Water hazards are where golf balls go to die, but this golfer manages to blast his way out of the muck and the mire at the Metropolitan Intercollegiate championships at the Seawane Club course in Hewlett Harbor, N.Y., on May 10, 1956.
If it’s not possible or practical to play a ball in a water hazard, a golfer receives a one-stroke penalty. Technically, golf’s rules since 2019 don’t use the word “hazard” anymore, preferring “penalty areas.” But golf officials might want to rethink that phrasing considering a 2023 Times article that reported on the ultimate water hazard — a shark-infested lake — at the Carbrook Golf Club near Brisbane, Australia.
“It all started in 1996 when raging floods swept six young bull sharks from a nearby river into a 51-acre lake near the golf course’s 14th hole,” wrote Annie Roth. “When the floodwaters receded, the sharks found themselves stuck, surrounded by grassy hills and curious golfers. The sharks spent 17 years in the lake, sustaining themselves on its large stock of fish and on the occasional meat treat provided by the club’s staff.”
Yes, there’s an ending to this “Shark Tank” tale: “One shark was illegally fished out,” The Times noted, “while the others vanished after subsequent floods.”
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