Charles Helms filmed the 15ft reptile as it walked across the course towards a lake

This article is more than 4 years old

This article is more than 4 years old

An exceptionally large alligator has been filmed taking a casual stroll across a golf course in Florida, as terrified golf players looked on.

Charles Helms was enjoying a relaxing afternoon of golf with a friend at Buffalo Creek Golf Course in Palmetto when he spotted the enormous reptile heading their way.

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Of course, he immediately reached for his mobile phone and started filming the beast.

Initially, the colossal size of the creature made him think it was part of a practical joke.

“I was stunned and silent,” he told ABC Action News.

“I didn’t know if we were being punked or something.

“It was just laying down, resting, when it got up and started moving towards the big lake.”

Helms estimated the alligator was 15ft (4,5m) long.

This is not the first time the oversized alligator has made an appearance at the course. It has reportedly been patrolling the greens for years.

“He doesn’t bother anybody and they don’t bother him, he’s like a mascot for the course,” course employee Wendy Schofield told 3 News.

“He has been here for a very, very long time ... There have been guesses that he’s 15 to 16 feet long.”

The largest American alligator ever caught was 15ft and 9in long.