Big Cedar Lodge

The layout of Buffalo Ridge is what makes it, conditions are good but the scenery of the course is worth it in itself for the price of admission. It’s a genuinely fun course and presents challenges while still being player friendly for the middle handicapper like myself. Can’t wait to go back!

Ozarks National is a fantastic course and was in amazing condition. Greens were as pure as can be and free hot dogs at the turn was a nice touch!

Quite honestly the best course in Missouri public or private and the best course I personally have played. We were fortunate enough to play here during preview play and the conditions of the course and views are simply stunning. Wide fairways make it very player friendly as well. Amazing course!

My friend and I drove 2 hours to play this course. We needed to use the restroom upon arrival. To our astonishment there was only one bathroom at the club house for men and women. One stool! Outstanding course, friendly employees, but why on earth would you only have one bathroom? Johnny Morris screwed this one up!

I played the 13-hole preview loop of Payne's Valley on a gorgeous early-August morning. I must say, the setting of the clubhouse at the top of the mountain and overlooking both the Mountain Top par-3 course and Payne's Valley is absolutely mesmerizing. It is one of the best bag drop locations I've ever seen.

If you want to hit balls, you'll have to take a short cart ride to the excellent practice facility at Ozarks National, so allow a few extra minutes to get there.

The opening tee shot at Payne's Valley is similarly breathtaking: a long but straight and downhill par 4 with a beautiful valley view beyond.

Tiger's design is wide, gently shaped and has more downhill shots than up. Compared to nextdoor Ozarks National, which I played later that afternoon, there are wider landing zones and fewer elevated greens. I suspect Big Cedar's Johnny Morris and Tiger decided to build something more player-friendly that Big Cedar's other two full-length courses.

The whole layout feels rather comfortable. Views are surreal at all times. I'd recommend playing Payne's first before moving up to Buffalo Ridge and Ozarks National on your Big Cedar golf trip.

I caught Ozarks National on a beautiful 80-degree August day and decided to walk the course. I wasn't alone; I saw a lot of trolleys out there that afternoon. The routing is definitely hilly but highly walkable with tees always steps from the previous green. The scenery is great throughout with long views (though Payne's Valley next door may have better overall views) and the walk comes with strolls across bridges in the woods and several "hub" spots at comfort stations.

After playing Payne's 13-hole preview in the morning, some landing zones at ON were a little tighter but there is still a lot of room on most tee shots. The green complexes are phenomenal and subtly tricky at times. There are risk-reward options, especially on the front nine, with two short par 4s and a few great par 5s, including the opener. The 5th is one of the best and boldest short par 4s in the country with decisions galore off the tee.

If I had to knock ON, it's that there are a few too many elevated greens, which might get old for higher handicaps. The par 3s and 5s are front loaded with 3s and 5s in the first 12 holes and 5 of the last 6 holes are par 4s. Quite a few of the tee markers were moved up a box compared to what the yardage was on the card and that's a pet peeve of mine. I ended up playing from the plates on some holes.

The par-3 17th is stunning but it ate my lunch. I went pin seeking to a back left location and ended up making triple.

I was a little surprised at how few amenities were at the Ozarks National clubhouse so for hot food you have to make the short cart trip to the Mountain Top-Payne's clubhouse. The practice facility has a great range and short game area.

I think $195 for this course is a steal compared to other resort courses these days that earn $250+. It can hold its own with the top resort courses in the country with both scenery and interesting design.

This stunning golf course checks off all of the boxes. A lot of elevation changes that makes the first go around a little difficult but very enjoyable. Stepping onto the first tee box looking down to the hole, you get lost in the beauty of the landscape and buffalo roaming in viewing distance. Once you get off each green, you’ll be excited to see what is in store on the next hole. The fairways and greens were in excellent condition. We had a group of 8 of all skill types and we played on pace, even with taking a lot of photographs.

This course is unique, fun and views are unbelievable. If you have not played a Coore/Crenshaw course, they design a course that is challenging, but fair. Make sure you pick the correct tees and you will be in for a great, rewarding and fun round of golf.

The staff from beverage cart, to marshals, to club house staff are there to make your day enjoyable and memorable. They are very helpful, informative and willing to do whatever it takes to make your visit great.

The corse is in perfect condition. Does not seem to be a blade of grass out of p,ace. Greens are true and fast. Green complexes are interesting to say the least. Some greens are huge and all seem to fit the type of hole you are playing perfectly. Number of memorable holes. Holes 4, 7, 11 and 12 are just a few that standout. The views over the entire course are amazing. They designed the course along the ridges of the mountains and you seem to be able to see for miles on every hole of the Ozarks.

