Video: "That's above and beyond the call of duty for a tour caddie."

Kip Henley earning his pay from boss Brian Gay during round one of the RBC Heritage...

Update on Friday, April 13, 2012 at 01:49 PM by Geoff

**Brian Wacker talked to Henley about what he was thinking.

Just three weeks ago at the Transitions Championship, Henley grabbed one by the tail — though that episode was not captured by television cameras, nor was the gator as large. Henley, who grew up in Tennessee and still lives there, estimates that he’s grabbed about five gators by the tail.

“I’m not afraid of them if they’re facing away from you,” he said. “They won’t snap back around at you. If they can get in the water they’ll take off. This was the most stubborn one I’ve ever seen. I thought it might be a bad time with the cameras on me for him to snap around and actually get me.”

Gay, who missed the cut, joked he might not have minded if it did.

“I didn’t want to see him get hurt, but I was hoping he would so he wouldn’t do it again,” Gay said. “What have you got to gain?”

Comments

[Ludell Hogwaller]

This is the kind of thing that slows play down. Now if it had been a crocodile, it would have been over with in a jiffy and play could have resumed, probably even faster.

[Mike T.]

Don't try this at home. Gators move surprisingly fast in a straight line.

[JRS]

The Tour needs to make a ball resting within the killing zone of a wild carnivore a free drop. Imagine the consequences if that thing went at the caddie. Now we're going to witness a rash of guys a 6-pack in getting chewed up by gators because they think it's safe.

[J Sanders]

Decision 1-4/10 allows free relief for dangerous situations.

[JRS]

Thanks J Sanders. Much appreciated. Up here in the Northeast, we don't encounter many dangerous situations.

[Ky Laffoon's Ghost]

Ludell, you are being too subtle! LOL. I was once playing with someone from JRS's neck of the woods when his ball came to rest at the edge of a pond, near the left hind foot of a similar sized critter. His intention was to walk down and retrieve the ball. This was on the 9th hole. I told him a 7-foot alligator might not kill him outright but amputation was not unlikely. He left his Pinnacle in the pond. Mike T. is right. Gators can move very fast when they want to. They have brains the size of a walnut and all it tells them to do is eat, except during mating season. Do not try this at home!

[benseattle]

<< Thanks J Sanders. Much appreciated. Up here in the Northeast, we don't encounter many dangerous situations. >>

Apparently you've never tried to put the moves on a Canadian cart girl.

[Ludell Hogwaller]

Ky,
I had this mental image of a wildebeest drinking at the water hole . . .

But, it wasn't an African croc, it was just a Florida gator--without Tebow, they're not all that dangerous.

[TXQ]

Not trying to cause a controversy, but wouldn't it be fairer if both combatants had a rake?

[Scott W]

KLG,

So what you're saying is that most of the time you'll get bitten, but if it's mating season you could suffer an even worse fate?!

[smails]

" I thought it might be a bad time with the cameras on me for him to snap around and actually get me.”

Look Maw iam on TV!!!!!

[ggg]

An alligator will clamp on to a body part, then drag its prey into the water and dive deep to drown it. The body part doesn't usually survive the bite, thus the amputation. If the alligator gets you in the pond...

And a LOL for the Florida Gators remark.

[GolfFan]

This caddie did no one a service doing this for all to see. It was rather a stupid thing to do.

[johnnnycz]

Chill out folks....Gators are dangerous yes...but how many people a year die from being attacked by one?

I'm willing to bet that more people die from honey bee stings or freak accidents at home (eg: slipping on a glossy magazine left on the top stair followed by an Inspector Clouseau-type-feet-first-swan-dive towards certain injury)

I'm from north of the border originally and have played a ton both in South East USA as well as the more northern parts of the continent...and I can say this with 110% certainty:

I would rather face a gator than a rutting deer/elk during mating season.

Don't get me started on how in the spring the females are more aggressive than the males when protecting their young (sans sharpened antlers)...a simple 1.5 hour 9hole round can become a 3.5 hr paranoia filled death march.

[johnnnycz]

@benseattle:

Great observation...been down that (nowhere) road many times in my youth. Best to approach them carefully but confidently...and if they happen to be wearing Bob Marley/Jamaican/Rasta coloured jewelery...then it stands a good chance that they'll be a tad confused/slower...making them easier to corral.

[chicago pt]

when i was in SC in Feb a caddie told me some guy had his arm bitten off recently retrieving a ball ....

[John C]

I kept thinking that someone could've have lost their balance on that little bank there... too close for comfort even with a rake... or a long putter.