Hole in one? Giant sinkhole forms at Missouri golf course entrance (photos)

This Friday, May 22, 2015 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 golf course. (Nate Papes/Springfield News-Leader via AP)

BRANSON, Mo. — A big sinkhole discovered Friday near the driving range of a southwest Missouri golf course is attracting the attention of geological experts.

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 near the resort town of Branson, 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. That's why the region has so many sinkholes and caves, including Lost Canyon Cave, an attraction at the Big Cedar complex, MacDonald said.

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