Pin itAll five courses across four days, anchored by Tiger Woods and Coore-Crenshaw championship layouts, with a rest-day canyon excursion built in.
Photo courtesy of Big Cedar Lodge · Big Cedar Lodge · Partner
4 Days
Bucket List Trip
$2000–$3500/person
5
Moderate
Four days, five courses, five different designers, in a sequence that balances championship walking rounds with shorter layouts and a canyon excursion as a non-golf reset. The routing is deliberate: the two championship 18-hole walking courses are separated by a rest day with a par-3 round and an afternoon at Dogwood Canyon Nature Park. Budget $2,000 to $3,500 per person for four nights at Big Cedar Lodge, five rounds at resort guest rates, two off-course activities, meals, and a rental car.
Big Cedar Lodge, Missouri, Missouri
Trip at a Glance
Fly into Springfield-Branson National Airport and drive 60 to 70 minutes south to Big Cedar Lodge. The drive through the Ozarks frames the landscape before the first round, and the terrain you see from the highway is the same terrain you'll play through for the next four days.
Morning tee time on the Coore and Crenshaw design. Ozarks National Golf Course routes across exposed ridgelines with panoramic views that extend for miles, and the walking-only format through this terrain delivers a physical and visual experience fundamentally different from Payne's Valley.
Morning round on the Jack Nicklaus par-3 at Top of the Rock Golf Course. Nine holes through limestone cliffs above Table Rock Lake, with several stretching past 200 yards, deliver a concentrated short-game test that doubles as a physical recovery day between the two championship walking rounds.
Morning round at Buffalo Ridge Springs Golf Course, the Tom Fazio 18-hole design with the resident bison herd. Cart play is included, a welcome change after the walking rounds at Payne's Valley and Ozarks National.
Check out of Big Cedar Lodge and return to SGF, a 60- to 70-minute drive. Flights from Springfield connect through major hubs with reasonable frequency.
Trip Logistics
Plan the Practicalities
Big Cedar Lodge is the correct accommodation. The resort-guest green-fee rates across all five courses save roughly $500 or more per person against non-guest rates, more than offsetting any premium over off-resort lodging. A rental car is recommended for the Dogwood Canyon excursion and for flexibility between the courses and the Top of the Rock complex. The resort shuttle covers the main routes but operates on fixed schedules. For shoulder-season visitors in April or October, the same itinerary runs 25 to 39 percent less expensive on green fees alone.
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