Snake In The Grass Shock

[CharlieJ]

Snake In The Grass Shock
By Chris Wickham

Golfers know that unless they hit straight down the middle of the fairway they can often find their ball in unexpected situations, but not many would expect to find it sitting next to a five foot snake. But when a young golfer at Strawberry Hill Golf Club hit down the right of the ninth hole last Thursday afternoon and went to look for his ball with his playing partner that is exactly what met them, a large python.

Peter Buchan, the professional at the Wellesley Road club, said: "It was a very unusual experience. A couple of the boys hit the ball to the right side of the ninth fairway and they saw a python sliding out from behind a tree, they were a little concerned. "They told the secretary Peter Astbury and he came to tell me. It started wandering around the fairway so I decided to pick it up and the secretary got a bucket to put it in.

"I have picked up one before at a zoo, but I have only been told since that they bite. It curled itself around my arm and I thought that if I had it's head it would be ok. Considering all the rain we had I guess it's good that I did pick it up." Mr. Astbury rang the RSPCA who came to collect the snake. An RSPCA spokesman said it would be passed on to specialists who would try and re-house it.

[Nonconformist]

I've seen so many snakes on golf courses that you'd think they were snake farms. Never thought it was newsworthy though.

A few pygmy rattlers, cottonmouths, lots of rat snakes, racers, and garter snakes.

Never found a python though.

	Cottonmouth Cottonmouth (Agkistrodon piscivorus) - Also known as a Water Moccasin.

[Heidi]

My husband sees them all the time too. The only place he's seen a rattler around here actually. He also has never seen a python though. Good thing. They shouldn't be out in the wild around here anyways. That is just sad. Lucky snake he ran into somebody who didn't club him.

[CharlieJ]

One of our area golf courses was renamed "Diamondback" because of all the Eastern Diamondback Rattlers found on the property while they were building the course. Maybe tree-huggers should stop complaining about housing communities taking over habitat -- and start whining about golf course construction.

[VoodooChile]

Ok, heres my question: Was it really a python? Or was it a Rat snake or other colubrid? As docile as it seemed, Im thinking rat snake

[CraigC]

Originally Posted by VoodooChile

Ok, heres my question: Was it really a python? Or was it a Rat snake or other colubrid? As docile as it seemed, Im thinking rat snake

Not sure how many rat snakes or colubrids are in the UK, but that sounds like where this occured.

Craig

[Nonconformist]

An escaped python would be pretty docile too, dont'cha think?

I'm thinking Ball python here. if it was any bigger than that the story would have hyped it that way.