Golfers “thought they were being punked” when a giant alligator took a stroll near the third hole of a Florida golf course.

Footage shared by Golf.com and credited to golfer Charles Helm, shows the creature moving slowly across the Buffalo Creek Golf Course, much to the surprise of shocked players, who filmed the giant animal.

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In the footage, two men can be heard talking off-camera. One describes the animal as “the biggest freaking alligator I’ve seen in my life”, adding: “I think that’s two guys in an alligator suit.”

The man estimated the alligator to be about 4.6 metres long.

In an interview with US ABC Action News, Mr Helms said he was “stunned and silent” when he spotted the alligator.

“I didn’t know if we were being punked or something,” he said.

He said the alligator was moving towards a large lake.

Buffalo Creek pro shop worker Wendy Schofield told News 3 the gator had been a resident of the course for years.

“He doesn’t bother anybody and they don’t bother him, he’s like a mascot for the course.”