Tom Watson dedicates course focused on the under-16 set

Eight-year-old Alayna Pargas, club in hand and pink ball at her feet, knocked a shot onto the green from far enough away that it totally impressed an eight-time major champion.

“That’s my partner!” Tom Watson proclaimed.

On a Saturday in which the chill and accompanying breeze created a British Open feel, Watson was in the house to dedicate his firm’s latest golf course design. The Watson 9 hybrid golf course at Mozingo Lake is approximately 1,600 yards, cost about $1.2 million to build through private donations, and is $5 to play for anybody under the age of 16.

Adults can play, too. Ultimately, though, it’s heavily focused on youth.

“I want the kids to have a place to learn the game that I love,” Watson said.

Birth of the Watson 9 can be traced to a land in which Watson is beloved. Bruce Twaddle, a Maryville dentist, spent part of 2011 in Scotland. He encountered North Berwick Golf Club and its adjacent Children’s Course. A sign at the entrance to it reads “No Adults Allowed Unless Under the Direct Supervision of a Child.”

“They know the future of the game over there is with the kids. They get it. They do it right,” Twaddle says.

In October 2013, Watson and Bob Gibbons from Watson’s design business visited the location, requesting that Twaddle and those proponents of the facility articulate their vision. Obviously, Watson was sold — and a dream realized.

“There’s not a whole lot of trouble your kids can get into on the golf course,” Watson told those in attendance before he christened the course with a round of golf.

“And it gets them away from this,” said Watson, raising an iPhone up high for several seconds.

The round’s highlight? Could have been10-year-old Connor Blackford’s difficult sidehill lie chip-in for birdie at No. 6.

One of those who came to watch the proceedings, Greg White, brought his 6-year-old son Cole. Cole’s dad sure enjoyed all of this.

“This is awesome,” said White, from Mound City, Mo. “Something like this is important. So is Tom Watson. He cares about the kids.”

This story was originally published May 14, 2016 at 7:12 PM with the headline "Tom Watson dedicates course focused on the under-16 set."