Crazy day on the golf course

   I couldn't believe my eyes. And I swear every word typed is true.

   As my friend and I are waiting to tee off on the 2nd hole, a course employee starts to chase down 4 geese with his golf cart. Three get away, but he manages to pin one up against a fence and tree. With the goose stunned and hurt, he proceeds to back up and try to smush the bird 4 more times. With the goose maimed, he drives off. My jaw is literally on the ground in surprise.
   So, we tee off. Walking down the fairway, I glance at the bird. It's still alive, but in shock, with wings sticking in every direction. We notice the employee driving back in our vicinity, and flag him down. My buddy asked him why he just did what he did. Response:"Mind your own business." A few choice words are exchanged, and he drives off.
   As we're waiting to tee off on the 7th hole, we notice the same guy in his cart just off the fairway where we intend to hit. But he's not alone. He's got a woman in the cart. So we tee off. As we're walking down the fairway, he drives up to us and they both get out.
   The woman comes up to me and starts to explain to me what a problem geese are to a golf course, and that this a necessary thing to do. My response: "First off, I paid my hard earned money to play a relaxing round of golf, and I'm subject to watching this guy ramming a goose into a fence. Next, last time I checked, this is an illegal act. And finally, we have this on video and we're going to let this out. (Unfortunately, we didn't have a video camera with us).
   Now the lady is sweating. She asks me, "What are you, a goose hugger?" I wished her luck in the criminal court proceedings, and we finished our round of golf with no more distractions.

   thoughts, comments?

Did Hook get any birdies or just the employee?   badaboom <crash>

Yeah, welcome to my world...  I just spoke for three hours at a Canada Goose Symposium to all the NY State Park Managers.  The birds are a serious problem, and are no longer migrating as they should since we have created perfectly manicured lawn alongside nearly every waterbody in the state.
 
The droppings are acidic enough to burn greens and fairways on golf courses, and toxic enough to close many public beaches on Long Island.  It's a near crisis, I assure you.  The birds are now allowed by Federal USFWS laws to be harrassed (negative association and aversion) as much as property managers wish, while not touching them.  A free permit may now be obtained online from the Fish and Wildlife Service to oil (addle) goose eggs or remove nests without punishment.  The fertilizer, chemical and labor that goes into repairing goose damage is trememndous, so many managers want the birds gone.
 
Truth is, the Canada Goose was nearly extirpated by the early 1960s.  Now they have taken over!
 
The cruishing of a bird with a golf cart is something I try to steer course superintendents away from.  But many guys are still out there shooting them at 5am, trying to poison them or otherwise being idiots.  I know several who lost their jobs because of their tactics against the Geese.  Most effective way to deter Canada Geese from settling on your property?  Buy a Border Colie and let 'er rip each morning.
 
Eventually the Geese will get annoyed enough that they will move over to your neighbors property.  But if you leave for two or three days, they will come back and take over.  Remote-control boats are effective on the water, but only to a degree.  These stupid birds keep me awake at night, and are a really serious ecological issue we created.  I think Canada Geese suck...  But no one should run them over or anything.
 
Wanna' hit the links sometime soon, Doug?

The golf course was Clifton Knolls Golf on Barney Road in Clifton Par. A par 3 course.

Anyone got a # to ENCON?

And yes Jimmy, let's get out and golf soon.

Wow that is f'd up man , i too think they are a pain in the****and need to be removed but NOT by those means !! I would have called right from the course and could have cared less if the course owner was right there in front of me.
 
No animals (or on lookers) should be subject to that treatment. And i'm a hunter too. I have no problem it they are taken out in a humane manor.
 
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I golf too guys, when you going ??

ORIGINAL: HookLineSinker

The golf course was Clifton Knolls Golf on Barney Road in Clifton Par. A par 3 course.

Anyone got a # to ENCON?

And yes Jimmy, let's get out and golf soon.

Here is the link to the DEC TIPPS page with number and instructions for making a report...http://www.dec.ny.gov/regulations/393.html

Just a little info on deterring geese. Last summer I work at a local course, not on the course in the club house. I did however have contact with the heads greens keeper. He tried several things to get rid of geese, including chasing them around with a canoe (funny as hell, guess you had to be there...lol). What he came up with and seemed to work very well was going to****s and buying those coyote decoys/targets.

ORIGINAL: RhnstnCowboy

I wish he would have killed all four. Certainly they shouldn't be tortured, so buckshot would have been a better method, but they need to be taken care of. Would you hesitate to step on a rat you saw in your garage? Geese are rats with wings.

I see you like quotes. Here is one for you....
 
"It is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are a fool than to open it and remove all doubt."
     -Samuel Langhorne Clemens, "Mark Twain"

ORIGINAL: RhnstnCowboy

Maybe you should learn to correctly spell the name of the place at which you work before you criticize others' opinions. Was it rough, like sandpaper? Or was it rough, like a Brillo pad? The name is somewhat ironic, but I guess you can still be wise even if you don't know the difference between heterographic homophones...

Geese are rats with wings.

Here is another one for you...
"I'd challenge you to a battle of wits but I'm afraid that I'd be fighting an unarmed opponent."

Yeah, you're right, Wisdom. I give up. Sorry for wasting your valuable time. I was overmatched to begin with. At least I learned my lesson. Bye the way, in case I failed to mention it before, geese are rats with wings.

Hook, I can definitely see your point. It is never right to make an animal suffer and they should have been shot after club hours. Maybe it was a case of poor judgement, poor manners, and poor business acumen, but in my opinion, I would have looked at it the same way as the groundskeeper stepping on a rat in front of you. Was it in bad taste? Probably.

Just saw your mug on the tv Doug ... WTG man !

Ther are going to charge him with taking waterfowl out of season ???? So i guess when they are in season he can run over all he wants ?!??!??! I don't get it.
 
Oh well , i'm sure that new cast will not help bussiness.
 
 
 
And is that really your last name ? How funny man !!!
 
 

LMAO!! yea look for mine while your there neversink. Love the golf myself.
Its really odd commin from the south where so many spend millions gettin ready for goose season to open. where they will spend 30,000 a year for membership at some of these goose hunting lands down there just to get a few geese every year then come up here and see them on the front lawn, one mans rat another mans feast. Lets face it they do what geese do it is the nature of the animal. Guess if they could talk they would be saying "these f..ing people allways botherin us whish there was some way to shoo them away. lol although a real newsance I would drather have them as a problem than not have them at all. I still love seeing a flock of geese calling and flyin soth for the winter against a setting sun on a cool fall day. and thats worth a little pain in the****from them ever once in a while.

I saw you on the news too. I have to say that was some pretty swift action, it happened yesterday and today it was on the news.
Good job. As much as the geese **** me off, those guys just went about it completely the WRONG way!!

I'm on the fence on this...
 
I understand your feelings, concerns & thoughts.
 
 
 
 

 
yea Ship that’s why I remain kinda neutral on this. It was the steelhead & salmon smolts in the Oswego harbor. When stocked the cormorants would scoop them up as soon as they were dumped in. Dec also went to off shore barge stocking to help that as well.

Loons are another issue to me, they eat tons of brookies, some like them , others don't.
Pickerel can also drive people crazy. The list is long as well as the issues people create.

Update on Goosegate!

http://www.cbs6albany.com/news/porter-1263952-golf-course.html