Answer Man: The mystery of the tunnel: Which came first? Interstate 44 or the golf course?

Answer Man: At Deer Lake golf course along Interstate 44, west of Springfield, there is a tunnel that golfers go through — under the interstate — to get to five of the 18 holes. Which came first? The golf course or the interstate? — Gary DeHaven, of Republic

The short answer, Gary, is that the interstate came first.

The interstate was completed through Greene County in 1962, and the golf course opened in 1989 with 13 holes on one side of the interstate and five on the other side.

Deer Lakes Golf Course is at 5544 Highway 266, just west of Springfield. It's par 72 and open to the public.

Here's what happened and why there is a tunnel, according to Noel Spering, of Springfield, whose grandparents were the main investors in building the golf course. 

The golf course was once farmland. On this farmland were cattle. (The farm, back then, was not owned by the Spering family.)

When the interstate was built, the state of Missouri agreed to construct a tunnel so that the farmer's cattle would be able to get to either side of the highway.

That's why the tunnel is only 6 feet high and not very wide — but wide enough.

"It just happened to be wide enough to fit a golf cart," says Spering.

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Keep those questions coming. Send them to The Answer Man at 836-1253, spokin@gannett.com, on Twitter @stevepokinNL or by mail to 651 Boonville Ave., Springfield, MO 65806.