#Florida man bitten in the face by alligator while playing disc golf

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Travis Spitzer was searching for disc-golf frisbees in a lake when he was attacked by an alligator.
WFLA

A Florida Frisbee golf player was bitten in the face by an alligator while retrieving one of the discs from a lake at a Largo park, according to a report.

Travis Spitzer, 40, was waist-deep in the lake at Taylor Park around 5 a.m. when the gator struck, grabbing him by his face and forcing him to fight for his life — and was ultimately able to free himself and flee to safety, WFLA-TV reported Tuesday.

Spitzer was hospitalized with cuts to his face and hands but is expected to recover, the outlet said.

It’s not the first time Spitzer has waded into the alligator-infested lake — he’s been busted for trespassing before for plunging into the water to retrieve the discs for other Frisbee golf players, most recently in January.

Players told WFLA that people typically charge $3 to go into the water to retrieve the discs, which typically cost around $18.

“I don’t go wading deep in,” Frisbee golf player Rob Fitzjarrald told the station. “The guys that do that are called ‘squids.’ They do that an turn them in for money.”

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission began collecting alligator bite information in 1928, and has reported 31 attacks in Pinellas County since then — with seven in Largo alone.

“It’s horrific,” said Frisbee golf player Gerry Rogers. “I’m used to it. I live on the coast and we know better.”

“We stay away from the water,” he said. “Gators don’t care whether you want to look at them or not. They have one thing in mind.”