Using a cell phone while on a golf course is typically frowned upon. The Okeeheelee Golf Course in Palm Beach County is lucky enough to have a raccoon on staff to help keep golfers from spending time on their smart phones and screwing up the rate of play. That’s right — a raccoon.
According to the South Florida Sun Sentinel, a golfer named Brian Acker recently had his iPhone 4 stolen while playing on the second hole of the Eagle Course at Okeeheelee. The device was taken by a raccoon that course workers and regulars call Rocky. He is known for snatching various items from unsuspecting players such as wallets and food, but the way Acker recovered his cell phone makes the story even more entertaining.
Because of a GPS app, Acker was able to “ping” his phone and trace it to the top of a palm tree on the second hole of the course. Workers used a ladder to climb the tree and found Acker’s cell phone case before snagging the phone itself about 12 feet up the tree. It was accompanied by several food wrappers.
“He has a taste for open food items left in golf carts and shiny items,” Okeeheelee General Manager Mac Hood explained. “The raccoon just saw something he liked and he went in there and grabbed it.”
Acker said the incident will not discourage him from returning to the course, but it will make him rethink bringing his cell phone along.
“I’ll be back,” he said. “This time I will leave my cellphone in the car.”
As we’ve learned over the years here at LBS, animals causing problems on golf courses doesn’t just happen in movies like “Caddyshack.” Whether it’s a live shark on the course or an alligator nearly killing a golfer, problems with creatures and critters aren’t tough to come by.
H/T Eye on Golf
