Yikes! Snakes A Part Of Course

By Ken Klavon, USGA

Bullsnakes, like this one in the 11th fairway recently, are indeed present at Prairie Dunes. Stephanie Keever came across one during her practice round Wednesday. (Courtesy Jill Jarsulic)

Hutchinson, Kan. – Before taking the stage against Jack Nicklaus in a playoff for the 1971 U.S. Open at Merion Golf Club, potential champion Lee Trevino decided to cut the tension. He threw a rubber snake at Nicklaus.

This week no rubber snakes will be needed, thank you. The real deal will do if a player has that undeniable urge to get in some snake tossing while playing 18. It’s easy to do. Just follow these directions: send ball into knee-high rough, go hunting for said ball and come out with more than what you bargained for.

A rumor floating around Prairie Dunes this week claims that rattlesnakes have populated the course.

Players have heard it; fans have heard it and the noise has filtered throughout. Are snakes roaming freely, waiting for that chance to say, ‘Glad to see ya!’ to an unsuspecting player who puts a ball in the junk?

"I guess the bad news is there are snakes in the rough," said course superintendent Stan George. "The good news is that I have not found a poisonous one or one that would do much damage."

That’s encouraging. The better news is that players and gallery alike won’t have to worry about encountering rattlers.

"The one that looks a little bit like a rattlesnake is actually a bullsnake," added George. "We try not to disturb or kill them or anything else. They are actually beneficial."

Beneficial? It’s not unheard of for a course to shelter some snakes, since they ward off unwanted guests, like rodents that can cause serious damage.

Some players, after finishing Wednesday’s practice round, seemed alarmed when told the sly reptiles were among them.

"There are snakes?" said Mi Hyun Kim. "Ohhh, don’t tell me that. Scary."

Carin Koch said she didn’t come across any in her practice rounds, but did see a few lizards. Her last encounter with a snake came during the 1999 Women’s Open on Old Waverly G.C. in West Point, Miss. She saw one lying across a makeshift bridge over a small creek sunning itself as she stepped on. "I kind of screamed," said Koch. "The rest of the time I sort of walked around the bridge."

For snake lovers, a consensus among seven players was that Sacramento was the best place to meet one. Laura Diaz and Kim recently saw some going across fairways during a recent tournament there.

The news gives the players extra incentive to keep the ball straight. "That’s our main goal anyway," said Pat Hurst, who didn’t stumble upon any during practice. "I know I would jump; it would startle me."

"I’d probably just say, ‘Oh, there’s a snake’ and keep going," said Diaz.

One player who did bump into one was Stephanie Keever, during Wednesday’s practice round. While on the 321-yard par-4 third hole, she walloped two balls to the left of the bunker. One of them bounded into the rough.

When she approached the ball, she saw something strange poking out. "I saw an orange and black tail, and then it hit me," she said. "I didn’t want to go in there. Let’s just say I left my ball there."

Since Keever is from Las Vegas, which is surrounded by arid desert -- the perfect environment for some snakes -- people might assume that encountering the creatures would be second-nature to her. Not so. "It was only the second one I’ve ever seen," she said.

Interestingly enough, there are rules that govern such instances with snakes. It all depends whether it is alive or dead.

According to the Decisions on the Rules of Golf, a live snake is considered an outside agency; a dead one a loose impediment. Relief is provided for outside agencies. A loose impediment can be moved, as long as the ball isn’t shifted.

Or, in the case of a rattlesnake or dangerous situation, it would be unreasonable for the player to play from such a dangerous situation and unfair for the player to incur a penalty. A drop would be allowed, but not closer to the hole. If the ball and snake were in a hazard, a drop would be accepted in the same hazard or in another similar hazard that wasn’t closer to the hole.

If it wasn’t possible to drop in a hazard, the player would have the option of dropping outside of the hazard under a one-stroke penalty.

So, say this week some attention-seeking creature sidles up to a player’s ball and won’t move? Then what?

"I think I get a rules official to do it," said Kim, referring to the snake.

Ken Klavon is the USGA Web Editor. E-mail him at kklavon@usga.org.