There’s no “playing through” option when a herd of elk takes over the golf course.
When it comes to the game of golf, there are a fair amount of both written and unwritten rules. There are a lot of tertiary things you have to remember while hitting your little white ball around, like making sure to never walk in someone’s line, and to always repair divots and pitch marks (the indention your ball leaves when it hits the green) when you can.
I don’t think this herd of elk is familiar with any of that.
They don’t even care that they are holding up play at this Colorado golf course. All they are thinking is, “Wow, this is the perfect, cleared out spot for endless grazing.” Meanwhile, if anyone is out there trying to get a round of golf in, they are likely having to skip the particular hole that’s shown in this footage. I wouldn’t expect the two dozen elk to just clear out upon hearing “FORE” yelled at them.
And a golfer probably wouldn’t want to risk hitting into the herd. Wildlife in Colorado are protected by a nuisance law, which states that it is illegal to harass wildlife – and endangering, worrying and disturbing all count as harassment. So it’d be a tough scene (and potentially problematic) if a golfer intentionally hit towards the elk, even if they were just trying to play the golf course.
You can’t blame the elk for wanting to hang out on the course though. It looks to be in great shape, and gives them long-range visibility. The course also appears to be in the middle of a more developed area, so predators probably aren’t coming after them if they were to hang around there.
They’re truly lucky and living their best life.
The green itself, on the other hand, wasn’t so lucky. You can tell that all of the elk walking across the “dance floor” definitely tore it up a bit, and undoubtedly made the next golfer’s putt through that area a nightmare. That is where the golf etiquette comes in. All golfers know that you should try and leave every part of the golf course better than how you found it.
If you take a divot, or leave a mark or indention on the green, repairing those things to the best of your ability is part of the game. This elk herd missed the memo on that:
Love to hear the elk bugling back and forth to one another too. That’s truly a beautiful and serene scene right there. And it makes as much sense that the elk are taking over the area as it does that there’s a golf course located in the valley. Golf courses are, in fact, out in nature… so you can’t be upset when nature happens.
Oh, and I’d be remiss if I didn’t point out some of the golf jokes that social media users left below the video:
“Local rules: give yourself a two putt and go to the next tee.”
“A ‘gimme’ if ever there was one!”
“How am I supposed to chip with that going on?”
“This must slow down the pace of play.”
“Looks and sounds to me like a one putt.”