As per earlier reviews I have done of this course and Buffalo Ridge, Johnny Morris has made it quite clear he is committed to making the Branson area a golf Mecca. As a PGA Professional, I have had the privilege of playing some great courses and resorts throughout the country and these courses rank right up there with any I have played.

Make a trip to Branson. You will not be disappointed. Ozark National is a true gem and I look forward to visiting again soon.

Played this course few days ago and experience was as pleasant as before. Great course and layout. Conditions were excellent. Staff from top down was friendly, informative and helpful. Went out of their way to make the day fun and exciting.

Course is very challenging, so make sure you select the correct tees to play. More than one signature hole within the 18. Holes 2 and 8 on the front and holes 12, 14 and 18 on the back. Scenery is beautiful throughput the course.

I wrote a review a year ago and will state again, Johnny Morris, of Bass Pro Shop and Big Cedar fame is turning Branson into a great golf destination. Once Payne’s Valley, a Tiger Wood’s design is complete this fall, thee will be five great golf options just within the Big Cedar family.

Treat yourself to some great golf in the Branson area. You will not be disappointed. As a PGA professional I have had a chance to play a number of great courses and resorts across the country and this area and quality of courses and level of service will stack up to any.

The course only has 13 holes open and heavy construction. It does not have a driving range so you have to take golf cart across road to use Osage National driving range. Expensive green fees, but course is in great shape with great views.

Ozarks National has been well written about already, so I’ll try not to spit out everything you might have already heard, even though I will try to defend a few parts of the golf course that have drawn some criticism. The best compliment I can give the golf course myself is it is a course that you can play differently every time you play it, I don’t think you can ever be bored here. The options of play (especially along the ground) are endless and you can really be creative around the property! I love that. For being such a big property and a “mountain” course, it is very walkable. The overall look of the course is different than the other courses at big cedar. ON truly looks like a place that could host a US Open.

The true gems on the course are holes 4, 8, 9, 10-13, 17, and 18. The other holes are very good as well but these are standout holes in my opinion.

To defend a few critiques on the course, I’ll start with the 7th hole. Many people have a complaint that it isn’t long enough to be a par 5, and so therefore they think it is a bad hole. As a par 5, maybe they are right. But take out the “par” and just look at the hole and the shots it requires to accurately hold that green in two shots, and it is a good hole. The green is in a beautiful setting and is very interesting to play around. Take the hole for what it is and forget the par, I think it is a good hole that way. Next up is hole 15. It’s a blind tee shot on a short hole with a green that isn’t to challenging. The green is probably the most disappointing part of the hole. However, with the land they had to work with on that hole, I actually quite enjoy it. The necklace of bunkers was the only way to make that tee shot interesting without blowing out the hill. Then the bunkers further up the fairway, combined with the slope to the left pinching in actually make you have to think a little off the tee. I think it’s as good of a hole as they could have made in that spot overall. Finally, 17 green gets some flack for not being interesting enough. I find the green to have some subtleties that keep it interesting. Furthermore, when the wind gets up, 17 is interesting enough as is. It’s a pretty hole.

My criticisms of the course are these. The par 5 first hole could really stand for some extra length (as well as 7...for it to be truly a par 5). Then, on holes 14 and 15, I believe the slopes kicking shots off the fairways to the left are a little too punishing and severe. Finally, for such a long and challenging hole, the 16th green seems to be a little small in my opinion.

The pricing of the course I don’t think makes it a great value because I’m not on board with any golf course being around $200 to play....like Buffalo ridge, it is not family friendly to play, even though they try to make it out to be, 5 people playing at $195 is going to be $1000. That’s rough. But, it is an amazing place to play and one worth playing many times. So that does make it a good value I guess.

I truly love this golf course for all its options and intricacies. Play it, and play it again. Keep an open mind when playing and you’ll find this golf course to be very exciting and worthy of all the praise it has received.

Should preface this by saying that the day I played was not ideal for golf. It was about 40 deg and breezy when I teed off at @9:15 a.m. and it had rained most of the day before. Still, the course was in very good shape and I have no complaints about the physical conditions or playability. My criticism is mostly for off-course things. First, the day I played, access to the ballyhooed stone house was closed, and there was no drink cart in service. That meant no restrooms, no food, no refreshments of any kind were available after I teed off. Unacceptable for the $150 I paid to play there.

