Drive time: Watson 9 set for grand opening
TONY BROWN/DAILY FORUM
Preparations are all but complete for Saturday’s grand opening of the Watson 9 youth golf course at Mozingo Lake Recreation Park, which will feature an appearance by namesake PGA great Tom Watson. The Kansas City native and eight-time majors champion will join University of Missouri golf standout Ryan Zech and two local youngsters for the course’s inaugural round.
The City of Maryville and local golf enthusiasts — along with one of the greatest golfers ever to play the game — are getting ready to celebrate Saturday during grand opening ceremonies for the Watson 9 youth golf course at Mozingo Lake Recreation Park.
PGA great Tom Watson, who designed the nine-hole course that bears his name, is expected to speak to the crowd before joining University of Missouri golf standout Ryan Zech and two local youths in playing the course’s inaugural round.
Assistant City Manager Ryan Heiland, who serves as lead administrator for the city-owned park, predicted this week that the course will be in good condition when the first ball is struck.
“It’s in excellent shape,” he said. “It’s going to play really nice.”
Heiland and others planning the event are pulling out all the stops in order to bring a little PGA glamour to the opening round. As is standard practice at a professional tournament, gallery ropes will be set up along the fairways and greens so that spectators can follow the Watson foursome as they make their way around the course.
But hours before the first ball is struck, Watson 9 will be buzzing with activity and excitement at the start of a daylong series of activities and events designed to bring the new course online in style.
Festivities begin at 9 a.m. when Mozingo golf pro Kyle Easter, along with Zech and PGA teaching professionals Kevin Beard and Matt Van Cleave, will lead a series of free youth clinics focused on the short game.
And while the youngsters are pitching and putting, older players will get a chance to check out the latest golfing gear during a demonstration to be hosted by the Titleist and Callaway companies from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m.
While much has been made of Watson’s involvement in the course’s creation, the initiative to get Watson 9 built was a grass-roots effort that involved dozens of local citizens and community groups. Their contributions will be recognized throughout the day beginning at 11:45 a.m. with a ribbon cutting at the course’s signature stone bridge, material for which was provided by the Maryville Rotary Club.
Club members will also serve lunch near the course parking lot from 11 a.m. until 12:30 p.m.
Then, at 1 p.m., a second ceremony will pay tribute to both Watson and Dr. Bruce Twaddle, the Maryville dentist who led the campaign to raise more than $1 million, which was used to build the course and launch the Junior Golf Foundation, an organization pledged to providing instruction, equipment, and financial support to young people across the Maryville region interested in learning the game.
Twaddle conceived his vision for Watson 9 during a visit to Great Britain in 2011, when he played golf at the Links in North Berwick, Scotland.
While on the course, a caddy directed Twaddle’s attention to an adjacent youth course established in 1888 and marked with a sign reading, “No Adults Allowed Unless Under the Direct Supervision of a Child.”
The fulfillment of Twaddle’s dream — and Tom Watson’s star power — has attracted major attention in the golf world even though a single Watson 9 hole has yet to be played. Back in March the course was listed by Golf Digest magazine as one of 15 “exceptional hybrid courses” in the United States and Canada, “hybrid” in golf lingo meaning non-traditional courses of fewer than 18 holes.
Other contributors set to be recognized Saturday include Orval Heywood, who donated $60,000 for construction of one of Watson 9’s singular features, the large, centrally located practice green subsequently named in Heywood’s honor.
Following the opening ceremonies and inaugural round, Watson is to field questions during a press conference and photo opportunity.
In the 1970s and 1980s, the legendary champion and Kansas City native was considered among the leading players in the world, winning eight major championships and heading the PGA Tour money list five times.
Now in his 60s, Watson has gained fresh renown as a golf course designer and advocate for the sport who works to introduce young people to what he has called, “the game of a lifetime.”
The day will conclude with more golf being played by the folks for whom Watson 9 was specifically designed.
Opening tee off for the inaugural Watson Youth Golf Tournament is scheduled at 4:30 p.m. The event has no entry fee and is open to all players between the ages of 7 and 17.
About the only thing that hasn’t been nailed down for Saturday’s celebration is the weather, which has been somewhat damp this week. But while the greens may still be a little wet over the weekend, the rain is expected to hold off.
Currently the forecast is calling for partly cloudy skies and a high for the day near 60. But if that doesn’t pan out, bring an umbrella, since Heiland has declared the event will proceed “rain or shine.”
TONY BROWN/DAILY FORUM
Members of the Maryville Rotary Club will be recognized Saturday during grand opening ceremonies for the Watson 9 junior golf course. The club donated construction materials for the stone bridge pictured here, which is already considered one of the course’s signature features.
