Imagine waking up on a Saturday morning, putting on your favorite golf shirt, grabbing your clubs, and heading out to the course with your friends.

You've been waiting days, or maybe even weeks, for this Saturday round with your buddies. For the next 4 hours, nothing matters but having a good time with your friends, drinking a few beers, and enjoying some time in the great outdoors.

You've made it to hole 3 and you're getting into a groove with your swing. This will be the Saturday you put it all together and break 80 for the first time. You'll have bragging rights with your friends until the next time you get together to play.

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You're getting ready to tee off on the next hole and the driver is feeling hot today. This one is going down the middle of the fairway. As you approach your ball, you see this guy walking across the fairway! Yikes!

Maybe he was just hoping to play through...or maybe he hit a bad tee shot and was just looking for his golf ball on a different fairway. If I saw this on a Saturday morning golf round, I could probably put the red-bull down. I'd be wide awake at this point.

According to KCRG, a viewer sent them this photo that was taken at the Guttenberg Golf Course. Guttenberg is located on the Iowa and Wisconsin border, right along the Mississippi River.

Bear Population Growing in Iowa?

Wisconsin is home to many black bears, Minnesota also holds a heavy black bear population, and while we do see them from time to time in Iowa, I wouldn't call our state a 'hotbed' for black bears. Supposedly that could be changing in the future.

According to the Iowa DNR, Iowa doesn't necessarily have the habitat to support a big black bear population, but certain locations do. The northeast, east, and southern parts of Iowa could one day be home to more black bears who make their way to Iowa during the breeding season.

Vince Evelsizer is a furbearer and wetland wildlife research biologist with the Iowa DNR and he believes

"Within the next three to five years, we may see cubs show up and a small breeding population becomes established. If that occurs, we should look to our neighbors in Wisconsin and Minnesota who have learned to live with bears."

Wisconsin has a healthy black bear population of around 23,000 bears, Minnesota has an estimated 12,000-15,000, and Missouri is home to as many as 1,000. Missouri held this first bear hunt in the fall of 2023 and the Missouri population is growing at an estimated 9% annually.

Black Bears are native to Iowa but Iowa has been "without a resident bear population for more than 100 years." Time will tell if bear sightings become more frequent in the upcoming years.

Think about that the next time you slice a golf ball into the trees and go looking for it. You might come across an unexpected visitor!

Speaking of cubs, check out a different kind of cub! These Cubs played baseball at the new home of the St Paul Saints.