Our group of 20 guys just got back, and I wanted to give my review of Branson and Big Cedar Lodge.
Day 1:
8:40 tee time at Ozarks National ($190). The course was fun, but it was also the most difficult of the Big Cedar courses we played. Maybe not the best course to start on after not playing any outdoor golf since October. Definitely the tightest fairways of the Big Cedar courses that we played.
3:00 tee time at Cliffhangers ($170). Par 3 course that doesn't seem real. The cart paths wind through caves and waterfalls. Initially, I thought paying $170 for a par 3 course sounded crazy, but the course is just insane, and it was a great way to end the day.
Day 2:
7:40 tee time at Payne's Valley ($250). The course is over the top and very cool, but in a manmade way. Some of the short par 4's seem to be repeats of each other. Got pretty windy for our back 9, and every hole seemed to play into the wind, which made the course much tougher.
2:00 tee time at Buffalo Ridge ($190). My favorite of the Big Cedar courses even though I played the worst here. Beautiful in a more natural way than Payne's Valley. It was a loooong day while playing in the wind for most of the day. The last 2 groups didn't even get to finish before dark.
Day 3:
11:30 tee time at Branson Hills ($150). This is a semi-private course in Branson. Awesome course, and I liked it just as much as any of the Big Cedar courses. Our weekend long Ryder Cup ended in a tie, and they let us play a playoff hole, which was awesome of them.
Overall, it was an awesome trip. Big Cedar is over the top in everything it does, including pricing. We got lucky that we played the last 2 days of "shoulder season" pricing. The day after, the prices for the courses went up considerably. I would call the condition of the courses "average" for the price we paid. Maybe the courses would be in better condition during peak season, but I would have a really hard time paying $300+ for any of those courses unless they were in much better condition.
The biggest turn off for our entire group was the drink prices. $48 for a 6 pack of 12 ounce domestic beers or $24 for a double cocktail. There may have been some drinks smuggled in golf bags on day 2. They did have free bison dogs, chips, crackers, trail mix, and ice cream snickers bars at every course. We ate one meal at Mountain Top grill, which was pretty good, but other than that we ate back at the AirBnb.
We did book a night at Angler's Lodge just to be able to do the advance tee time bookings, but we didn't stay there. We got an AirBnb on Table Rock lake, which was about a 20 minute drive from Big Cedar. It was much cheaper to go that route and the Airbnb comfortably held all 20 of us.
I'm happy to answer any questions if you're thinking about going.
by franckdatank32
28 Comments
How do I get 19 friends to play golf with?
That’s awesome
$48 a six pack is wild
I’ll never forget the explosion that the bison dog caused resulting in me missing a couple holes, but props to the girl slinging dogs
Went for a bachelor party. Buffalo Ridge was my fav as well. We stayed at Anglers Lodge. My only complaint was how far away everything was.
We did this trip 4 years ago and it was amazing. We went the Bass Pro shop hotel route. How were the sleeping arrangements at the AirBnB, out group is 16 people and we all want beds and not bunks lol. We are all really wanting to go back.
It looks like a great golf destination. Surprised to hear about conditions.
So one room for one night allowed you to advance tee time book for everyone? That’s a neat hack.
Excellent review. Thanks for posting.
Playing Cliffhanger, Ozark, top of the rock, and Buffalo in June. Staying at a cabin on big cedar property. I can’t sleep at night due to the excitement and the damage it will do to my checking account. Most excited for cliffhanger and Buffalo ridge
Just realized that’s 4 hours away going to put that on the list. Thanks.
Which one of the guys slept through the round?
Buffalo Ridge is also my favorite. Great track. Unfortunately you have to go back. You missed out on Mountain Top which is the best Par 3 course on property.
Video game course. That looks so cool
Great courses that are fun but yet another place where the pace of play is allowed to be an absolute disgrace. 5.5 hour rounds? Sure, why not? 3 hours for Cliffhangers? Yup. OP noted they couldn’t even finish their round. I pulled up onto 17 at Payne’s Valley and there were 7 groups on the hole. Sorry for my bitching but I simply don’t understand course managers who allow this. 4 hours, enforce it, more fun for everyone.
Good read! I’m goin there in 2 weeks
Is that a tee box from behind the waterfall?!?!
I like everything about this.
You can just do one night at the lodge/resort and book tee times for the entire rest of the trip? Was that for all 20?
Big Cedar kinda ruined the golf around Branson. It used to be a somewhat affordable golf destination until most of the decent courses got bought up to be part of Big Cedar. It sucks to lose a destination we could drive to and golf for a nice long weekend.
Don’t get me wrong, Johnny Morris obviously executed well on a vision but there is something about big resorts that just suck the life out of things. I’m personally not a big fan of expensive resorts. I’ve done a couple and I’ve always regretted. I can go to Europe for a week for the price of spending 4 days playing and staying at Big Cedar.
Ozark national is awesome
We usually do our annual trip there every may or June. This may will be our 5th to Branson I believe. It is a great golf destination trip if you want the convenience of having everything right there on site. Some years we save money by staying at the Anglers lodge instead of big cedar. I like it just as well as the expensive cottages really.
Me and my friends just did a bachelor party here this weekend too played Paynes as well. Was also outraged about the $48 6 pack, but what a nutty view.
What was the all in cost if you don’t mind me asking? Not including food/beverage/travel. Been wanting to book this one with buddies and will likely use your room hack, looked at booking on the resort originally and it was like $2.5K+ per person all in
Branson Hills is a great course. We have a place out there and that’s our go to!
Ozark National and Buffalo Ridge are the best.
How was the weather? I always plan a trip for 12 guys in mid April. We discussed this but the weather is the reason we haven’t gone. We want guaranteed warmth. We did a couple trips where we were pretty miserable weather wise.
Did you confirm Lacy’s real handicap is high teens not 6-8