Youth course construction begins at Mozingo
TONY BROWN/DAILY FORUM
Adam Feltman, a project superintendent for Mid-America Golf & Landscape, sows grass seed Monday morning around one of the new greens at the Tom Watson Junior Golf Course now under construction at Mozingo Lake Recreation Park. The Maryville City Council this week reviewed a master plan for the 3,000-acre city-owned park that is to guide development at the recreation destination over the next 15 to 20 years.
A mid-July groundbreaking at Mozingo Lake Recreation Park provided a surge of excitement for local golf fans as the Tom Watson Junior Course moved a step closer to reality.
The nine-hole course project, headed locally by Dr. Bruce Twaddle, is scheduled for completion in summer 2015.
“There are thousands of kids across the region that will benefit from the Tom Watson Junior Golf Course and the junior program here at Mozingo Lake Recreation Park,” said Maryville City Manager Greg McDanel.
“With the progressive and strong City Council, (Mozingo Lake) advisory board and city staff, we’ve been able to successfully rebrand and market Mozingo, placing us in a position for success for many years to come,” McDanel said. “From internal restructuring to external rebranding, through partnerships with Northwest Missouri State University, Mozingo is generating regional excitement and national attention. We believe that the Tom Watson Junior Golf Course may just be the missing piece to put us over the top.”
Building the course cost nearly $600,000, with all of the money being raised through private donations and grants.
“Remarkably not one public dollar will be spent on construction, McDanel said. “All of us appreciate the generosity of each and every donor, whether corporate or private citizen, who has shared in this vision.”
With its nine holes encompassing a large practice green, the new course was designed especially with novice players in mind.
“The most important people that I want to thank are those little guys over there,” Twaddle said at the dedication, pointing toward a group of children. “All those people, because they’re the ones that inspire us to do things for their future. I hope they — well I know they’re going to learn a lot of lessons out here.”
Twaddle said discussion about the junior course was the highlight of a meeting of golf course architects in Tulsa, Okla., adding that the facility should prove an asset to the Maryville community for years to come.
“This is a special moment, and I think it’ll be special 20 years from now,” Twaddle said. “This is a game-changer.”
Legendary professional golfer Tom Watson visited the course site in late August and, according to Mozingo maintenance chief Ron Darnell, had a major impact on the project’s concept and overall design.
“It is definitely an art to be able to see what a course can look like,” Darnell said of Watson’s input. “The shapes of the tees and greens are not a lot different from the (existing 18-hole) course, but there is considerably more mounding and swailing. It’s a Tom Watson course, though, that’s for sure.”
Noting that the new 1,600-yard layout is tailored for beginning golfers, Darnell said there are plenty of design features that will “collect balls around greens and bring them back in, not let them get away.”
Course construction got a much-needed assist after the June 19 groundbreaking when local golfer Orval Heywood stepped up to make a crucial $60,000 contribution.
“I wanted to do something for (Mozingo Golf Professional) Kyle Easter and do something for the course, so I decided that whatever it took that’s what it’s going to be,” Heywood said.
Heywood’s generosity will fund the large practice green. A miscommunication between Watson’s design team and the contractor meant funds for the green were not included in the original $520,000 budget.
“I’ve been playing at Mozingo almost since the day this course started,” Heywood said. “I played in Bedford and Tarkio before I moved here, so I’ve put a few days in. “I’m going on 94 years old, so I figured I’d better do something before something happens to me.”
SUBMITTED PHOTO
Ron Darnell, left, park maintenance manager at Mozingo Lake, and golf great Tom Watson look out over the site of a new nine-hole youth golf course currently under construction at the 3,000 acre city-owned park.
