Golfers know that the sport is hard enough as it is… adding a big ol’ black bear to the equation just makes things out on the links that much more difficult.
Yes, birdies and eagles are commonly associated with the game that is rumored to be named “golf” because “all the other four letter words were taken.” Bears, on the other hand, aren’t mentioned hand-in-hand with golf all that much. That is unless you are playing at the Fairmont Chateau Golf Course in Whistler, British Columbia, like this golfer was.
They found out what it’s like to play with a gallery, and by that, I mean they had a close encounter with one of the black bears there that famously roams the property.
Typically, the rule of thumb (some call it the rule of survival) is to stay 100 yards away from bears. That’s actually easy to do at a golf course, with all of the yardage markers out on the course, and thanks to range finders that most golfers own and utilize. This bear – apparently named Cinnamon – does appear to be rather tame, and is likely used to being around humans.
But that doesn’t mean that it should be trusted. It’s a wild animal, and they can turn on you in the flip of a switch.
Fortunately, everything worked out for those involved with this video, despite the golfer turning their back to the bear (one of the big time no-nos of bear encounters). The man walked up to his ball on the green and decided to play it as it lies, even with the black bear mere feet away from him.
At one point, the video even captures him saying:
“I don’t think I have any snacks in my bag.”
He better count his lucky stars about that.
Just as he was lining up a putt, he did decide to step off of his shot and make sure the brown-ish black bear was staying put. Sure enough, it stayed right off the green… and even appeared to be waiting for the man to attempt his putt (what a polite patron, eh?). Like I mentioned earlier, the bear looks to be very acclimated to being around people. It mainly kept to itself while the group of golfers played on through.
The whole thing made for quite the entertaining video. The shot of the golfer addressing his putt while the bear stares him down alone is worthy of going viral, and the social media page took things a step further by detailing how frightened the golfer actually was with the bear that close to him:
“Instantly cured my yips. Think a downhill slider for birdie is stressful? Try turning around to a bear sizing up your stroke. He was peaceful, but my hands were shaking. Would you reset and finish the putt, or walk away?”
To answer that question… I’d definitely either pick the ball up or just leave it, and take a par on the hole. That seems like the safe and all-around beneficial way to handle a bear being that close to the green.
But maybe that’s just me…
