David and Lynn Townsend were on assignment outside Denver, Colorado, capturing images for a charity golf tournament when they noticed a gallery that was starting to take liberties with the golf balls being played.
After a little more inspection, the duo, which operates under David Lynn Photography, realized the pack following the shots on the signature 13th hole at Arrowhead Golf Club in Littleton was in fact a group of playful bobcats.
A bobcat chases a golf ball on the 13th hole at Littleton’s Arrowhead Golf Club. (Photo David and Lynn Townsend/David Lynn Photography)
A story by Landon Haaf of Denver7.com has the details.
“We noticed two little two little animals, kind of scurrying out from the bushes onto the fairway, and they were far enough away you couldn’t really tell what they were,” David Townsend recalled in an interview with Denver7. “It wasn’t until everybody teed off from the box and then made our way down the fairway that we noticed that they were actually bobcats.”
Fortunately, they were “perfectly prepared” for the unexpected visitors. David and Lynn switched camera lenses and turned their attention to the bobcats.
“One of them just sat there with it in his mouth and the other one was kind of like grabbing the ball and running over another cat and jumping over him,” David said. “That’s where I got those kind of aerial photos where the one cat was kind of the most active of all of them.” …
In addition to a “healthy” bobcat population that includes two dens and at least nine cats, Arrowhead and the surrounding area is home to two mountain lions, and a bear and her two cubs, in addition to the requisite population of Colorado regulars like deer and foxes, Arrowhead assistant GM Kenny Windey wrote in an email.
Backing up to Roxborough State Park – a vast open space – helps, Windey said. Wildlife sightings by golfers, he said, are not uncommon.
“All these animals are wild and we do not go out of our way to bother them. This is their home and we are fortunate to share it with them,” he said. “The interaction with golfers is random and we try to communicate to our guests to let them be and keep a safe distance.”
For more on Colorado golf, here’s a look at Golfweek’s Best public-access and private golf courses in Colorado, ranked.