Photos: Monster Gators Wrestle on Golf Course

Golfers at an Englewood course got to see firsthand what happens when a new alligator tries to move into an old bull’s territory.

Lynn Sarles said she was out playing on Saturday at Myakka Pines Golf Club when the course’s now-famous Goliath heaved himself out of the water to engage in battle with an intruder on his turf.

“We were just golfing and we up on a high green and just saw them wrestling,” Sarles told Patch.

Not willing to let the moment pass her by, Sarles picked up her camera and started shooting. Close-ups weren’t in the cards, however.

“(I) zoomed in on them and got some photographs,” she explained. “(We were) far enough (away) that we weren’t going to interrupt.”

Sarles noted that playing through wasn’t an option.

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While it’s unclear just how Sarles’ round ended up, it appears as if Goliath got his message across to the interloper. That gator quickly turned tail in retreat after engaging in a toothy pound and ground with Myakka Pines’ famous resident.

Goliath first hit celebrity status during the spring when a photograph of him on the course’s No. 7 green surfaced. The image of the massive gator strolling the course couldn’t be real, many speculated.

Mickie Zada, the club’s general manager, told The Blaze the shot was very real. In fact, she told the publication the course used to have a “much larger gator” in residence that was affectionately nicknamed “Big George.”

Sarles explained Myakka Pines has a natural setting with no homes surrounding it to interfere with wildlife.

“We see alligators all the time at the golf course,” she said.

Just how big Goliath happens to be is unknown. His status as the king of Myakka Pines, however, remains well intact, the course reported on its Facebook page following Saturday’s wrestling match. The gator, course officials noted, appeared to be uninjured following the battle.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission reports female alligators rarely grow bigger than 10 feet in length. Males can grow “much larger.” The record in Florida is 14 feet, 3 ½ inches. That male was found in Lake Washington in Brevard County. Last October, a 765-pound, 13-foot creature named “Lumpy” was bagged in North Florida.

Photo credit: Lynn Sarles