Branson, Missouri is full of surprises including golf

Having seen the Wizard of Oz, I’d expected Branson, Missouri to have Kansas-like terrain. Flat. The two states do after all share a border. That was my first surprise. We flew in over the steep forested hills of the Ozarks, with plunging ravines, rivers and lakes, a perfect canvas for golf courses and we were after all, coming to play golf.

And the golf was as good as the scenery with tracks like Branson Creek Golf Club, Ledgestone Country Club, Pointe Royale, Payne Stewart’s Golf Club and John Daly’s Murder Rock Golf & Country Club unrolling nonstop views of the mountains, especially from the higher plateaus. When Tom Fazio came here to design Branson Creek and saw the terrain a decade ago, he must have been ecstatic.

With a moniker like “Nature & Neon” I expected a few casinos, but, surprise number two. Branson has no casinos. What it does have are more than 50 theaters and 100 plus musical shows which play during almost all waking hours. Called the “Live Music Capital of the Country” headliners like Andy Williams, Michael Bolton, the Osmonds, the Platters, Yakov, Liverpool Legends and Shoji Tabuchi and his violin help entertain more than 8 million visitors who come here each year.

Many of the acts are family affairs like “Six” (brothers who perform all the music and “band sounds” with their voices) and Buck Trent still at 72 ripping into his banjo. There are new shows like The Legend of Kung Fu, the entertainers at the Beijing opening ceremonies and contemporary stars like Nelly.

First came the beauty of the Ozarks, then the music when entertainers discovered Branson. With its rich natural environment – a place where folks could hike, bike, swim and fish – combined with its central location made it an ideal place to settle in.

So they came to Branson and built theaters and created their shows. As Buck Trent said on the 18th hole of the Payne Stewart course, “You gotta have a show here. You just can’t come out and pick and sing.

For those who lived here and loved golf like Williams and Trent, it was only natural that Branson would be just about perfect if they had some good courses to play.

So now along with Zipline Tours, boating and fishing on Lake Taneycomo and wolfing down hub-sized pancakes at funky Billy Gails Cafe or indulging in perfectly-cooked steaks at Level 2 steakhouse in the Hilton Hotel, there are now nine courses within 25 minutes or less from the town center. That makes all those golfing stars happy. “In Branson we just show up, play golf and go do our show,” explained Buck.

Golf courses in Branson are open all year and prices are highly affordable – in the winter less than $50 including a cart. Surprise three. Sure it gets cold, but as Norma, my driver to the airport told me, “We did have a sprinkling of snow this past winter but it only lasted a couple of hours.”

If you can only play one course, tee up at the Payne Stewart track. From the opening hole which sweeps downhill and tucks in left with mounds and bunkers along the way, to the finishing par 4 over a huge swale and a scary bunker complex, you’re in for a marvelous day of golf.

Fazio’s Branson Creek is also a beauty with exceptional par 3s, roll-up greens, elevated tees and generous bailout areas. For most holes, it’s all laid out in front of you, but baits you with risk and reward holes. At Ledgestone, another pretty layout, trouble comes with triple putts on large, fast, roller coaster greens.

John Daly’s Murder Rock, named for the notorious place where Alfie Bolin and his gang used to ambush people then rob and murder them, is ironically fairly benign and on the short side considering Daly has his name attached to it.

To accommodate all the visitors, there are many places to stay from high end hotels like the Hilton at Branson Landing, the Radisson in the middle of the theater area and Big Cedar Lodge, a huge wilderness resort on Table Rock Lake created in the style of the traditional National Park lodges with lofty log ceilings, weighty stone fireplaces and balconies overlooking the lake and hills.

There’s also the hotel at the College of the Ozarks, a unique and beautifully appointed lodge-style hotel and restaurant where much of the work from the cooking and serving to the outdoor maintenance is done by students. Rather than pay tuition, these liberal arts students work a number of hours each week ultimately getting a four-year degree and graduating without owing a cent.

There are many places you can come to play golf, but I don’t know of any where you can play golf every day, take in a different show every night, explore the hiking trails, go boating and world-class shopping and still be in an environment where there are no casinos – a family-friendly place with so many things to do, people come back again and again.

When Minnie Pearl was asked what was necessary to have a good show she said, “You gotta make ‘em smile, make ‘em cry and scare the hell out of them.” When you think about it, it’s kind of like Branson’s courses.

Where to stay: Branson has many big chain hotels including the Hilton and Ramada as well as enormous wilderness-style log lodges and cabins such as Big Cedar on Table Rock Lake owned by Bass Pro Shops.

Note: Show tickets for visitors are reasonable and usually between $20 and $50 (while for residents the price is often $5 or free) and there are plenty of places to get discounted packages and special deals at theaters seating from 200 to 4,000. For more information, see www.branson.com or www.explorebranson.com.