Golf Ball Diver Attacked By Massive Alligator

If you’re thinking about taking a job diving for golf balls, you may want to reconsider. A scary scene unfolded at a Florida golf course on Friday when a contracted diver was cleaning out a pond and was attacked by a massive alligator. Somehow he managed to escape, but not before he experienced it’s wrath. 

Fox 13 News Tampa Bay has the wild report: 

Deputies say a contractor diving for golf balls was flown to the hospital after being bitten by an alligator along a course in Charlotte County this afternoon.

It happened at hole number six of the Palms course at the Rotonda Golf and Country Club in the community of Rotonda. Scott Lahodik was bitten on the left arm while diving and managed to break free, but suffered a significant injury to his arm. The 51-year-old was able to crawl out of the water to go get help.

“He drove up in his utility cart. He was out of it so we didn’t get a chance to talk to him much, but he did make it up here. He’s a big guy; he’s not a small guy,” country club general manager David Kelly recalled. “I was able to see the wound, so he did have a good hold of him. There’s quite a bit of flesh wounds.”

Lahodik was flown to a hospital in Lee County where he underwent surgery.

Course officials said they’d hired Lahodik to remove all of the golf balls from the ponds at the country club. They described him as the president of Golf Balls International and said he’s been diving at courses around the country for 30 years.

[Fox 13 News]

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