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Cicada Killer Wasps got me hooked on golf

M

montanafan

Diamond Member
As some of you may know from previous threads, I recently decided to give golf a try. I've been going to a local course to use their driving, chipping, and putting ranges to learn a few basic skills, but I'd never actually played a hole of golf. All of the cart boys are former or current students of mine and after six in the evening they are left in charge of the course until the last golfers finish up, which is usually when it gets too dark to play any more. During this time, if they have all their work done, they're allowed to golf for free and take a friend or friends with them. Each time I've been there they've asked me if I wanted to take a cart and golf for free, but I always told them that though I appreciated the offer I just didn't think I was quite ready yet.

This evening I hit a bucket of balls at the driving range and then made my way over to the chipping range with plans to finish up at the putting range as usual. At the chipping range though I saw these mounds of dirt all over the green and the cup was full of dirt. Then I started getting buzzed by these giant hornets. I played for a few minutes keeping an eye on them as they flew low to the ground and in and out of the holes they'd dug, but when one started buzzing around my head, I was out of there. These things were huge!

Cicada Killer Wasps

I went over to the putting range, but never touched the club because, though there weren't any mounds of dirt on the green, these hornets were in every single cup digging in and out of the sides. They were interesting to watch, but I was kind of bummed that I wasn't going to get to hit any more balls. As I passed the cart shed on my way back to the parking lot, one of the boys asked me if I wanted to take a cart out and play the course, and this time I said thanks, I think I will. I still didn't think I was ready to play 18 holes of golf, but I was mad that the wasps had taken over my territory.

I am now officially hooked on golf! I only got to play 9 holes before it got too dark, and it did rain on me for about 10 minutes, and my score would have been about a 75 for 9 holes, but I loved every minute of it. I'm getting up early and going back out on the course again. And to think that I owe this new found thrill to a bunch of killer wasps.

*UPDATED WITH PICS*

I went back out and played 18 holes this time. I came back with a sunburn and some photos of the wasps and the damage they can do to a chipping range.

Buzzing around the nest:
http://i34.photobucket.com/alb...ntanafan/IMG_4186a.jpg

This one was guarding the nest entrance, but I snuck up behind him:
http://i34.photobucket.com/alb...ntanafan/IMG_4195a.jpg

Swarming around their newly claimed territory:
http://i34.photobucket.com/alb...ntanafan/IMG_4200a.jpg

This used to be the cup on the chipping range, boy these things can dig:
http://i34.photobucket.com/alb...ntanafan/IMG_4202a.jpg

And to clear things up about the maintenance at the golf course, it really is a nice one, the wasps have just taken over the chipping and putting ranges. Here are some photos of the rest of the course:

http://i34.photobucket.com/alb...ntanafan/IMG_4210a.jpg

http://i34.photobucket.com/alb...ntanafan/IMG_4298a.jpg

http://i34.photobucket.com/alb...ntanafan/IMG_4312a.jpg

http://i34.photobucket.com/alb...ntanafan/IMG_4321a.jpg






 
Originally posted by: Sukhoi
Meh, nothing compared to the tarantuala wasps I saw last year. 😉
Click to expand...

:Q
😀

I'd never seen these things before and I won't be going back to the chipping and putting ranges until they're gone, but I will keep working at the driving range because my driving sucks. I did really well on the fairways and greens, but it took me an average of 4 strokes to get from the tee to the fairway each time.🙁

 
That shouldn't stop you from playing a round - do what I used to do: leave the drivers and woods in the trunk and only play with the irons. Back when I was on a league, we used to throw in a few bucks for "longest drive" and for "closest to the pin". On the hole where we competed for longest drive (among everyone from the company in that league), I won a couple of times with my 3-iron. That wasn't the reason for the irons though; I'd much rather hit accurately and be where I want to be in the fairway then be 40 yards further and in the rough.
 
I remember seeing them when I lived in Illinois.

My dad would make blowdart guns out of straws, Q-Tips and needles, and we'd nail cicada killers to tree trunks and flower stalks. Kickass. Those things are monsterous.
 
you have to pay to use this golf course and its infested with these wasps? i'd complain about that. not very good groundskeeping if you ask me.
 
Originally posted by: pontifex
you have to pay to use this golf course and its infested with these wasps? i'd complain about that. not very good groundskeeping if you ask me.
Click to expand...

Caddies equipped with a pail of diazinon granules dropping them into the offender's nest holes would be the easiest way to control these pests.
 
Glad to hear that you have been hooked on golf. Not the cheapest of hobby's, but it sure is fun. I miss being able to play 3 or 4 times a week. Lately is has been once every 2 weeks and my score sure suffers for it.

If you are having issues with the driver, try the 3 wood off the tee. If that isn't much better stick with irons as someone else mentioned.
 
Originally posted by: DrPizza
That shouldn't stop you from playing a round - do what I used to do: leave the drivers and woods in the trunk and only play with the irons. Back when I was on a league, we used to throw in a few bucks for "longest drive" and for "closest to the pin". On the hole where we competed for longest drive (among everyone from the company in that league), I won a couple of times with my 3-iron. That wasn't the reason for the irons though; I'd much rather hit accurately and be where I want to be in the fairway then be 40 yards further and in the rough.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I think I made a mistake when I researching the type of clubs I should buy. I'd read that women had more succes with woods so the set I bought is mainly woods with only the 7, 8, and 9 iron plus the pitching wedge and sand wedge. I have a 4/5 hybrid that I had a little more success with off the tees. One hole has an elevated tee with a big canyon full of grasses taller than me right in front of it that had me a little worried, but I got the ball over it with the hybrid. Before that I was using the 3-wood and the driver without much success and then had to go to the pitching wedge to get the ball from the grass to the fairway. It was still a hundred times more fun than the ranges though.

