Branson Destination Breaks 10 Million Visitors

In Golf Courses by Rich Styles

That’s right – last year, 10 million visitors traveled to Branson, Missouri.

Why?

Branson Landing at Night

There are dozens of live entertainment shows (more than on Broadway or in Las Vegas), three enormous lakes, 10 award-winning golf courses, and a plethora of family-friendly activities. For more information on all the live entertainment, check out explorebranson.com

My trip to Branson was my first, but it won’t be my last. I was impressed with everything to do, evident when I checked into the excellent Hilton Branson Hotel & Convention Center. It is ideally located between historic downtown Branson on one side and the modern waterfront Branson Landing town center on the other.

Branson Landing is a one-block walk from the hotel, and it features too many restaurants and bars to count, clothing shops, a moonshine purveyor complete with samplings, a Bass Pro Shop, and numerous other venues.

We enjoyed seven golf courses in four days with a great group of guys from various cities. 

The courses were designed by a veritable “Who’s Who?” golf icons – names like Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, Bob Cupp, Tom Fazio, Bill Coore, and Ben Crenshaw. They all feature first-class playing conditions, and five of them have earned Audubon International Cooperative Sanctuary Program for Golf certification, meaning they’re as environmentally friendly and sustainable as they are inspiring to play.

Payne’s Valley Big Rock

Our group started on Tiger’s Payne’s Valley course with its excellent 19th hole complete with Tiki Bar, waterfalls, and hundreds-year-old limestone cliffs with waterfalls cascading down them. 

Payne’s Valley did not disappoint – the first public Tiger Woods-designed golf course is very well done. With eight different tee combos, it plays from 7,370 to 4,957 yards. Winding through the valley, unusual movement, and elevation change define the TGR-designed layout. 

The risk-reward par-5 18th hole – which is a great finishing hole, often requires a player to decide if he wants to try and reach the green in two and bring danger into the equation or play it as a three-shotter and rely on your short game to give you a chance at birdie – awaits The Big Rock at Payne’s Valley.

That’s the name of the 19th hole, which Bass Pro Shops Founder Johnny Morris designed. Morris founded Big Cedar Lodge, home of five of Branson’s ten superb golf courses.

To reach The Big Rock, you drive your golf cart through stone pathways and water features that trundle down across the switchback path. Ahead of you lies the astounding par-3 hole. It can play from 100 to 140 yards. Par is good, birdie is better, and a hole-in-one – of which there have been a few – wins you a $1,000 gift certificate to Bass Pro Shops and a few other awards for a feat many only a few ever achieve.

Payne’s Valley is rated No. 4 in Missouri in Golfweek’s “Best Courses You Can Play by State” and was named America’s Great New Public Course by Golf Digest when it opened in 2020. The three courses in front of it in the Golfweek list are all located in Branson, too. All told, five of the state’s top 10 courses are in this rising-star golf destination, including the top four.

After an early morning wake-up call, a flight to Springfield-Branson International Airport (SGF) –an easy, scenic 45-minute drive to Branson – then 19 holes of golf, we were famished.

Lucky for us, dinner was a 2-minute walk from our spacious rooms (including a kitchenette, living room, bedroom, and bathroom with shower and tub with water jets) at the Hilton Branson Convention Center Hotel.

We chose Cantina Laredo in Branson Landing, with many restaurants to select from. A full Tex-Mex menu beckoned, complete with personalized handmade guacamole at your table. Ironically, our group got a local tip from our driver to ask for the ribeye at Cantina Laredo, even though it’s not on the menu. Boy, were several of us glad we did.

Day Two began with a good cup of coffee and a breakfast sandwich from Starbucks across the street from the hotel. Then Joe Gunnells, our driver for the week from VIP Tours of Branson, drove us to Tom Fazio-designed Buffalo Ridge Golf Course, one of the five Big Cedar Golf layouts.

Buffalo Ridge

Johnny Morris, Big Cedar and Bass Pro Shops founder worked closely with Fazio to redesign the course after Morris purchased it. The result is a beautiful course with numerous memorable holes and more eye candy than most courses worldwide. Some features include exposed limestone outcroppings, waterfalls, creeks, hills, valleys, and wooden covered bridges.

Buffalo Ridge comes by its name, honestly. Buffalo roam adjacent to the course, including a white buffalo, a former resident of Yellowstone National Park. As you drive up to the No. 1 tee box, you see the beasts. It’s a beautiful welcome and unique way to start a round.

The course was played as part of the PGA TOUR Champions Legends of Golf tournament for several years, and Buffalo Ridge is currently ranked No. 2 in Missouri by Golfweek and a Top 100 Public Course by GOLF Magazine.

After lunch, we traveled to an 18-hole course at LedgeStone Country Club, designed by Tom Clark. Golf Digest describes LedgeStone as “a masterpiece of mountain golf architecture.” And it’s a roller-coaster of a layout for sure. With five sets of tees measuring 4,906 to 6,881 yards and many elevation changes, Ledgestone requires accurate shot shaping and distance control. Several memorable, ingenious holes are named, and others more obtusely. Sidewinder, The Slot, and The Quarry let players know what’s to come. Others like Deception, Temptation, and The Big Chill hint at what’s to come.

