Waikato Times: Watch out for Japanese centipedes
Every time Waikato golfer David Smail puts his golf shoes on he will be checking them carefully for Japanese centipedes. Smail, who has played in Japan for many years, found out first hand actually first foot just how different golf in the Land of the Rising Sun can be. About to tee off in his third round at the Dunlop Phoenix open in Mitazaki, Smail was bitten by a Japanese centipede and according to wife Sheree, "he thought he was going to die". The centipede's bite can cause excruciating pain. When Smail put on his golf shoes for his third round, unbeknown to him, there was a "bloody big centipede" in there. It bit Smail while he climbed the stairs to the clubhouse after his warm-up. He later told his wife it was the worst pain he had ever felt. After icing the bite and rushing to the first tee, Smail teed off, but turned to Sheree and told her he thought he was going to die right there on the tee as he started to go numb. Instructions from a doctor and a few painkillers later, Smail continued and shot a three over 73.
