A real life Chubbs Petersen. How many times have we heard that in the past week? Some poor guy gets half his arm bitten off by a gator and no one feels bad for him. All we can do is make jokes and call him “Chubbs.” Well, I think it’s time we said enough is enough and realize this guy could have been killed. But I’ll get to that right after this joke:

This guy is staying at a tropical resort and decides to head out to the club course. He’s set-up with a caddy that carries the bag over one shoulder and a rifle over the other. Feeling a little nervous upon the site of the gun, he hooks his first shot into the rough. When he went to take his second shot, an alligator charged him. But right away, the caddy shot and killed the gator.

On the second hole, the drive again headed into the rough. While setting up for his next shot, another gator comes out of the water. Again, the caddy shoots and kills the gator.

On the third hole, the shot lands in a muddy area right next to a sleeping gator. The guy looks at the caddy who still has the rifle over his shoulder. The golfer says “Aren’t you going to shoot that gator?” The caddy shakes his head and says “No extra shots on a par-3.”

From what I understand this happened on a par-4, so was he not using the right caddy?

But seriously, I have played golf in South Carolina (Hilton Head specifically) and have whacked my ball to within fifteen feet of some relatively large gators. It’s nerve-racking, but I walked up and hit my ball anyway. In hindsight, it probably wasn’t the safest thing to do, but I didn’t have a rule-book with me and didn’t know if I would have to take a stroke or not if I left it there. Not wanting to risk a stroke, I risked my life instead. Ahh to be young and stupid again…

Although gator attacks on humans are very rare, there are many other accidents which occur on golf courses throughout the country, many on a regular basis and some fatal. As a matter of fact, according to a 2008 University of Alabama report, throughout the United States there are slightly over 1,000 golf-cart related injuries per month! I’m sure anyone who has ever driven a golf cart, recklessly or not, can imagine some of the accidents which can, and do, occur. For instance, back in August of this year, a 46-year old TD Bank executive fell from a moving cart on a New Jersey course and died of head trauma.

Considering the amount of golf-cart related injuries, according to a study by E.G. Kelly, most are not fatal. In his study, “Major Injuries Occurring During Use of a Golf Cart,” only 4 of the 111 cases studied resulted in a fatality. However, golf-cart injuries are only part of the story. Freak accidents occur almost as often.

Less than two weeks ago, a 61-year old Texas man was killed when he fell head-first down an embankment while attempting to retrieve a ball.

In Scotland, a 66-year old woman was killed when she was struck in the head by a golf ball. What makes this story more disturbing is, according to some reports, the ball that struck her was hit by her playing partner…from the teebox…which both players were standing at the time! Obviously the ball was mis-hit at just the right (or wrong) angle.

One of the more publicized accidents occurred back in 2005. A man was teeing-off and could see his father about 150 yards down the fairway hiding behind a tree. The ball just happened to ricochet off of a branch on that very tree and hit his father in the back of the neck. A few minutes later his father collapsed. He died the next day of a cerebral hemorrhage (this story was featured on a 2009 Golf Channel episode of Golf in America).

These are just a few examples, and many more can be found just by doing a simple internet search. Like most accidents, many can be prevented by simply paying attention to your surroundings and using better judgment. And for goodness sake, if you’re playing in South Carolina and your ball goes in the water…just leave it there.