Beaufort South Carolina Golfer Loses Arm in Alligator Attack: Fripp Island Golfer Alligator Attack

A 77-year-old golfer tried retrieving his ball from a pond at a Fripp Island golf course in Beaufort, South Carolina and was grabbed by an alligator.

Alligator Attack

On No. 11 at the Ocean Creek Golf Course yesterday, according to The Beaufort Tribune, the alligator grabbed the unidentified man's arm and dragged him into the pond. Other golfers freed the man but not before the gator's thrashing took his arm.

The alligator was caught, killed and the arm was found in the gator's stomach.

An average adult American alligator’s weight and length is 800 pounds and 13 feet. Large ones grow to 14.5 feet long and weigh 1,000 pounds. The average lifespan for an alligator is 50 years.

Although alligators have a heavy body and a slow metabolism, they are capable of short bursts of speed, especially in very short lunges, such as apparently happened in the Fripp Island attack.

The man was eventually air-evacuated to Charleston's Medical University of South Carolina. Efforts are reported to be underway to reattach his arm. His condition is unknown.

I was in beautiful Beaufort, S.C. recently. I love golf. How wonderful that a 77 year-old was still playing golf with his son, but this is a terrible story.