Palmetto golfer describes encounter with giant gator

PALMETTO (FOX 13) - It's not unusual to spot an alligator on a Florida golf course, but a massive alligator just traipsing across a golf course in Palmetto must have been quite a sight to see.

The gator, estimated to be 14 to 15 feet long, was captured on video by golfer Charles Helms.

"You get up in the morning not thinking you're going to see anything like that, and you go to bed not believing it," said Helms. "I took the video, basically, so I could prove it to my family and friends who I knew were going to say, 'No, it's not that big.' It becomes a fish tale!"

Helms and a friend were alerted by another group of golfers that the giant gator was nearing their hole at Buffalo Creek Golf Club.

The golfers watched the gator stroll past them -- in disbelief at its sheer enormity -- and record the encounter on their phones.

Charles Helms, who posted the video on Facebook, told FOX 13 News the gator did not appear to be agitated, or even interested in coming near the golfers.

He kept his distance while recording.

"That is the biggest freaking alligator I've ever seen in my life," Helms said on video. "Have you ever seen anything that big?" he asked, as another golfer said, "No! Never!"

"That is a monster," Helms said.

Video provided to FOX 13 News by another golfer, Jeff McCroskey, on Tuesday, May 31, showed that the gator was still roaming the golf course a week later.

Helms said he did not plan to let the gator stop him from getting in a round a golf in the coming days.

"It's the only thing worth noting that I've ever done on a golf course, is take this video," Helms joked.