Par for the course and lyin' 3? At a certain Japanese golf course you might also be watched by lions three. Odds are they're not there to critique your backswing, but to size up your back ribs.





The 21st Century Club likely didn't go out of their way to set up their greens and fairways (in green, below) cheek-by-jowl with the Gunma Safari Park (in red, below). One takes what opportunities they're given, however.

The club is touting the view of the safari park's pride of lions from the golf club's 9th hole as something to spice up the game of golf, often criticized as being slow and boring.

Check out this short video of golfers on the 21st Century Club's 9th hole teeing off under the watchful gaze of the safari park's big cats:





It's said that many golfers who hook or slice their drives too close to the security fences separating the lions from the prey, er, PAYing customers simply leave their balls and take a penalty. I would imagine taking your balls is something that takes balls, if you get my gist.





A pair of somewhat flimsy looking security fences 9 feet and 3 feet (!) tall keep the kitties on one side and the caddies on the other. Somehow I'm not reassured, regardless of the height of the fences. Didn't the golf course designers see Jurassic Park? (via Japan Probe)