Day 49 - Friday, October 7 - Missouri << Index

Anticipated: Play golf at Twin Hills Country Club in Joplin, Missouri.

Travel:   Itinerary: Leave motel for 9:AM tee time at Twin Hills Country Club. After golf we will drive to a motel in Ft. Smith, Arkansas. casino   States/Provinces Played:

Web: www.lomalindagolf.com/

Actual: (Photos and text)

Click on the photos below to enlarge Welcome to Missouri sign and Loma Linda Country Club sign Loma Linda golf pro, Brian Bruce with Jim and Pat Bob Beck, ground and equipment maintenance employee Scenery of the golf course Plaque to Mickey Mantle, Jr. who was a member of Loma Linda as was his dad, #7--Mickey Mantle.

This morning we left the Joplin Comfort Inn about 8:30AM and headed for our 49th golf course. Today we played Loma Linda Country Club; a semi-private golf course surrounded by beautiful private homes as well as a complex of villas offering “stay and play” packages. In fact, the great #7, Mickey Mantle used to play the course and owned one of the homes situated adjacent to the second green. His widow still maintains residence in the home when she visits her mother who lives nearby. The day started out quite chilly, but by the time we had played a few holes it was warm enough to shed our jackets and stocking caps. The front nine has water on nearly every hole, much of it crossing the fairways making shot placement very crucial. There are two par 3s on the front nine and both require long shots over the water. The back nine doesn’t have all the water, but has elevated greens on most holes. The course was in good shape and we really enjoyed playing there. It would be a nice place to take advantage of a “golf package”. Jim shot 90 (yardage = 6086) and Pat shot 113 (yardage = 5333). Bob Beck, a retiree who works on the maintenance of the grounds and equipment stopped to talk to us several times during our round. He was most helpful in explaining some of the layout of the course. He also gave us some history of the course, and told us about the various tournaments in which Mickey Mantle and many of his Yankee player friends used to play. We appreciate his interest in our golf venture and his wishes for continued success as we complete the final days of our CanAmAthon. We also appreciate the hospitality of Brian Bruce, the golf professional, and his wife who took the picture of the three of us. The golf towel plus a golf ball bearing the logo of Loma Linda were gifts presented to us by Brian. We thank him for his gracious welcome to the course.