I Met Goliath!

This past winter, a large alligator at the Myaka Pines golf course in Englewood, FL had received national attention. Some golfers had taken a picture of this large alligator and that picture made its way to the Internet and it went viral. My friend Rock in CT saw this on the news and asked me if I had seen this gator because Englewood is where Cathy and I go in FL and he knows I play golf. Ironically I have played at that golf course but had not seen the gator that has been nicknamed Goliath because of his massive size. All that changed in the very near future.

The following week I was at Myaka Pines golf course. In the pro-shop was a picture of Goliath on the counter and everyone was talking about the famous alligator. The picture was incredible but not as incredible as what happened a couple of hours later. My buddies and I went out and were enjoying a great round of golf on an absolutely beautiful day. We had just made the turn and we were on the 10th green and it was my turn to putt. As I was about ready to putt, I heard my buddies saying "should we tell him?" I looked up and said "tell me what?" They said in harmony, "Look behind you". When I did, I was staring directly at the infamous Goliath who was walking directly towards the green we were standing on. Not only did he walk towards us, he walked across the middle of the green, through the bunker on the other side of the green, across the next tee box and waddled into a large pond.

All golf stopped for about ten minutes as golfers from nearby holes all came to see the mighty 15 foot Goliath. Members of the golf staff and maintenance crew joined the gallery of folks watching Goliath strut his stuff. Cell phones were out and the gallery was taking pictures and we were all watching in awe as this mighty creature just meandered along like he owned the place. For a few minutes he did own the place because no one was going to challenge him anyway. I took the attached picture and if you look closely you can see where a section of his tail had been bitten off by another alligator. That would have been a sight to see. It is quite common to see alligators on FL golf courses and over the years I have seen my share of those creepy reptiles. I have also seen many other creatures as well. Seeing Goliath takes the cake for wild life sightings. I texted a picture of Goliath to Cathy and she texted me back and said “one more reason for me not to play golf”.

I will keep a look out for Goliath in the future. 

Until the Next Tom's Take...