{"id":19682,"date":"2026-10-25T14:24:58","date_gmt":"2026-10-25T14:24:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fogolf.com\/us\/19682\/"},"modified":"2026-10-25T14:24:58","modified_gmt":"2026-10-25T14:24:58","slug":"buffalo-ridge-golf-course-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fogolf.com\/us\/19682\/","title":{"rendered":"Buffalo Ridge Golf Course Review"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\t\"Buffalo
\n50 Words or Less<\/p>\n

Buffalo Ridge at Big Cedar Lodge in Branson, Missouri may be the prettiest course on the property.\u00a0 Not as extreme as the other two courses, but a happy middle ground with plenty of challenge and fun.<\/p>\n

\"Buffalo
\nIntroduction<\/p>\n

Buffalo Ridge was the first full-length golf course at Big Cedar Lodge.\u00a0 The newer additions from Coore & Crenshaw [Ozarks National, review HERE] and Tiger Woods [Payne\u2019s Valley, review HERE] have become more talked about in the last couple years, but that takes nothing away from the quality of this Tom Fazio layout.\u00a0 If you\u2019re making the trip to Branson, this is not a course you want to skip.<\/p>\n

\"Buffalo
\nPractice Facilities<\/p>\n

As you pull into the parking lot at Buffalo Ridge, you get a great view of the practice area.\u00a0 There\u2019s a large range with elevated tees and a panoramic view of the surrounding area.\u00a0 Adjacent to the range is a short game area and one of the two practice greens.\u00a0 The entire practice area is next to the clubhouse and a short drive from the first tee.<\/p>\n

\"Buffalo<\/p>\n

Customer Service & Amenities<\/p>\n

The Buffalo Ridge clubhouse is perched in a prime location overlooking the course and the surrounding landscape.\u00a0 Inside you\u2019ll find a wide array of logo\u2019d soft goods to commemorate your round.\u00a0 There\u2019s also a full bar with snacks where you can recount your best shots when you\u2019re done.<\/p>\n

\"Buffalo<\/p>\n

That beautiful little cabin on the lake is actually Johnny\u2019s Hot Dog Stand, the namesake being Johnny Morris, the founder of Bass Pro Shops and Big Cedar Lodge.\u00a0 Whether you\u2019re taking advantage of the drive thru window to keep your round moving or stopping to admire the view, this is a snack shack you\u2019re not going to forget anytime soon.<\/p>\n

\"Buffalo<\/p>\n

Beauty & Scenery<\/p>\n

Some in the \u201cgolf course architecture intelligentsia\u201d like to poke at Tom Fazio for various reasons, but the man knows how to make a visually appealing golf course.\u00a0 You would be hard pressed to find anyone, golfer or not, who doesn\u2019t find a walk around Buffalo Ridge to be a peaceful, visually engaging experience.<\/p>\n

\"Buffalo<\/p>\n

Buffalo Ridge sits between Payne\u2019s Valley and Ozarks National in many ways, and one of them is aesthetically.\u00a0 It\u2019s not as manicured and manufactured as Tiger\u2019s course nor as rugged as Coore & Crenshaw\u2019s.\u00a0 That \u201chappy medium\u201d \u2013 rich with natural water features and 300 million year old limestone \u2013 makes Buffalo Ridge arguably the prettiest course on the property.<\/p>\n

\"Buffalo<\/p>\n

Tee Shots<\/p>\n

Astute readers have already picked up on the idea that Buffalo Ridge is not an extreme course like its counterparts.\u00a0 The other trend you\u2019ll find in this review is variety.\u00a0 Much like Chicago weather, if you don\u2019t like a particular hole at Buffalo Ridge wait five minutes, the next one will be different.<\/p>\n

\"Buffalo<\/p>\n

That variety starts on the tee.\u00a0 There are some holes where you\u2019ll feel like you couldn\u2019t miss the fairway on your worst day.\u00a0 There are also a few holes that will cause you to think twice about a big swing with the driver.\u00a0 Buffalo Ridge doesn\u2019t have that tree-lined, congested feel at any point, but the fairways can look narrow due to the slope, doglegs, and hazards.<\/p>\n

