BIG CEDAR LODGE

Missouri

The opening foray into the much heralded Payne’s Valley golf course, pictured here, encapsulates not just the wondrous golf experience of this course designed by Tiger Woods, but it offers a glimpse into the vast, natural phenomenon of America’s greatest wilderness resort.

Payne’s Valley is a tribute to Missouri native and Major Champion, the late Payne Stewart, who hailed from these Ozark mountains, so there could hardly be a more fitting tribute than this new course, which opened in September at the 4,600-acre resort.

One of five golf courses at Big Cedar Lodge, Payne’s Valley is in fact a 19-hole course, with owner Johnny Morris, the noted conservationist and founder of Bass Pro Shops and Big Cedar Lodge, having created a 140-yard par-3 bonus hole, on which golfers take aim at a small island green in the middle of Lunker Lake.

Fishing, boating, hiking, biking and horseback riding are among the wide array of activities at this unique family destination, where untouched nature combines seamlessly with contemporary luxury.