Herd of javelina absolutely massacre top-25 Arizona golf course

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Too often we are seeing news of some palooka destroying a golf course with their ute or motorbike. This year alone we saw an entire dirt bike crew tear through a course in Delaware in the US in broad daylight and a Champions Tour venue vandalised 36 hours before the tournament was scheduled to begin. But the man-made destruction can’t hold a candle to what’s been happening at this top Arizona golf course. If you’re sensitive to graphic golf content, now’s the time to look away.

That was the scene at Seven Canyons Golf Club in Sedona as captured by superintendent Em Casey on Sunday morning in the US. But it wasn’t humans or weather or some sort of extraterrestrial blight that caused this — it was a pack of boar-like animals called javelinas.

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Don’t let their cuddly appearance fool you, however. Javelinas are stubborn and stout. They defend their territory aggressively and sometimes fighting each other to the death over a prickly pear, their favorite snack. They travel in herds of five to 15, though some as large as 50 have been reported. When moving in numbers, even cougars—one of earth’s apex predators—are afraid from them. So what chance does a greenskeeper stand?

That’s a good question, and one Casey is desperately looking to answer. As you can see from the video, the damage to Seven Canyons—ranked the 24th best golf course in Arizona by Golf Digest in 2023—is extensive, bordering on catastrophic. But you can’t just hire an exterminator. Javelinas are classified as a “big game species” under Arizona law, making it unlawful to trap, injure or kill them — even in situations where they may be causing danger or damage — without meeting a “rigorous” set of provisions. Where that leaves Seven Canyons remains to be seen, but here’s hoping this pack have had their fill and have moved on to greener pastures … or perhaps fairways.

This article was originally published on golfdigest.com