Ozarks National: Golf at Big Cedar Lodge, Missouri

Big Cedar Lodge names Branson Airport, Branson Jet Center and Springfield-Branson National Airport as its air gateways. Using the Ozarks National clubhouse coordinates (36.56115036, -93.19681775) and the OSRM road-routing engine, Branson Airport (BKG) is 4.4 miles away by road, the town of Branson is 9.3 miles away, and Springfield-Branson National Airport (SGF) is 60.6 miles away. The resort itself publishes only a minutes-based travel-time chart between its own properties, not mileage to outside points, so these figures are computed independently rather than converted from any duration the operator states. The clubhouse carries a Hollister, MO 65672 postal address, but the US Census Bureau's geocoder returns no incorporated-place layer at all for its coordinates, meaning the course sits in unincorporated Taney County rather than inside Hollister's or any other city's limits. As a check on that absence, the same geocoder run against a point in downtown Branson does return an incorporated place, "Branson city" — proof the layer appears when a coordinate is actually inside one, and that its absence at the course is a real finding rather than a broken query.

As of 5 September 2026, Ozarks National's own page states it is "Open for the season," and separately lists its aeration calendar: "Fall 2026 Aeration Dates: September 8 – 10: Closed. Aeration Recovery: September 11 – 20." Buffalo Ridge's page lists the identical fall dates: closed 8–10 September, recovery 11–20 September. Both courses were also closed for spring aeration, 26–27 March, with recovery 26 March to 5 April. Beyond aeration, Big Cedar Lodge's own 2026 rate table lists an off-season row for both courses, "Off-Season | January 1–March 5 & December 7–31," with both Ozarks National and Buffalo Ridge marked "Closed" and no rate published for that window. A golfer planning a winter visit will find both of the resort's ranked public courses shut for roughly a quarter of the year, on top of the September aeration closure.

Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw designed Ozarks National. The operator's own "Behind the Design" feature dates the grand opening to April 2019, held during the Bass Pro Shops Legends of Golf Tournament, after an 1800s log cabin from Minnesota was acquired and assembled as the clubhouse earlier that year. Golf Digest ranks it 46th in America's 100 Greatest Public Courses (2025-'26), 3rd in its Missouri Best in State ranking (ranked since 2021, holding 3rd in both the current and previous edition), and 155th in the Second 100 Greatest (2021-'22). The scorecard lists the Ozarks tees at 73.9/131, 7,036 yards, par 71. The resort's own site states that Phil Mickelson "won the PGA Tour Champions tournament at Ozarks National and set the course record" just weeks after his 50th birthday; that claim comes from the operator's own marketing copy and has not been independently corroborated here.

A visitor not staying at the resort can book Ozarks National up to 30 days ahead — or up to 60 days ahead for a round falling between 15 June and 15 August — through the resort's booking portal at book.rguest.com or by calling 1-800-225-6343. Guests staying at Big Cedar Lodge book by telephone instead, which is the only channel that carries the resort-guest rate. Big Cedar Lodge publishes its 2026 green fees by season on its own golf page. In peak season, 13 April to 25 October, a round at Ozarks National starts at $350 for the public and at $275 for resort guests; juniors 17 and under pay $75. In shoulder season, 6 March to 12 April and 26 October to 6 December, the public rate is $215 and the resort-guest rate $190. The course is closed in the off-season, so no rate is published for it. The operator also offers a seasonal local rate to residents of a listed set of counties, including Taney County itself, with ID and proof of residence required at check-in.

Buffalo Ridge, eighth on the same Golf Digest Missouri list and also labelled "Public," is the resort's other ranked public course. It opened in 2000 as the Tom Fazio-designed Branson Creek Golf Club. Johnny Morris acquired the property in 2013, and he and Fazio unveiled the reborn course as Buffalo Ridge in 2014, per the operator's own "Behind the Design" timeline, which also records that in 2025 all 18 greens were resodded and every greenside bunker redesigned. Buffalo Ridge is closed on the same aeration dates as Ozarks National — 8 to 10 September 2026, with recovery through 20 September — and the operator's 2026 rate table likewise marks it "Closed" for the same off-season window, 1 January to 5 March and 7 to 31 December. It is booked through the same portal, book.rguest.com, or by calling 1-800-225-6343.

Big Cedar Lodge's accommodations page names eight room products across its lodging properties; two of them are at Falls Lodge, Falls Lodge Premier King and Falls Lodge Double Queen. The resort's own dining page names eight venues: Osage Restaurant, Devil's Pool, Truman Cafe & Custard, Buffalo Bar, Arnie's Barn, Mountain Top Grill, The Worman House and Tall Tales Bar & Grill. What the sources establish is that these rooms and venues exist and are named by the operator; none of them says whether any given one is serving or open this week, so this guide makes no such claim.