Golfing gator in Englewood goes viral

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ENGLEWOOD, Fla.- A few pictures taken at a local golf course are causing a lot of talk across the country!

A photo of a golfing gator has gone viral– some even calling it a fake!

The gator is in fact real and resides at the Myakka Pine Golf Club.

The appearance of the gator is almost an every day occurrence, and it’s nothing new to golfers.

The photo has gone viral, catching the eye of media outlets from CNN to ESPN and bringing a lot of attention to Myakka Pine Golf Club.

“We’re known for a couple things here. One is the great condition of our golf course and our alligators,” said manager Mickie Zada.

Locals know it’s not just about the golf, it’s about the Florida experience.

“We don’t have houses for miles and miles around our golf course, so in Florida that means we’re surrounded by mostly swampland, so we have a lot of wildlife and gators are a part of that,” said Zada.

That wildlife is getting national attention thanks to the photo taken by Richard Huber.

“We were coming up to seven white and there the gator was walking up to the green and as it was walking up the green, I grabbed my phone and got as close as I could and started flipping pictures. It was really amazing the gator walked up on the green and laid down next to the pin and the ball. It was something to see,” said Huber.

“This picture was taken on Friday and I posted it on Facebook, but yesterday it’s gone viral. All of a sudden comments, like thousands of comments, and by the end of the day it’ll have over 500,000 hits,” said Zada.

Zada says the golf club leaves gators alone and don’t bother with removing them.

“We’ve been here 37 years, the gators have been here 37 years. There’s never been an incident,” said Zada. “We’re surrounded by swamp. Take a gator out and another one is coming, that’s just how it is.”

For those of you who think the picture is a fake..

“So people are saying ‘well this gator doesn’t look real, it’s not real,” said Zada, “so I was awake all night responding saying ‘hey you know what, I’m the general manager there. That is a real alligator and here’s our website, go look at it.”

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