![Bear golfing]()
Shooter McGavin couldn't concentrate on chipping when PGA Tour bad boy Happy Gilmore's antics riled up two big-boned bikers enough to get down and dirty in the woods behind him. I guess that's why Shooter didn't have the steely nerve to ever earn that gold jacket at the Tour Championship.
Too bad social media wasn't a thing in Shooter's heyday. Maybe he could've seen this video of a mere amateur displaying the ultimate Exhibit A of courage as grace under pressure by piping a drive with a freaking massive bear bearing witness mere feet away.
https://twitter.com/NUCLRGOLF/status/1827348994512601368
Think about the stones, perspective, and pure class this guy has to execute that shot. Forget about the mad golf game he must have. He must figure, hey, I'm out here with my buddy. Maybe I don't get to play too often. After all, golf is pretty pricey let's be honest. You grind your face off all week, and really your whole life, to get away for several blissful hours on the links, crack open a few cold ones, have a few laughs, and hopefully hit a few shots to keep you coming back to the most fickle, often cruel game on the face of the Earth.
...Only to have that whole situation sabotaged by the presence of one of nature's biggest creatures. Or at least it would've derailed most other weekend hackers. Not this guy. If he nutted that drive as much as I think he did, that one swing right there is enough to hang your hat on for the rest of the nine- or 18-hole round.
Who cares what you shoot at that point? The incredible concentration it takes to mash a driver with a bear who could tear you limb from limb staring daggers through you in your peripheral vision is among the greatest achievements you could ever pray to unlock as an amateur golfer.
The most exotic animals I've seen whilst golfing include a bear, the biggest iguana ever, alligators, and, strangely, a fox who trotted across the fairway. Thankfully none of them were close enough to be any sort of threat save for the fox. What's with bears and sports? I'm not talking about the very-merited excitement around Caleb Williams and the Chicago Bears. Bears seem to lurk around the golf course, and can even wade into residential areas to
interrupt kids' driveway basketball games.
Anyway, in the spirit of
college football coming back today, can we all give massive stadium-style standing ovation to this guy, or whatever the digital equivalent of that is? At the very least, a hardcore salute.
And in case the Shooter scene referenced in the lede went over your head, please enjoy below.
https://youtu.be/wBIhlie2rJI?si=ELw1sgcUBg0NLuEk&t=160
