http://www.whas11.com/news/slideshows/197458361.html Man survives after sinkhole swallows him on Illinois golf course
Man survives after sinkhole swallows him on Illinois golf course by KMOV.com staff WHAS11.com Posted on March 12, 2013 at 1:21 PM
Updated yesterday at 3:52 PM Gallery
See all 9 photos » WATERLOO, Ill. — When it comes to dealing with a divot, score one for golfer Mark Mihal.
The mortgage broker from Creve Coeur, Mo., is recovering after a sinkhole opened up beneath him Friday on the 14th hole's fairway of Annbriar in Waterloo, swallowing him up into a pit 18 feet deep and 10 feet wide.
The 43-year-old Mihal was hoisted to safety with a rope, but not before the encounter at left him with a dislocated shoulder.
Mihal considers the course one of his favorites. But he says he's having second thoughts of returning to Annbriar, saying "it'd be kind of strange playing that hole again, for sure."
WHAS11's sister station in St. Louis, KMOV, spoke with golf course general manager Russ Nobbe, who said he’s been working with a geologist on the case. The geologist told him the sinkhole was a result of thousands of years of erosion washing away the limestone underground.
Nobbe said they believe it was an isolated incident and the consultant did not think it would happen again.
Meanwhile, the golf course employees dug the hole out and planned to fill it with gravel and dirt.
Mihal is home from work while recovering from the injury.
Associated Press contributed to this report.
