The Maryville Middle School Community Recognition Action Team awarded the Golden Milkbone award to the Mozingo Lake Recreation Park Watson 9 Golf Course on February 24.

MMS MilkboneWatson9: The MMS Community Recognition Action Team presented the Golden Milkbone award to the Watson 9 Golf Course. Members of the team include Anna Schommer, Avery Baker and Grace Wright. Representing the Watson 9 are Kyle Easter, golf pro, and Brenda Ricks, high school golf coach, junior golf coach and Mozingo Golf Course board member and donor.

The Watson 9 was honored for its exceptional benefit to the community. Team members said the junior golf program teaches the fundamentals of golf while instilling moral values and developing the characters of Nodaway County young people.

The students also mentioned Bruce Twaddle, Orval Haywood, Kyle Easter, Troy Hayes, Brock Pfost, Doug Kline, Ron Darnell, WR O’Riley and Greg McDanel as being instrumental, along with other individuals, organizations and businesses, in the creation of the golf course.

“These are exciting times for golf in our county,” said Brenda Ricks, high school and junior golf coach. “It is a game that teaches you about life and it is a lifelong sport. Tom Watson shared how he remembers the days that his mom or dad would drop him off at the course and he would play golf, make friends and learn life’s lessons… Our kids can have those same memories because of the Watson 9.”

The Watson 9 is open to all age groups. Students have a special rate of $5 to play the course. There were 3,500 rounds of golf played at the Watson 9 in 2016. The 2017 goal is for even more golf rounds to be played.