A new 18-hole, championship course at the Ridgedale, Mo. resort property developed by Bass Pro Shops founder Johnny Morris will be designed by Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw.
On March 31, Johnny Morris, founder of Bass Pro Shops and developer of the Big Cedar Lodge resort in Ridgedale, Mo., announced that a new course will be built at the property’s Buffalo Ridge Golf Course and designed by the golf course architect team of Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw, television station KY3 of Springfield, Mo. reported.
The announcement came as part of a media day for the upcoming Champions Tour Legends of Golf tournament, which will begin at Big Cedar Lodge’s Top of the Rock and Buffalo Ridge Springs courses on April 24.
As detailed in C&RB’s October 2014 cover story, “Making a Splash at Big Cedar Lodge (http://clubandresortbusiness.com/2014/10/29/making-splash-big-cedar-lodge-resort/), the property reopened its nine-hole, par-3, Jack Nicklaus signature design Top of the Rock golf course in 2013. It then acquired the former Branson Creek Golf Club and reopened that course, after a Tom Fazio redesign, as the 18-hole Buffalo Ridge course. Those two courses hosted the Legends of Golf tournament for the first time in 2014, with the use of the Top of the Rock course marking the first time a PGA Tour-sanctioned tournament had ever included competition on a par-3 course.
The Branson Creek acquisition also included the Murder Rock Golf Course in Hollister, Mo., that was part of the same development, and it had previously been announced that Gary Player would help Big Cedar Lodge develop a 12-hole, “family friendly” course, Mountain Top, from that property, designed to help parents teach their children to play golf on a less challenging layout.
And now the 18-hole, championship course designed by Coore and Crenshaw, also laid in the footprint of Murder Rock, will give Big Cedar Lodge a fourth course, KY3 reported. The new course will be called the Ridge Course at Buffalo Ridge. Further improvements were also announced for the Buffalo Ridge Springs Course, including enhanced water features, larger bunkers and extended tee boxes.
“We have been in discussions with Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw over the past three years about creating a golf showcase in the Ozarks that highlights the changing terrains, distant views and wooded paths that make this region one of the nation’s most beloved natural resources,” said Morris in making the announcement, KY3 reported. “Bill, Ben and I share a passion and appreciation for nature and a commitment to preserving the timeless landscape that serves as the leading signature for our region. The design of this new course should be a striking display for the senses and fitting tribute to a place we call home.”
In addition to the Ridge Course at Buffalo Ridge, down the hill Buffalo Ridge Springs Course is undergoing a makeover on many holes. Water features are being enhanced at many holes, bunkers are getting larger and tee boxes are moved back.
“The destination approach, the way people like to play golf, they don’t like to play the same course over and over,” said the Legends of Golf tournament director, Kirk Elmquist. “So this gives the opportunity to play mulitple courses when they come to Big Cedar Lodge with family or corporate outing.”
While no timeline was announced for the date of completion of the new Ridge Course, it could eventually become a third venue for either the Legends of Golf event or another tournament, the Springfield (Mo.) News-Leader reported.
“Our goal with this is to have a quality-enough course to have very significant PGA-caliber golf tournaments,” Morris said. “We think it will be a crown jewel golf course in the Ozarks, to complement the other golf courses and create a critical mass of destination for golfers to want to come here.”
“When you get up on some of these plateaus, you can cast your eyes and see 40 [to] 50 miles,” Crenshaw added. “You can’t do that it in too many places in the United States. This is gorgeous. We want to showcase that beauty, and John Morris has given us an unbelievable opportunity.”
Tell Us What You Think!
You must be logged in to post a comment.