Top 5 features of new Big Cedar Lodge course

RIDGEDALE — Four years after daydreaming about creating a par-3 golf course adjacent to Payne’s Valley in the Ozark Mountains, Big Cedar Lodge unveiled its latest creation.

“Cliffhangers,” a course designed by Bass Pro Shops founder Johnny Morris and his son, John Paul Morris, was on display during a first-look event on Tuesday, June 24, in Ridgedale near Branson.

The event allowed invited media members and guests to tee off from a few holes and take a drive around the course, taking in the beauty of the latest addition to the Big Cedar Lodge portfolio.

Here are five things that stood out to us after our evening at the new Cliffhangers Golf Course.

More: Johnny Morris, Big Cedar Lodge give first look at stunning ‘Cliffhangers’ golf course

More: Did Tiger Woods contribute to the new Big Cedar Lodge course? Here’s what we found.

You can’t talk about Cliffhangers without starting with the views

The initial plan was for the Cliffhangers site to be a best-of-its-kind driving range that would complement Payne’s Valley. When Johnny and John Paul Morris looked around the site at sunset, they realized the views were too good, and they had an opportunity to build another course.

They weren’t lying. There were so many spectacular views at each hole that it made it difficult for you to put your phone down when you wanted to take pictures and videos of everything.

Among the best views was found at Hole 13, also known as “Forever View,” a 136-yard hole that offers the best look at the distant mountains. We got to see it at sunset, which is going to be an in-demand time for this course.

Hole 14, called “Peninsula,” is arguably the best-looking on the course. The back tee is 155 yards out, and you drive the ball downhill toward a hole on a peninsula with a pond around it.

The ‘Lion’s Den’ has you tee off from a cave, behind a waterfall

When approaching the third hole, a sign next to the entrance of a cave instructs you to park your cart and walk in to tee off. When you walk in, the roar of a lion plays over a speaker to introduce you to the hole nicknamed “Lion’s Den.”

If that wasn’t cool enough, you turn and see that you’re inside a cave, behind a waterfall overlooking the course. In the opening, as the water pours down, you drive the ball toward the hole that’s 115 yards away.

Driving your cart through the water features and a bunker provides smiles

When driving from one hole to the next, you often find yourself driving through the different creeks rather than taking a bridge over them. You’re splashing through them as if you were on Mystic River Falls at Silver Dollar City, but you don’t get as wet, if at all.

Another fun twist when driving the course is that the path requires you to go through an actual bunker, which is typically frowned upon. Speaking of bunkers, there’s a hole called “Bunkers,” a 94-yard hole that is surrounded by bunkers.

Cliffhangers can be fun for novice golfers

You don’t have to be the most skilled golfer to have fun or even have success when playing Cliffhangers. Trust us, the writer of this article has only golfed a handful of times in his life and only lost one ball on the handful of holes Big Cedar had those play on Tuesday night. He wasn’t quite on the green, but he was closer than anyone who’s ever watched him play would have guessed.

That speaks to the ease of a family course, while it also provides plenty of challenges. Those who know what they’re doing are going to have success, but even those who don’t know the difference between a hybrid and an iron will have a good time and put the ball in the hole.

Cliffhangers is a worthy addition to the Big Cedar Lodge portfolio

There’s a reason why Big Cedar Lodge is often regarded as one of the nation’s premier golf resorts. Joining Payne’s Valley, Ozarks National, Buffalo Ridge, Top of the Rock and Mountain Top, Cliffhangers will be yet another bucket list course in Big Cedar Lodge’s portfolio.

The father-son Morris combo doesn’t miss, and they refuse to do anything small. They’ve created another course that will likely have reservations booked months in advance. The love the two continue to speak of the region was on display in the design of this course.