ravaged the garden at the general store before being shooed away by a resort employee on his four wheeler.

[Rizbee]

A few years ago Rizbee Jr. and I were playing at Stafford Lake in Novato, CA (NorCal). One of the holes had it's basket under an oak tree, right along the edge of some woods. As we walked up to the basket to putt, we saw that there were several wild turkeys in the tree, and one sitting on the basket. We had to shoo them away so we could putt.

On our local course (Montiel Park, San Marcos, CA) one of the neighbors to the course near the basket for hole #6 has goats in his yard (and peacocks too, I think). Sometimes when we're putting you can hear the goats start to bleat (BAAAAAAAA...). They like to criticize baaaaaaaaaaad putts.

[Cody Weber]

One time a buddy of mine lost a disc across the river here at the local course. My brother went over a bridge into the rushes and stuff that the disc landed in, only to be greeted by a goose protecting her nest. 20 minutes, some careful planning, and a big stick later, we got the disc.

No animals were harmed during the events of this post.

[Jamie]

We were on the tee pad of hole #13 at Barfield Crescent in Murfreesboro TN. It is an uphill hole and has a hard left in it. As we are talking and discussing options 2 Coyotes appear racing down the hill at us. One stops 20 yards from us and sits down the other one breaks left and continues to the left of us and stop about 40 yards away. We were all real quiet and were just enjoying seeing them. After a few mins they went back about their business.

[Disc Player Sports]

Saw deer while playing in Minnesota...
Eagles & Hawks at home courses around Daytona.
Gators at Cliff Stevens (Clearwater)......

[Hootie]

I nearly hit a magpie (a bird) last weekend, and we have a bunch of kookaburras, galahs, cockatoos on the course, but no dangerous animals encountered (yet!).

[GTJohnson]

in chattanooga we heard a rattlesnake while i was putting out of the shule...couldnt see it and i hurried my putt wich of course smacked a tree and landed right where i heard the rattles. ez 5

[John Vanderlaan]

Yo. Wanna know a funny thing? My bud Ant was on the top of hole 16 at Branstrom Park in Freemont Michigan. I witnissed this crazy event.... And he says im gonna hit one of those Deer. A group of them were standing to the extreme right of the basket. He throws his disk and it becomes a roller. To the right!!!. The disk bounces of the deer shin and all of the rest of the deer run off in a frenzy. The Buck hit and present remains. In awe; we all laughed and what not. It was crazy!