Footage shows the colossal reptile in a purposeful stride, causing meteorologist Matt Devitt to remark, “I’d let him play through.”
Alligator sightings occur fairly routinely in and near water on Florida golf courses. Less common is the sight of a giant gator strolling across a fairway in broad daylight.
The accompanying footage was shared Wednesday by WINK News chief meteorologist Matt Devitt, who stated via X:
“Welcome to Jurassic Park. Massive Florida gator spotted Monday at this golf course in Rotonda from a WINK News viewer. I’d let him play through.”
Welcome to Jurassic Park. Massive Florida gator spotted Monday at this golf course in Rotonda from a @WINKNews viewer. I’d let him play through. 🐊👀 pic.twitter.com/jX4wRzHqq1
Ever dream of quitting your job, heading off into the mountains and taking over a pristine golf property?
Ever dream of quitting your job, heading off into the mountains and taking over a pristine golf property?
Find yourself a cool $3.8 million and that dream can be fulfilled in the picturesque Northern California region near Mount Shasta, the second-highest mountain in the Cascades range and the fifth-highest in the state.
Lake Shastina Golf Resort has a Robert Trent Jones par-72 championship track and an additional 9-hole course to boot.
According to the real estate listing, the sale of the property, which sits about an hour north of Redding and four hours from Sacramento, includes 15 condos and a restaurant/bar combo as well as 85 golf carts:
The masterpiece has all the challenging golf and scenic beauty one could imagine, with majestic Mount Shasta in its background, scenic ponds, and home to a plethora of wildlife. The firm and fast greens have long been touted as some of the finest in Northern California while the tee boxes offer some of the finest golf vistas you will find anywhere. The wide but challenging fairways are equally well kept by the seasoned golf course staff.
In addition to the busy golf destination, the membership at Lake Shastina Golf Resort provides access to a vibrant community. With 225 members and six different membership types available. The community is inviting, tight-knit, and highly interactive, making events extra special. Just like any well-run organization, the people here make it what it is today.
In terms of alternative activities, there is snow skiing and snowmobiling at Mt. Shasta in winter months and hiking, backpacking, camping, fishing, and boating in summer months. The clean mountain air and natural beauty without the hectic city traffic invites relaxation, peace & inspirational experiences. Whether you are an avid golfer or seeking a profitable venture, this resort is worth a look. Business Opportunities combined with an exciting lifestyle don’t come along often; seize the moment – they don’t repeat.
A recent image showing a bobcat on a Florida golf course is reminiscent of a wild scene involving a bobcat shown hunting ducks at an Arizona course.
A “good size” bobcat was photographed recently at a Florida golf course, leading WINK News meteorologist Matt Devitt to remark via X: “Golfing in Florida is always full of surprises.”
The image atop this post, credited to Bo Jackson, is a reminder that bobcats, like coyotes, sometimes hunt on golf courses.
The bobcat was prowling the range at The Sanctuary Golf Club and the image is reminiscent of a wild scene captured on video last January at Silver Leaf Country Club in Arizona.
The accompanying footage, captured by the River Pig Saloon, shows a bobcat hunting ducks around one of the greens, using steep bunkers as cover before launching a successful ambush attack.
“Oh, he got one!” someone in the group exclaims as the bobcat leaps from the bunker, scattering the flock, as other golfers react giddily.
Viewers will have to click to a second video segment on the Instagram post if they wish to see the bobcat securing and running off with its feathery prize.
–Image showing a bobcat patrolling a Florida golf course is courtesy of Bo Jackson, via Matt Devitt of WINK News
Los Angeles Angels superstar Mike Trout is opening up a new golf course in his hometown of Vineland, New Jersey and he’s hired one of the most famous golfers in the world to design it.
Trout National – The Reserve is already under construction with Tiger Woods leading the project, and from the promo video they dropped on Monday, it looks like it’ll be a popular spot for many golf trips after it opens in 2025.
We promised you all a big announcement and here it is! We are so excited to be able to make a longtime dream of mine a reality, with none other than @tigerwoods and @tgrdesignbytw. We can't wait to share more updates with you as we create Trout National – The Reserve. pic.twitter.com/V8eMGEUYdS
Set among gentle rolling hills, the course will seamlessly weave between two distinct settings that include a former quarry and rambling farmland. The sandy site was once home to a silica sand mine which will be evident throughout the round with ample playable sandy waste areas strategically found throughout the routing, giving a distinct character.
Trout National – The Reserve will be highly strategic in nature as sprawling fairways will offer multiple routes from tee to green. Undulating green complexes with low-cut surrounds will further emphasize the challenging, yet fun-focused design where risk-reward opportunities will be presented throughout the round to create an ideal match play environment. The unique nature of the course will promote creative shot making and optionality, qualities will be underscored with a striking par three match hole inspired by the club co-founder and MLB All-Star, Mike Trout, featuring multiple tee and green options.
The 18-hole championship level course will also feature a short course and practice facility — along with a wedding chapel — in case it wasn’t clear that Trout and Woods see their venture as a future destination trip location.
