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I started sprinting: Savage goose tackles Michigan golfer in viral story
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A Canada goose didnt hold back against a human golfer, completely tackling him to the ground in a sheer force of dominance. - photo by Herb Scribner
A Canada goose didnt hold back against a human golfer, completely tackling him to the ground in a sheer force of dominance.

Isaac Couling, a member of the Concord High School golf team in Michigan, was competing at the Madison Tournament at the World Creek Golf Course in Adrian, Michigan, when the goose appeared out of nowhere and completely tackled him, according to CNN.

Photos of the incident quickly made their way online. PGA.com even shared the story, saying that though geese can be beautiful when watching them fly in flocks, the truth is they can be a real nuisance to golfers. And that's without them attacking golfers.

The goose tackled Couling as the golfer eyed another threatening goose on the golf course.

Couling told the Detroit Free Press that he noticed a female goose under a tree as he walked to grab his ball. He hoped to avoid her.

"And then I look behind me and there's a goose flying about five feet from me, and that's when I started sprinting in the first photo," he said.

Blissfield High golf coach Steve Babbitt confirmed the story, saying that the group was aware of a goose nest on their left but not the guard goose, who was protecting the nest, on the right.

"They were aware of a goose nest on their left, which they were looking at but not bothering, when from behind them and to the right came the guard goose (protecting the nest), he told The Detroit News.

Couling told The Detroit News that he started to run away from the goose before he fell to the ground and laid there defenseless.

He said he ran and dove three different times before shooing the goose away.

"All the coaches saw it from the clubhouse. You could see it from there, he said. It's pretty crazy. All my friends were talking about it."

Couling did salvage one silver lining though.

"But," he said, "I did par that hole."

According to the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, this isnt out of the ordinary for the state.

"Occasionally geese nest in inappropriate sites, such as in shrubbery near buildings or parking lots. They can demonstrate aggressive behavior toward people while defending their nesting territory," the departments website reads.
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