Originally posted by: shocksyde
I remember seeing them when I lived in Illinois.

My dad would make blowdart guns out of straws, Q-Tips and needles, and we'd nail cicada killers to tree trunks and flower stalks. Kickass. Those things are monsterous.
Click to expand...

I don't think I'd want to do anything to make these things mad at me. I'm not usually too afraid of bees and wasps, but these things were scary looking. :Q

Originally posted by: pontifex
you have to pay to use this golf course and its infested with these wasps? i'd complain about that. not very good groundskeeping if you ask me.
Click to expand...

Originally posted by: Rubycon
Caddies equipped with a pail of diazinon granules dropping them into the offender's nest holes would be the easiest way to control these pests.
Click to expand...

Originally posted by: sao123
Bees on a golf course means that course probably isnt properly maintained...
Click to expand...

The wasps were only infesting the chipping and putting ranges not the course, though I did see where one had dug a hole on the edge of the green at the second hole. They must have taken up residence pretty quickly because I had been to the ranges the week before and they weren't there then. I didn't ask what they were going to do about them, but according the site I linked they don't have a very long span of time when they're active like this. When I go tomorrow I'll take my camera and get a photo of them at work. I'll be using a very long lens.😉

Originally posted by: Uppsala9496
Glad to hear that you have been hooked on golf. Not the cheapest of hobby's, but it sure is fun. I miss being able to play 3 or 4 times a week. Lately is has been once every 2 weeks and my score sure suffers for it.

If you are having issues with the driver, try the 3 wood off the tee. If that isn't much better stick with irons as someone else mentioned.
Click to expand...

Yeah, that first time on the course was free so that made it even more fun, but on weekdays it's not too expensive so that's when I'll play most of the time. I tried the 3-wood, but really only had any success with the 4/5 hybrid. I've been trying to get lessons from the pro at the course, but he's so booked up it's few and far between. I have some friends who have offered to to help so I'm going to take them up on it.

 
Yeah those things get to the size of hummingbirds.

A lady I work with had them in her yard.

We went back by her house after lunch so she could let her dogs out. I waited in the car as these huge things kept whizzing by. She gets back in the car and we are driving back to work. Suddenly this thing starts buzzing in my pocket. I freak out and drop my drink and start smashing my pants trying to kill it.

Turns out it was my cell phone on vibrate 🙁
 
Originally posted by: BrunoPuntzJones
Yeah those things get to the size of hummingbirds.

A lady I work with had them in her yard.

We went back by her house after lunch so she could let her dogs out. I waited in the car as these huge things kept whizzing by. She gets back in the car and we are driving back to work. Suddenly this thing starts buzzing in my pocket. I freak out and drop my drink and start smashing my pants trying to kill it.

Turns out it was my cell phone on vibrate 🙁
Click to expand...

Ahahaha. :laugh:
 
Originally posted by: BrunoPuntzJones
Yeah those things get to the size of hummingbirds.

A lady I work with had them in her yard.

We went back by her house after lunch so she could let her dogs out. I waited in the car as these huge things kept whizzing by. She gets back in the car and we are driving back to work. Suddenly this thing starts buzzing in my pocket. I freak out and drop my drink and start smashing my pants trying to kill it.

Turns out it was my cell phone on vibrate 🙁
Click to expand...

Thanks for the laugh. And not at you, but, because I could see myself doing that same thing. Ugh.
 
Wow, those things are huge and nasty looking. I've never seen them around here.

Good luck with your game. Let me offer you a free lesson: It's "putting green" or "practice green", not a "putting range" or "chipping range".
 
It only takes 3 brave men and a few oversized tennis racquets. I would be willing to be a part of that counter force.

*Bzzzzzzzt-THWAP!* *Bzzzzzzuuuuuuzzzzzerrrr-THWAP!* *THWAP! THWAP! THWAP!*

"Let the bodies hit the floor!" :music:
 
Originally posted by: Accipiter22
OMG OMG OMG OMG

http://saltthesandbox.org/cicada_hunt/CicadaKillers.htm

Are these things in massachusetts? I remember climbing this fence in a park once that had trees around it, and there were vines that hung from the trees. One time my friend and I heard this deeeep buzzing sound as we climbed the fence...we looked up and this wasp the size of a fist flew by. We ran 1/4 mile home SCREAMING
Click to expand...

Distribution: Cicada Killers (Sphecius speciosus) are present in the eastern United States, east of the Rocky Mountains. There are a handful of species in the genus Sphecius within the United States, and a species in the western United States, known as Sphecius convallis, is termed the Western Cicada Killer. It is the largest wasp in California. Cicada Killers appear as adults in late June or July, and are mostly seen visiting flowers or digging burrows in sandy or light soil. In Washington, D. C., they are commonly seen in July on the National Mall.
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Reminds me of the Cicadas in 2004, one time (I dont know how the hell) a cicada managed to get in my shirt while I was walking home from school and I just took my backpack and started hitting my chest to kill it, did NOT want to feel that nasty thing. It remained dead between my shirt and chest and I went home and got someone to take it out, fcker.
 
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