Woods’ design group has a pretty strong track record of stellar courses with the likes of Payne’s Valley in Missouri and El Cardonal at Diamante in Cabo San Lucas. It would be surprising if Trout National doesn’t live up to those standards.
Video footage captured recently at an Arizona golf course shows a bobcat masterfully stalking ducks from an expansive bunker and executing a perfect ambush.
Video footage captured recently at an Arizona golf course shows a bobcat masterfully stalking ducks from an expansive bunker and executing a perfect ambush.
The “birdie massacre” footage was captured by Instagram user River Pig Saloon during a round at Silver Leaf Country Club.
As viewers will note, the bobcat used the deep bunker to remain hidden until it could strike from the nearest possible point.
Video footage showing a leopard playing with tee markers on a golf course in South Africa has inspired a range of comments and, yes, the name Tiger is raised.
“Tiger Woods… please step aside… Leopard Kruger is playing now,” reads one comment beneath the Skukuza Golf Club Facebook post.
The unfenced golf course is surrounded by a wildlife sanctuary and open to guests of sprawling Kruger National Park, so large critter sightings are not surprising.
“Uninvited spectators are a common sight, hippo, impala, warthog and baboons to mention but a few,” Skukuza states on its website.
Video footage showing a leopard playing with tee markers on a golf course in South Africa has inspired a range of comments and, yes, the name Tiger is raised.
Video footage showing a leopard playing with tee markers on a golf course in South Africa has inspired a range of comments and, yes, the name Tiger is raised.
“Tiger Woods… please step aside… Leopard Kruger is playing now,” reads one comment beneath the Skukuza Golf Club Facebook post.
The unfenced golf course is surrounded by a wildlife sanctuary and open to guests of sprawling Kruger National Park, so large critter sightings are not surprising.
“Uninvited spectators are a common sight, hippo, impala, warthog and baboons to mention but a few,” Skukuza states on its website.
One man playing Coral Oaks Golf Course in Cape Coral, Florida, decided to reclaim his golf ball despite the presence of a gator.
It’s something of an unwritten rule in golf that when your golf ball lands near – let alone on top of – a large alligator, you abandon the golf ball. One man playing Coral Oaks Golf Course in Cape Coral, Florida, over the weekend decided to reclaim his golf ball anyway.
Kyle Downes captured footage of his brother tempting fate by creeping up behind a gator laying on the bank of a pond and snatching the ball from its resting spot on top of the gator’s tail.
Sandhill Golf Course closed in 2017. Eventually, Elevation Development plans to put 861 family units on the 168-acre site.
For about 50 years, the site at 800 E. Euclid Ave. in DeLand, Florida, was a hilly, par-72 golf course with narrow fairways.
Sandhill Golf Course, about 25 miles from Daytona Beach, closed in 2017, and the former fairways have become overgrown while the 10,000-square-foot clubhouse remains boarded up.
But this month the DeLand City Commission gave Orlando-based Elevation Development the final nod of approval to designate the former golf course as a brownfield site.
Eventually, Elevation Development plans to put 541 single-family homes and 320 multi-family units on the approximately 168-acre site, according to city documents.
Before the cleanup of the site can begin, a Brownfield Advisory Committee, a role filled by the city’s Economic Development Committee, will first need to review the Brownfield Site Rehabilitation Agreement for the property.
A cart path that runs through the former Sandhill Golf Course in Florida has become overgrown since the course closed in 2017. Photo by Daytona Beach News-Journal
The agreement could make the site eligible for the Voluntary Cleanup Tax Credit program, which was created in 1998 “to encourage participants to conduct voluntary cleanup of certain dry cleaning solvent contaminated sites and brownfield sites in designated brownfield areas,” according to the Department of Environmental Protection.
The Brownfields Redevelopment Act went into effect in 1997. Its goals, according to the Department of Environmental Protection, include: to reduce public health and environmental hazards on existing commercial and industrial sites that are abandoned or underused due to these hazards; create financial and regulatory incentives to encourage voluntary cleanup and redevelopment of sites; and derive cleanup target levels.
Cobb Cole attorney Michael Sznapstajler, who is representing the developers, explained the process during the City Commission’s first hearing on the resolution.
The designation “does not affect the land use, it does not affect the zoning, but is the beginning of a process that someone endeavoring to clean up and redevelop a property would undertake,” Sznapstajler said. “You go out and you investigate the site; you sample soil, groundwater, surface water, look at what the issues are out there; you study the history of the site.”
Sznapstajler said once the issues are identified, a cleanup plan is made. The plan is then sent to the Department of Environmental Protection for review.
“I think it makes sense for us to designate it as a brownfield regardless of what happens there,” Vice Mayor Charles Paiva said during the Oct. 19 meeting. “I feel like this is a tool in the toolbox to help us fix some of the damage that occurred much like at the other golf course south of town.”
The 105-acre DeLand Country Club, which closed in 2012, has since been transformed into Country Club Corners, a Publix-anchored shopping center created by Tailwinds Development.
Mayor Bob Apgar asked Sznapstajler how long the cleanup and remediation took in that case.
“We got through that in a little under two years, which, for an environmental cleanup, is impressive,” Sznapstajler said.
