With the opening of several big time golf courses in the last several years, Big Cedar has moved into the center of the conversation on America’s best golf resorts. After my first visit in March of 2018, I could sense that something special was on the horizon. At the time, Payne’s Valley was a bunch of bulldozers pushing dirt around and Ozarks National was still being developed as well. When I returned in April of 2021, I was excited to see how things had matured.
While Big Cedar is certainly the centerpiece of Branson golf, I wasn’t just here to golf Payne’s Valley and then get out of town. I wanted to do a thorough evaluation of Branson as a top tier American golf destination. Below you will find the official rundown of the best golf options to explore in Branson.
Ozarks National
Coming in at the top of the list is Ozarks National. The course was designed by Coore and Crenshaw and provides a lot of what you would expect from one of today’s top architectural teams. The golf course does a great job of allowing golfers to walk by blending greens into tee boxes. This seamless design provides the golfer with an exceptionally smooth flow to their round of golf. The variety of golf holes is also vast. From short 4’s to difficult par 3’s, Ozarks provides enough options to keep even the most seasoned golfer interested from tee to green.
The 17th hole at Ozarks National
The short 5th may be my favorite hole at Big Cedar.
Several of the best golf holes in Branson reside at Ozarks National. The 17th is hard to disregard as one of the area’s most scenic par 3’s. The 5th hole is short par 4 that delights the golfer with options for play. The par 3 12th hole features the largest green in Missouri. I happily decided to officially name the green “Large Marge.” Only time will tell if the moniker will stick. The short little 7th can also provide some thrills as indicated in the above video.
Payne's Valley
With Tiger Woods putting his name and efforts behind Payne’s Valley, this golf course has received a massive amount of attention over the last year or so. I was determined to see if this was just part of the “Tiger Effect” or if there was actually some merit behind the attention. But before one can get to the golf course, almost everyone’s attention is immediatley focused on the course’s spectacular 19th hole.
Aside from dazzling golfers, this short little number was designed for settling bets that went unsettled on the 18th hole below. Playing around 100 yards the golfer is forced to sink or swim. Even though it it’s technically not a part of the golf course, It’s safe to say that many resort golfers will gladly pay the price of admission just to golf this one hole.
My tee shot looked promising for a moment but took a bounce and a trickle into the water.
With the 18th hole in the foreground, the 19th hole at Payne’s Valley actual rests about 4/5 of the way up this photograph. You can see a slight break in the rock wall where it was carved out.
The first 18 holes at Payne’s Valley are actually very enjoyable to play as well. The most notable aspect of the golf course is the extreme width of the fairways off of the tee. I hit the driver left and right all day and still managed to hit 14/14 fairways. I did have to bounce one off of the rocks on 14, but I played from the short stuff all day long. The wide fairways makes the course very playable for the recreational golfer and a challenge still exists for the scratch player as they approach the green.
There are several strong holes at Payne’s Valley worth noting. Most notably is the downhill par 3 16th. It delivers on the views, provides a serious challenge, and holds the golfer’s interest on the green with a dangerous slope on the left hand side of the putting surface. My other favorite is the potentially drivable 3rd hole.
Complimentary snacks await in the snack bar.
Buffalo Ridge
One of the few “good light” photographs from my visit came on the 17th at Buffalo Ridge
The original bad boy of Big Cedar Golf is Buffalo Ridge and this Tom Fazio favorite remains one of the top dogs in town. As with most golf courses at Big Cedar, the exposed limestone outcroppings play a critical role in the course visuals.
There are a number of wildly fun and unique golf holes at Buffalo Ridge. The par 3 9th hole is fronted by a exposed stone precipice and aptly named “The Initmidator” after Dale Earnhardt Jr. However, I was not intimidated and made a smooth 3. As is typical with Fazio designs, the back nine really stands out. The 17th delivers the visuals on a short par 3, the 15th brings the short par 4 goodness, and the 12th hole gives us a stout and scenic downhill par 4.
The 16th at Buffalo Ridge
The view down the fairway on 12
During a brief pause in the action, Chris from MyGolfSpy and I took the opportunity to demonstrate some of our serious golf modeling chops. Being a golf model veteran, I went for a more advanced pose and Chris went with a classic pelvic thrust. Both poses were highly rated by the judges.
The Intimidator intimidates.
The Par 3 Party
The existence of a short course at a golf destination is paramount. It allows for quick golf action and the emergency nine. The E9 is one of my favorite types of golf and it often plays out nicely on these short little golf wonderlands. Fortunately, for those visiting Big Cedar, there are two options to chose from. Each with it’s own unique set of challenges.
Top Of The Rock
Even though it is a golf course, the Top of The Rock could just as easily be described as a botanical garden. With ornate landscaping on every hole, the ride around the Top of the Rock is just as beautiful as it is fun to play. Built by Jack Nicklaus, the pure white sand bunkers frame each hole in a Mackenzie-esque style.
Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the Top of The Rock is the massive sinkhole that has opened up where a putting green and a driving range used to be. When I visited in 2018, the driving range was still in operation and the sinkhole was being excavated. As of 2021, the sinkhole has turned into a massive dig operation and the driving range has been deemed inoperable.
The sinkhole view in March of 2018
The sinkhole view in April of 2021
Mountain Top
The vibe at Mountain Top is equally as fun as its counterpart, but it provides a distinctly unique style. With exposed rock on the majority of the golf holes, this one feels like a ride through a limestone quarry. The 13 holes on Mountain Top range from 82 to 200 yards and every one of them is a joy to play.
Not only does it feel like a ride through a limestone quarry but on the 3rd and 9th hole, the golfer is actually treated to one. The steel staircase winds above and below the exposed rocks en route to and from their respective greens.
The "Other" Branson Options
These are courses that are not affiliated with Big Cedar Golf but deserve your attention as well. These options go a long way towards establishing Branson as one of the great American golf destinations.
Branson Hills
Set amongst the Ozark Mountains, Branson Hills Golf Club was designed by Chuck Smith with help from PGA Professional, Bobby Clampett. This challenge goes up a notch at Branson Hills and players are advised to bring their A-game if they expect to find their way around all 7300 yards.
The highlight of the round came when I banked one off of the fans near the green and made an easy par. Disclaimer: The bank came off of a fan used to keep the green cool during the hot summer months, not an actual fan watching us golf.
Ledgestone Country Club
The little charmer at Ledgstone scores some serious marks in the fun factor and unique hole categories. Holes like the downhill 15th and the following dog leg right 16th give the golfer something to remember as they wrap up their rounds. With tee times under $100 Ledgestone Country Club is the perfect bargain course to round out your Branson golf trip.
Lodging and Booking
Lodge
With Big Cedar currently in the process of building on site cottages for stay and play options, the situation looks to improve significantly. A move to downtown Branson is also a pro decision. With close access to restaurants, shopping, and entertainment, the golf is only a 15 minute drive. We stayed at the Hilton and the hotel receives a very rare 5 golf ball rating from pjkoenig.com.
Book
Big Cedar Golf: 1-800-225-6343 for stay and play packages.
Branson Hills and Hilton Branson Convention: 417-243-3419 for stay and play packages.