Sinkhole opens up on Lenexa golf course

The challenge of the 13th hole at Lenexa’s Canyon Farms Golf Course is usually the approach shot.

The wide, bunkerless fairway is generally forgiving to errant drives, but a moat-like creek and twin sand pits guard the green.

That balance has been upset by a 10-foot deep sinkhole that opened up on the fairway’s left side June 19.

Maintenance staff discovered the 13th’s newest hazard, which sits atop a weak point in the roof of a largely stable, “nonoperating” limestone mine, according to a news release.

Course operators think excessive groundwater from a wet spring contributed to the collapse of the mine roof.

But that hasn’t stopped players from working on their fairway game. Tees have been moved up 150 yards, creating a temporary par 3 while the fenced-off sinkhole is filled.

Dustin Newman, the course’s general manager, said the 13th hole should be back to normal by the end of the week.

This story was originally published June 29, 2015 at 10:52 AM.