Venerated golf course architect Bill Coore once called Johnny Morris “Walt Disney on steroids,” referencing the Bass Pro Shops founder’s combination of imagination and determination to build his Big Cedar Nature Golf into a bucket-list travel destination.
It doesn’t hurt that Morris has a much better palette to work with among the lakes, streams, valleys and caves in the Ozarks around Branson, Missouri, than the featureless landscape Disney had to transform out of whole cloth in central Florida.
Morris – who turned an operation selling fishing tackle out of the back of his father’s liquor store in 1972 into 177 Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s across the U.S. and Canada – has developed Big Cedar Lodge into one of America’s go-to resorts. Five golf courses – with an audacious sixth on its way – each carrying environmental and sustainability certification from Audubon International are part of Morris’ Ozarks wilderness retreat and conservation oasis.
Branson, in the southwest corner of Missouri, was already on the map before Morris poured his heart and wealth into showing off his beloved Ozarks with Big Cedar. That makes it unique to other popular golf resort destinations such as Bandon, Cabot, Sand Valley or Streamsong where the primary (or only) option available when you get there is the resort’s golf. Branson gets 10 million visitors per year drawn to its wide range of attractions that include three lakes, zip lines, the Silver Dollar City theme park and more live-entertainment seats than you can find on Broadway or in Vegas. So, if your traveling party or family isn’t into playing golf all day, there’s plenty to do without sticks in hand.
The golf complements the other attractions, with courses that sprawl across the undulating and dramatic Ozarks terrain.
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