Second, there are no layout maps on the hole markers or the scorecard to help you know where to hit, what to aim for, etc. On a course with as many blind tee shots as this one (at least five), that will no doubt host a majority of first-timer-visitors, that's inexcusable.

Third, course yardage markers were scant and hard-to-find, even on the tee boxes.

Finally, maintenance crew people and vehicles were omnipresent, and they seemed to have little regard for players. Several times they would roll up on a vehicle just before I hit and start talking. On at least three tee boxes they continued with loading, banging, laughing and generally being loud even though I was just a few yards away trying to tee off. Again, unacceptable.

I will wrap up with this caveat: it was the off-season. Perhaps all of these things will be fixed when the weather warms up and more people are playing there. And even on an ugly day, this course is gorgeous, well-kept, and the views are incredible. That alone is almost worth the steep admission price despite all the other problems. Almost.

Got to play this in November as "preview play" (only played the 11 holes that were finished but heard they opened up 14 holes a few weeks later. This will be Tiger Wood's first public course with TGR design. It is expected to fully open in spring/summer of 2020. Being one of the first to play the course, it was of course immaculate. Had some fun holes as well. Was very windy the day we played. Excited to get back out and try it once it's open. An added bonus will be the 19th hole "the rock" which will be a little par three built into the side of a rock ledge you play on the way back up the ledge to the clubhouse. Just from playing the 11 holes my ranking for the three 18 hole courses on the premises are in order, Buffalo Ridge, Payne's Valley, and then Ozark National.

Fun scoreable track. Always in great shape. I actually got to play as the very first public tee time back in November 2018 on a cold blustery rainy day. I feel as this course is overpriced for the AREA (not for the country)... I believe it IS the cheapest Coore Crenshaw design in the country though.if I'm not mistaken. I still believe Buffalo Ridge is the better of the two local courses and it's $125 vs $200 at Ozark National. Ozark National is definitely a 5 star track though.

This is one of my favorite courses in Missouri. With the additions of Ozark National & Payne's Valley locally, people may forget about the OG Buffalo Ridge.... I have played all three and still believe Buffalo Ridge is the favorite (and cheapest) of the three. It is a great layout, with fun holes and scenery. Can be very tough from the back tees though! Great opening hole birdie opportunity as a warm-up before hole two punches you in the face! A must play if you are in the area.

Played this course about 5-6 times and it's always fun. It's one of the more fun GOLF experiences you could have whether you are a scratch or starter golfer. All walkable par threes. Lots of fun holes and hole in one watches. I actually enjoy this course more than the sister par three course top of the rock and it's about half the price. Gary Player did a great job helping design this gem. One hole you might need a 5-wood/4 iron depending on wind (it's always windy on the mountain top), otherwise it's a lot of 6 iron through wedge. Super fun course.

At $150, overpriced for a 9 hole par three but worth it at least once! Course is beautiful and home to the seniors/champions tour. Conditions are great and the course has little play which means you can play a couple balls off each tee to feel like you are getting your money Worth. Would also recommend Osage restaurant over Arnie's barn for dinner... Go at sunset and see the cannons. I take it for granted being local, but it one of the most beautiful places in the world at sunset.... I rank it right up there with Augusta and Jackson hole, Wyoming in my beautiful places book. The chapel on the course is also beautiful and has been home to golf weddings such as matt ginella and scotty mccarron.

I will keep this review short and sweet. I can’t recommend enough paying the money to play this course. We did a guys golf trip that was 2 rounds at Ozarks National and one round at Buffalo Ridge. This was the second golf trip to Big Cedar in two years. Our first year, Ozarks National wasn’t open yet.

The course was in perfect shape.. it was very difficult to find anything wrong with the conditions. Hats off to the superintendent and Coore and Crenshaw for designing a course that drains so well.

The staff was amazing as with any staff associated with Big Cedar. And don’t worry about the snacks. They have a beautiful snack house.and you don’t spend $195 to play golf based on free snacks.

Having played here several times, finally getting in on the nuances of this beauty! Play the right set of tees and it will be fun! Wrong set and it’s a ball buster!!

Only wish a membership or frequent player program would be put in place. Can be a little pricey if playing more when there. But well worth every penny!

First time playing this course and it was a blast. Great hole layout, excellent condition, and simply fun to play. Definitely challenging and we liked it so much we played it twice.