Rattle Snakes

[Patch]

I have heard that if you golf long enough, (in years) you will see many, many things on the golf course. Some not related to one's game. 

We had an early am tee time at a local course, that is basically surrounded on 3 sides by native sw desert area. Today we encountered 4, different rattlers in our 18 hole travels.  3 of them were near the balls we had previously hit. Obviously we played around them. I might see 1 rattler a year on a golf course, and that's usually at the course in Grants, NM.

My thought is that they are building the I-11 (?) bypass just to the south of this course, which probably has these, and other critters stirred up with all the heavy equipment working. 

Not trying to out do you southern folks and your alligators. It just happens to be that time of year for snakes in our part of the country. 

[Buckeyebowman]

Whew! Up here our normal wildlife obstacles are deer and wild turkeys. Maybe the occasional groundhog or skunk. Today, we were confronted with seemingly suicidal chipmunks who would dart into the cart path and sit there! As if waiting  to be crushed under the tires of our onrushing cart!

[wolfpackguy]

Oh don't worry we have snakes down here in the south as well.  Nothing like the feeling of hitting your ball up to the edge of a creek and just as you walk up and peer over the edge you spy a cotton mouth water moccasin slither off of the rock he was sunning himself on.  :)

[Dave2512]

Snakes here but usually not a threat just there. Last year there was a small rattler on 6 tee and this obnoxious guy I was paired with agitated it then smashed it with an iron. Total dumbass. 

[DaveP043]

The most dangerous critters we see most days are the deer in the road on the way to the course.  We do have plenty of deer on the golf course too, along with black snakes, snapping turtles, and copperheads, and even the rare bear sighting.  And of course poison ivy, yuck!

[boogielicious]

8 hours ago, Buckeyebowman said:

Whew! Up here our normal wildlife obstacles are deer and wild turkeys. Maybe the occasional groundhog or skunk. Today, we were confronted with seemingly suicidal chipmunks who would dart into the cart path and sit there! As if waiting  to be crushed under the tires of our onrushing cart!

I call them Kamikaze Chipmunks and they were going nuts yesterday. June is mating season for them I think. I was looking for my ball and one of them just stared me down as if saying, "What are YOU looking at!".

We never see anything dangerous up here except an occasional coyote.

[dennyjones]

I'm starting to appreciate Michigan more and more.   I hate snakes.

[Patch]

30 minutes ago, dennyjones said:

I'm starting to appreciate Michigan more and more.   I hate snakes.

Just dont run into one of those Massasauga Rattlers you have back there. Hopefully you live far enough north. 

[newtogolf]

Ground hogs, poison ivy and wasps are about all that we see on the course, pretty boring.  

[Dave2512]

We are past snake sunning season. In late spring I see rattlers and bull snakes squished all over the county roads. They get out on the asphalt and just sit there. I've seen rattlers with squished tails striking at passing cars. I'm never keen on kicking through the weeds looking for errant shots. I take an iron and make lots of noise waving it through the scrub to give them a heads up I am there. I hit a lot of provisionals in the summer. More than the snakes I don't like getting 50 bug bites per leg.

[Rainmaker]

There's one course I play that is known for rattlers.  I've never seen one but I've heard numerous stories - almost nobody goes into the high stuff looking for a ball . .that's a lost ball,lol. 

[NJpatbee]

In NW Jersey black bears are a common site on golf courses, however I know if no incidents.

[Patch]

Were I presently reside there is a lot "wild area" surronding us. There are two courses near by (3 actually). One in in the middle of town. No snakes there that I have heard of. The one we were at the other day (Boulder Creek) is out of town a little ways, with a lot of native brush on, and around the course. Snakes in our local area are a normal occurance. 

I do volunteer work, and live in a NRA campground. (I prefer to not live in the big city anymore) We have removed two rattlers from the campground in the past couple of weeks. Most are in 2' and under range. Most are of the Red Speckled variety, with a few Mojave Greens, and the larger Western Diamondback thrown in. 3 of the 4 we encountered the other day were Mojave Greens. The 4th one I could not identify. 

We also have Sidewinder Rattlesnakes around here. They are the mean ones. 

Timing was the big factor of the 4 we saw. It was still early, and cool enough for them to still be active. Once the sun gets higher in the sky, most live things in he desert, find a shade, and wait till dark to start moving around again. We let one of the workers know of our sightings. It was no big deal to him. 

I suspect park visitors/hikers (and golfers) walk past snakes with out even knowing it. 

[wolfpackguy]

I hate them...the only good snake is a dead snake.

[DeadMan]

There's a course around here that's infamous for its rattlesnakes (The Meadows). There are signs warning you about rattlesnakes if you go into the native grass. I've never seen a live one there, but my wife has. Being bit by a rattlesnake would obviously be no fun, but as long as you head right to the hospital, you'd be okay. That said, I wouldn't let a child into that native grass.

[bkuehn1952]

9 hours ago, dennyjones said:

I'm starting to appreciate Michigan more and more.   I hate snakes.

About 2 years ago I saw a Massasauga rattlesnake curled up under a tree at Coyote Preserve Golf Course in Fenton, MI.  Sort of made the "Beware of Rattlesnakes" sign at Radrick Farms Golf Course make sense.

[Buckeyebowman]

12 hours ago, boogielicious said:

I call them Kamikaze Chipmunks and they were going nuts yesterday. June is mating season for them I think. I was looking for my ball and one of them just stared me down as if saying, "What are YOU looking at!".

We never see anything dangerous up here except an occasional coyote.

Oh, we have coyotes here as well, you just never see them. But you will hear them when they get a yip fest going!

It occurred to me that only a couple of guys mentioned insects. My buddy and I played yesterday, and these little black gnats were pure misery! Of course neither of us had any bud dope in our bags, and they didn't sell any at the course. The lady did give us a couple of dryer sheets, but they didn't help much.

One time I walked into the rough to look for my friend's ball, only to realize that there were all these White Faced Hornets flying around! Believe me, I got a close enough look for a positive ID. I backed out of there as calmly as I could, and told my buddy his ball was lost and he should just take a drop. He said, "No! It went in right here", and started walking in. I yelled at him to look at what else was in there. When he saw those hornets he beat feet. He plumps up like a Ball Park frank if he gets bitten or stung by anything. God knows what a White Faced Hornet would have done to him!

[Fourputt]

I almost never play my home course without seeing a coyote.  With ducks, geese, prairie dogs, gophers, squirrels, mice and voles, it's like an all you can eat smorgasbord.  I've lived in the Rocky Mountain west for more than 50 years and never yet seen a live rattlesnake.  

@DeadMan I've played the Meadows from the time it opened, and never saw anything but a couple of big bull snakes there.  

I've seen bull elk at Red Rocks Country Club, and I give them a wide berth.  I have seen moose at Pole Creek, one of the mountain courses here in Colorado, and I give them space too.  They can be cranky and 1500 pounds of pissed off moose is a serious hazard to one's continued good health.