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Massive sinkhole opens up at Jack Nicklaus-designed golf course in Missouri

This photo shows a sinkhole at the Top of the Rock Golf Course in Branson, Mo. Approximately 7,000 cubic feet of material has been displaced in four holes at the course. (Nate Papes/Springfield News-Leader via AP)

This photo shows a sinkhole at the Top of the Rock Golf Course in Branson, Mo. Approximately 7,000 cubic feet of material has been displaced in four holes at the course. (Nate Papes/Springfield News-Leader via AP)

A massive sinkhole was discovered Friday near the driving range of the Jack Nicklaus-designed Top of the Rock golf course on Friday in Branson, Mo.

And when we say “massive,” we mean massive. Here are the details, per The Associated Press:

The hole, which is 80 feet wide and 35 feet deep in some places, was created by two separate sinkholes that formed near the entrance to Top of the Rock golf course, Martin MacDonald, conservation director for Bass Pro Shops, told The Associated Press in a telephone interview.

The Jack Nicklaus-designed par-3 course is part of the Bass Pro Shops-owned Big Cedar Lodge complex and hosted a Champions Tour event last month. The sinkhole isn’t near the main course and won’t affect play, MacDonald said.

Geologists say such sinkholes are fairly common in the Ozarks because of its karst topography, a feature in which water is constantly circulating through bedrock below the ground.

Nobody was injured as a result of the sinkhole, and neither the safety of the public nor facilities was in danger, according to the AP.

Here’s a wider shot of the thing. Pretty impressive.

(Nate Papes/Springfield News-Leader via AP)

(Nate Papes/Springfield News-Leader via AP)

 

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