After 36 holes, we walked to Branson Landing from the hotel again, this time to Black Oak Grill. Scanning the menu, we went from fried pickles and goat cheese to seared Ahi Tuna to an “Ozark Burger” with bacon and a fried egg. Grilled meatloaf, pot roast, ribeye, and grilled salmon were other choices.

Our next round was a delight – that is, if you like nature, history, and natural beauty. Top of the Rock is a 9-hole short course designed by Jack Nicklaus. Like Buffalo Ridge, it was played as part of the Legends of Golf event, making it the first par-3 course to be included in a professional tour event.

Top of The Rock 1st Tee

Perched above Table Rock Lake, flowing waterfalls, wandering creeks, and bass-filled ponds increase, as do giant boulders and flowering trees and bushes. Located next to the first hole is the Chapel of the Ozarks and a Civil War-era cabin that was transformed into a luxurious lodging option.

While a short course with nine par 3’s, Big Cedar is a stout test of golf, as was evidenced during the tour event when even the world’s best players often had their work cut out making par on many holes given the swirling winds, a multitude of hazards, and tricky greens.

After golf, we ventured into Arnie’s Barn for lunch amidst 150-year-old wood beams relocated from Arnie’s backyard in Latrobe, Pa., to Branson, Mo. As you walk to your table, you will see pictures and other memorabilia from Arnie’s life all over the cavernous barn that was reassembled and enhanced by Mennonite craftsmen.

The menu features Texas BBQ, Mexican cuisine, fine wines, and other tasty beverages. Top your day off with a spectacular dusk firing of a Civil War-era cannon as a bag pipes-man in authentic Scottish attire plays, and the sun sets on Table Rock Lake.

We started Day Three at Branson Hills Golf Club. A Chuck Smith-Bobby Clampett design rated by GolfPass and Golf Advisor as one of the “Top 50 Courses in the U.S.”, the challenging course tests your game unrelentingly from start to finish.

On the first tee, you are greeted with a 130-foot drop from tee to green as you begin your round through the carved Ozark Mountains’ layout. Branson Hills has six sets of tees ranging from 5,323 to 7,324 yards. You may want to take an extra club to reach the immaculate greens on several holes.

Several holes could be called “signature holes,” as many have such distinctive features that they qualify. For instance, the par-5 fourth hole is a risk-reward tantalizer that requires a 200-yard-plus carry-over water on the approach shot to get home in two. And the 175-yard 16th hole is a gorgeous par-3 with a narrow green guarded by a sand bunker in front, water on the right, and fescue covered hill behind the slim putting surface.

You’ll work up an appetite playing Branson Hills. Fortunately, there’s Level 2 Steakhouse inside the Hilton Branson Convention Center Hotel. This is a steakhouse for connoisseurs, the type where personalized knives are kept at the restaurant for frequent visitors.

An expansive menu ranging from Grilled Ahi Tuna Steak to infrared grilled filets, ribeye’s, Kansas City Strip, and Wagyu. Don’t skip dessert here as the vanilla bean Crème Brûlée, 7-layer chocolate cake, and mind-blowing “Missouri Mess” (an over-the-top-sweet butter cake) are some of the choices.   

On our final full day, after watching the sunrise, our group walks a couple of blocks through historic downtown Branson to Clocker’s Café. Explore Branson’s Lynn Berry, Director of Communications, is our host as we hear fascinating stories about the town’s history Branson and that of the region. You never know who will be at Clocker’s Café – from locals to national celebrities/entertainers – who love the quaint café filled with interesting artifacts.

Our morning round was at Ozarks National, designed by Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw and named Best New Public Course by Golf Digest when it opened in 2019. Like Buffalo Ridge, it is rated a Top 100 Public Course by GOLF Magazine.

Two-time Masters Champion Crenshaw said Ozark National is “gorgeous” given the panoramic views in every direction. Known for their minimalist designs, Coore and Crenshaw let the Ozarks’ terrain dictate the course’s “flow,” and a mesmerizing flow it is. Blind shots, winding fairways, and elevated greens are some defining features.

After lunch, we capped our week of golf on Gary Player’s Mountain Top Golf Course – a 13-hole, walking-only short course. Like several Big Cedar Golf courses, exposed limestone formations are strategically woven into some holes. They are visually stunning and inspired Player to label them “beyond belief.”

Both renowned conservationists, Morris and Player, combined their love for nature and golf to create this brilliantly routed course that tests the finest players but is playable for beginners and families.

Before leaving, challenge your friends on Missouri native Tom Watson’s putting course. Designed with creative avenues for each of the nine holes, World Golf Hall of Famer Watson authored a fun, dramatic exclamation point to begin or end your day at Mountain Top.

I’ve been to many courses and golf destinations around the globe, and I have to include Branson as bucket-list worthy. The golf is excellent, as are the after-play things that golfers care about most – restaurants, great lodging, and lots of mountain and water views.