Golf Scrapbook Blog (The Top Ones)

Big Cedar Lodge (Ozarks National)

We took our 2021 annual golf trip to the Ozarks and Big Cedar Lodge. This was a pivot after we couldn’t work Sand Hills (Dismal River). Since opening the Tiger Woods’ Payne’s Valley course in 2020, BCL has been promoting itself hard as a golf destination. So after we failed on getting ourselves onto Sand Hills, we called here and were able to get eight of us into a brand new cabin on the first tee at Payne’s Valley and tee times at the three eighteens here but we had to deal with the late August heat.

Of the 18’s, Buffalo Ridge was here first, originally opened in 1999 as Branson Creek (and immediately ranked as the top public course in MO by Golf Digest et al) then re-done and re-named in 2015. Fazio did both incarnations. Ozarks National opened in 2019 by Coore and Crenshaw and we all agreed it was our favorite here and finally Payne’s Valley (Tiger’s first public course) opened in 2020. So this place is brand-spanking new to the world resort golf party.

Let’s work from outside in. Branson. All you need to know about Branson you can find in this video…

We actually saw a billboard for Yakov Smirnoff on our way down from Springfield. Yes he’s still alive in 2021. Yes he’s doing five shows a week in Branson. By the way, there is debate about which “Springfield” the Simpsons are from and as Bart and Grandpa drove to Branson, I think it’s pretty obvious they were from Springfield, MO.

Of course no conversation about the Ozarks can be had without mentioning Ozark. This was a binge watch during the Vid and while it is not filmed in the Ozarks (it’s filmed outside of Atlanta), you can’t get a group all excited about the trip without the below being sent out on the group text…

We really didn’t do Branson – except breakfast one morning – so can’t tell you much. To the resort. Big Cedar Lodge is a huge place and is under heavy construction in an attempt to make it huger. We are all curious what it will be like in ten years. Outside of golf, there is a ton to do. We all opted to spend our “down time” on the two par-three courses and cave tour. As we stayed on Payne’s first hole, Mountain Top was a walk from the cabin and the par-three there is a 13-hole course that is a fun prelude (or après golf) to whatever course you’re playing that day. There are two distinct parts of the BCL resort – Mountain Top where the courses are and Big Cedar Lodge where the lake, restaurants, lodge and other activities are. These are about a 15-minute ride from each other and while there is a shuttle, you need to pre-arrange it and it can be up to an hour wait. Keep this in mind when planning a trip here.

The cave tour was nice but was a little goofy for eight old guys to do. At least there is a bar mid-tour under one of the caves. Oh and the carts are highly governored so you will crawl through the 3-mile tour at the pace of a snail. The par three down here was interesting and we were told it was influenced by some of the world’s greatest par threes – you can definitely get the Augusta, Sawgrass and Pebble feel on three of them. Osage and the Worman House are the top eats here and you definitely want to book them early.

To the course. So I may ultimately do a separate review on Payne’s Valley, but will at least make quick mention of all three courses (plus Ledgestone which is off property and we played as our warm-up round). I’ll do a few photos from each. I’ll focus on Ozarks National though which is the hands-down best course on the property and has made my top 100 and Golf Digest’s second 100 in its first year opened. You’ll see this climb as it grows out a little more IMO.

Ozarks occupies high ground over a ridge from where Buffalo Ridge and Payne’s Valley sit – which are on the main ridge and in the valley (appropriately named). You can see each of those from the Mountain Top clubhouse and from each other. Not Ozarks. You have a staging area below the clubhouse then take your carts up and around the ridge to reach the clubhouse. The first thing that hits you – besides an awful smell which was God only knows what – is this wood shack of a clubhouse that looks straight out of Dances with Wolves. You best make any number two business before you arrive here as there is only a shared bathroom outside the clubhouse and it is definitely an NPZ (Non-Pooping Zone). But I digress.

You will notice a lot of blind tee shots on Ozarks. That begins on the par five 1st hole. I suggest you get a forecaddie for at least here. We had a father-son duo of Kent and Ski that were a lot of fun (who also caddie at Streamsong in season if you’re so inclined). They were really important here, less so at Payne’s where everything is kind of in front of you.

The second is an uphill par three (a rarity at courses today) and three is a shortish but uphill par four that takes you back to the clubhouse. Four is the other side of the ridge and five is my favorite hole on the front with a severely doglegging left to right bend over a chasm. As my natural movement is a cut, this was ideal for me and I parred the hole. There is a cabin/house after five but it is alas not a beer shack. Load up on three or there is a cart girl out and about. The back is even better than the front. You get free hot dogs at the turn (see my earlier comment on the bathroom situation though if you dare have one) and can grab beers, booze and whatnot here.

Eleven is a great short par-five that you need to negotiate a tree off the drive and another on the approach. It’s a great risk-reward hole where I drove well and opted to try and shorten the hole by going left of the tree and hit a nice shot but ended up down in the bunker. After the huge canting green on the par-three 12th, you get to may favorite hole on the course. A blind drive over a yawning ravine to a dogleg left and an up-hill approach. Just missed par putt here, Fourteen is another blind tee shot to an aiming marker and honestly there is not a weak hole on the back.

Ozarks has everything I love in a course. The wow factor. Memorable. It’s fun (but not a pushover). There are no homes or anything to hurt the views here. There are interesting quirky blind shots. Conditioning was good (though not great after all it is pretty new). It did play fast and firm and I know that was the intention. This should certainly be a bucket list course as part of a fun golf trip.

For the other courses, there is a debate between which is better Buffalo Ridge or Payne’s Valley. Personally, I like Payne’s Valley. It was playable. It was in the best condition of the three courses even though we played it barely a year after it opened. I thought the rock outcroppings and backdrop was equal to the other courses here even though Payne’s is down in the valley. The 18th might be my favorite hole on the property and of course the 19th is a fun little gimmicky bet settler where a hole-in-one earns you a $5,000 Bass Pro Shops gift certificate. My buddy Dave thought the 17th here was way out of character with the rest of the course and all agreed that this was your “resort” course where playability was most important. They were building a huge halfway house here that should be awesome when done but we had a nice shack at the turn for our free hotdogs and Miller Lites.

Buffalo Ridge was on a dramatic piece of property and is a reincarnation of the original Branson Creek. Buffalo were roaming next door throughout the course and the layout featured dramatic views and some intriguing play. Why number three for me? The greens were horrible- crab grass and just beat up. I guess they had gotten a lot of rain but then again so must’ve Payne’s and that was in fine shape. They were bumpy but more so just looked like a $25 muni course. For the $$$$ to play, the greens make this a disappointment. Easily fixable and the course and surroundings are great so this would rocket up my list with some TLC.

We also played Ledgestone which is about a half hour away from the resort. It is part of a community and they had a morning tournament when we played. I liked Ledgestone. It also had some blind tee shots and in a lot of places looked much tighter than it was in reality. As a warm-up to your BCL experience, it is a good play. Be sure to load up on the Miller Lites on one though, there were no cart girls and the clubhouse closed at 3 PM!

So the overall grade I give BCL/Branson as a guys’ golf trip: B+. I’m more of a fan of ocean-front courses like Bandon and Cabot’s but this is a great change of pace and worth the dollars – which if you stay in the big cabin like we did you will pay big $$$$. It would also make a nice families trip or just your own troop too as there are lots of non-golf activities to enjoy. And you never know, maybe you’ll run into Yakov Smirnoff.

Ozarks National