Bryan Barlow only had a few more holes left to play at Valley Grande’s golf course Saturday, when after trying to retrieve his ball lost in some underbrush, he felt a sharp prick.

“I had snatched my glove off and saw my left index finger bleeding and it turned slightly purple,” Barlow said. “My finger began to burn and I told my buddy that I thought I’d gotten bit by a snake — he couldn’t believe it.”

It was a Copperhead snake that bit Barlow’s finger and stretching between 24-to-36 inches in length it’s the most common venomous snake in the eastern United States.

After the incident, Barlow said he immediately jumped into his golf cart to head to the hospital, but not before he got revenge on the reptile.

“I took my club and started beating it to death,” Barlow chuckled. “My friend rushed me to the hospital afterward and they gave me six bottles of anti-venom. The swelling went down and I was discharged later that night.”

Keisha Wilson, clinical staff pharmacist for the hospital, said snakes during this time of year are common. Those bitten by snakes must get treated within four hours of their bites.

Merrill South, director of Community Relations for Vaughan Regional Medical Center, said historically the hospital gets between two-to-five cases of snakebites a year.

“At Vaughan, we have snake anti-venom available for most common snakes,” South said. “The anti-venom, or CroFab, is in stock here for several counties.”

CroFab, or Crotalidae Polyvalent Immune Fab, is the ingredient doctors use for such venomous snakes as the Mojave Rattlesnake, Western and Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnakes, and Cottonmouth or Water Moccasin, all found in Alabama.

The ingredient found in CroFab neutralizes venom and remains inside the victim’s body for 12 to 23 hours.

“We’ll give the patient four-to-six vials of solution that’s mixed with powder and sterile water,” Wilson said. “CroFab has a pretty quick reaction time and begins to work within one hour. It covers bites from any snake inside Alabama.”

Common adverse reactions to the solution include a rash around the injection site. Some patients, Wilson said, may experience very rare side effects such as back and chest pains, wound infections, nausea, muscle pain or nervousness.

Barlow has been doing fine after the incident and though he hasn’t lost his passion for golf, he’s learned a valuable lesson.

“I know not to be in the bushes looking for anymore golf balls again,” Barlow said.