It wasn't quite Happy Gilmore, but it was about the closest we could get.
Twenty years after Adam Sandler's renowned character emphatically beat down an alligator on the golf course in order to retrieve a ball in the 1996 comedy classic, the alligator species had a real-life encounter with the golf world.
And although there wasn't the same physical conflict featured on the big screen, it still was a fear-inducing experience in its own right.
Local golfer Charles Helms was enjoying a casual round with friends when he came across a massive alligator roaming one of the greens at the Buffalo Creek Golf Course in Palmetto, FL. As can be seen in his video below, this gator was just as imposing as advertised:
"I didn't know if we were being punked or something," Helms later told ABC Action News. "It was just laying down, resting, when it got up and started moving towards the big lake."
Still, despite the gator's monstrous figure (being estimated by onlookers as roughly 15 feet long) all involved were ultimately unharmed – albeit stunned in the process.
"He doesn't bother anybody and they don't bother him, he's like a mascot for the course," course employee Wendy Schofield said. "He has been here for a very, very long time."
More Animal House:
-- Cincinnati Zoo Straps GoPro To Cheetah
-- Bat Dog Steals Show During A-Rod's Double-A Rehab Assignment
-- Paul Pierce Buys His Daughter Llama For Birthday
