First dirt moved for new golf course

By Phil Cobb | July 1, 2014 |

DALTON VITT/DAILY FORUM
Two members of a Mid-America Golf & Landscape crew confer Monday prior to the start of earth moving related to the construction of the Tom Watson Junior Golf Course at Mozingo Lake Recreation Park.

MARYVILLE, Mo. — The formal groundbreaking for the new Tom Watson Junior Golf Course at Mozingo Lake Recreation Park took place last Thursday.

But the real groundbreaking — the one involving heavy machinery, months of planning and a lot of hard work — got underway Monday.

A bulldozer crew from Mid-America Golf & Landscape arrived at Mozingo on Monday morning to begin moving earth north of the existing 18-hole course for the new youth-golf layout, which is scheduled for completion in May 2015.

Efforts to build the publicly owned and maintained, but privately financed, course were orchestrated by Dr. Bruce Twaddle, a local dentist and golf enthusiast.

In forging his dream of a nine-hole youth course in Maryville into reality, Twaddle enlisted some very heavy hitters, including PGA legend Tom Watson, whose company provided consultation and course-design services.

Cost of the course was estimated at $520,000, but may range somewhat higher due to plans for a large practice putting and chipping area.

Twaddle said last week that most of the funds have been raised, and that he has no doubt the remaining donations needed to pay for the course will be forthcoming.

The major contribution, which was key to the course moving into the construction phase, was a $250,000 grant from the Wadsworth Golf Charities Foundation in conjunction with Links Across America, an organization that promotes golf among young people.

The foundation is associated with Wadsworth Golf Construction Co., which has built several well-known courses in the United States.

Watson’s company, Tom Watson Design, offered its services for the 1,600-yard course at no charge.

After the project was green-lighted by the Maryville City Council, Twaddle’s group hired Mid-America Golf & Landscape to construct the new course. The Lee’s Summit company is the same firm that built the original 18-hole adult course at Mozingo in the mid-1990s.