Meet Steve… a real water hazard!

As every golfer knows, water hazards present a real danger out on the course; waiting patiently to gobble up any wayward shots that splash down and consign the ball to a watery grave. And not to mention a penalty stroke either…

But one particular water hazard on an Australian golf course takes the dangers of water hazards to a whole new level.

Willows Golf Resort, near Sydney has become home to a 1.8 metre-long freshwater crocodile christened Steve by locals. The croc has been sighted around the course for more than one week and has even taken to sunning himself on the bank of the second hole. Other sightings occur around the 17th hole, where the tee shot is played across the lake.

However, course manager Adrian Lawson claims there is no need to panic as crocodiles around the course are, well, par for the course and locals are used to seeing them.

The course has played host to five crocodiles in recent years says Lawson, as heavy rains swell a nearby river and dumps the reptiles into the course’s lake. As a result, the golf course has its own crocodile management plan in order to gauge the dangers the reptiles pose to players and others in the area.

Steve is apparently pretty docile though, and often disappears into the water whenever someone approaches him.

One certainty though is that anyone who does find the lake with their shot won’t be in a hurry to retrieve their ball and will find losing a stroke is infinitely more preferable to perhaps losing something else.