\"Buffalo<\/p>\n

One thing that recreational golfers will appreciate about Buffalo Ridge, especially if they\u2019ve had a rough go at Ozarks National, is that the slopes around the course tend to be friendly toward the golfer.\u00a0 The greens aren\u2019t all punchbowls, but there are a lot more opportunities for a ball to kick in a helpful direction than a harmful one.\u00a0 Also, the slopes in the fairways tend to be gentle, so you\u2019re not likely to get a result that\u2019s wildly different from what you \u201cdeserve.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Buffalo<\/p>\n

Approaches<\/p>\n

Unless you launch your tee shot into parts unknown, you should draw a reasonable lie for your second shot.\u00a0 The fairways are bordered by a friendly first cut, and the primary cut of rough is not that thick or long.\u00a0 Your stance should be similarly unbothered thanks to the gentle slopes.<\/p>\n

Most of the greens at Buffalo Ridge are welcoming targets with a clearly defined \u201cgood miss\u201d or preferred line of play.\u00a0 The hole above, #10, is a good example.\u00a0 The green is large and rectangular, accepting of misses short, long, left, or right.\u00a0 Favoring the right side is clearly the better play as you\u2019ll avoid the rough and bunkers left and potentially use the slope to bring your ball onto the green.\u00a0 Buffalo Ridge doesn\u2019t play particularly firm or fast, but there are opportunities to run the ball into most greens if you prefer the ground game.<\/p>\n

\"Buffalo<\/p>\n

Greens & Surrounds<\/p>\n

Unlike the other two Big Cedar Lodge courses, you can find rough near the green at Buffalo Ridge.\u00a0 This adds an element of chance to the short game and gives you another thing to consider when picking your approach target.\u00a0 The defining characteristics of these surrounds are the large bunkers.\u00a0 As you can see above, they don\u2019t tend to be deep or steep-faced, so they shouldn\u2019t be a major concern if you\u2019re competent in the sand.<\/p>\n

Though not quite as large as the greens at Payne\u2019s Valley or Ozarks National, the putting surfaces at Buffalo Ridge are above average in size.\u00a0 Like the rest of the course, the slopes on the greens are gentle.\u00a0 This can be a mixed blessing as it removes the possibility of roller coaster breaks, but it also makes the greens more difficult to read.\u00a0 With these subtle breaks, only good putters will make long ones, but no one should be three-putting too often.<\/p>\n

\"Buffalo<\/p>\n

Conclusion<\/p>\n

Some people are already calling Payne\u2019s Valley a bucket-list course, largely on the strength of Tiger\u2019s name.\u00a0 Coore & Crenshaw loyalists will trumpet the brilliance of Ozarks National.\u00a0 But I think a solid percentage \u2013 maybe a majority \u2013 will walk away from Big Cedar Lodge remembering Buffalo Ridge as their favorite course.<\/p>\n

Visit Buffalo Ridge HERE<\/p>\n

Make Plugged In Golf a Preferred Source
\n \"Matt <\/p>\n

Editor In Chief at Plugged In Golf<\/p>\n

Matt has worked in nearly every job in the golf industry from club fitting to instruction to writing and speaking.<\/p>\n

He founded Plugged In Golf in 2013 with the goal of helping all golfers play better and enjoy the game more.<\/p>\n

Matt lives in the northwest suburbs of Chicago with his wife and two daughters.<\/p>\n

\"MattLatest posts by Matt Saternus (see all) \t\t\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"50 Words or Less Buffalo Ridge at Big Cedar Lodge in Branson, Missouri may be the prettiest course…","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":19683,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"csco_display_header_overlay":false,"csco_singular_sidebar":"","csco_page_header_type":"","csco_page_load_nextpost":"","csco_post_video_location":[],"csco_post_video_location_hash":"","csco_post_video_url":"","csco_post_video_bg_start_time":0,"csco_post_video_bg_end_time":0,"csco_post_video_bg_volume":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[959,310],"class_list":["post-19682","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-york","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-golf","cs-entry","cs-video-wrap"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/vive.im\/@fogolf\/117502012578234482","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fogolf.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19682","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fogolf.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fogolf.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fogolf.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fogolf.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19682"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.fogolf.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19682\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fogolf.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19683"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fogolf.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19682"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fogolf.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19682"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fogolf.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19682"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}