RESORT PROFILE INTERVIEW: Big Cedar Lodge By Brian Weis

RESORT PROFILE INTERVIEW: Big Cedar Lodge

By Brian Weis

Golf Resort Overview: Big Cedar Lodge

An Interview With Matt McQueary, Director of Golf Sales & Marketing mmcqueary@gmail.com

The ultimate golf vacation is staying and playing at a golf resort. Below is an interview with Matt McQueary who shares some valuable information about staying and golfing at Big Cedar Lodge.

Give our readers an overview of the golf resort.
Big Cedar Lodge is a remote haven of natural beauty that truly brings conservation to life through nature-inspired accommodations, immersive wildlife attractions and breathtaking views. Inspired by a commitment to conservation, Johnny Morris, the founder of Bass Pro Shops, created Big Cedar Lodge to encourage visitors and their families to connect with the great outdoors.

Growing the game of golf while incorporating the beauty of the Ozarks into every shot, Big Cedar Lodge offers world class golf courses designed by some of the top names in golf: Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Tom Watson, Gary Player, Tom Fazio, Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw. Golf at Big Cedar is truly an experience you will never forget!

Share with us your room accommodations configurations. What group sizes can accommodate?
Big Cedar has over 300 rooms that vary from double occupancy lodge rooms to multi-room private cabins, as well as exclusive premier accommodations like the Villa at Integrity Hills and the Spa Cottage.

We can expertly host a couple's getaway for a two, or a large corporate gathering for hundreds.

What type of restaurants do you have on property and what type of dining experience can one expect?
At Big Cedar Lodge, food is one of our passions and our restaurants feature some of Missouri's finest cuisine.

The lodge offers 4 fine dining establishing offering some of the best steak, seafood, and chef-inspired creations in the Midwest, as well as 10 causal restaurants perfect for a lunch between rounds or a post-round celebration.

Beyond golf what are the top three amenities golfers and non-golfers can enjoy on property?
Three of our most popular amenities are Fun Mountain, The Lost Canyon Cave & Nature Trail, and The Cedar Creek Spa.

Fun Mountain offers a full arcade, bumper cars, underwater-themed bowling, laser tag and a golf simulator, this world-class attraction offers year-round fun for all ages. Whether you're climbing to the top of the rock wall or zooming down the slide of the pirate ship, you'll delight in the adventure of Fun Mountain, created for the kid in all of us.

The Top of the Rock Lost Canyon Cave and Nature Trail is a 2.5-mile ride in an electric cart showcasing stunning rock formations, beautiful views of Table Rock Lake and waterfalls. Don't forget to stop at the Bat Bar for a refreshing drink inside the cave!

Complete with hand-hewn timber ceilings, natural stone floors, handcrafted stained-glass accents and antique-style chandeliers, the spa creates a luxurious and relaxing environment for a day of pampering. A grand, double staircase will lead you to one of 11 luxuriously appointed treatment rooms, each featuring its own cozy fireplace. The full-service salon is also equipped with massaging pedicure chairs and sofas.

Please supply a sample itinerary for a long buddies weekend?
For the best buddies trip weekend, I recommend arriving in the afternoon and playing a round at Top of the Rock followed by dinner and drinks at the Osage or Buffalo Bar overlooking Table Rock Lake.

Next, play Buffalo Ridge and Ozarks National for an epic 36-hole day with lunch at Mountain Top Grill and a hearty dinner at Devil's Pool Restuarant, followed by live music from the Singin' Cowboy at the Buzzard Bar.

Finally, finish you day with a morning round at Mountain Top to dial in your game before playing Payne's Valley. The #19 hole is the prefect cap to the ultimate golf buddies trip.

Please supply a sample itinerary for a long couples weekend?
For a long couples weekend, I recommend arriving on Thursday and kicking off the weekend with a gourmet meal at the Worman House bistro.

Next, play a relaxing round at Buffalo Ridge and enjoy the scenery of live North America Bison, caves, and waterfalls right on the course. Take the afternoon to do the Lost Canyon Cave and Nature Trail & the Ancient Ozarks Museum before a meal overlooking Table Rock Lake at the Osage restaurant.

For the ultimate couples golf day, start with a morning round at Payne's Valley, then an afternoon spa appointment. Then take a evening dinner cruise on the Lady Liberty, a 62-foot private luxury yacht offering bunch and dinner services.

Finally, reconnect with nature with a 13-hole round at the Mountain Top Par 3 course, followed by a day trip to Dogwood Canyon.

What area tourist attractions might you recommend while in the area?
Dogwood Canyon is the place to check out if you want to see the beauty of the Ozarks.

Aside from a few amenities to make Dogwood Canyon Nature Park more accessible to our guests, the rugged landscape has been left untouched and, with just a little imagination, you can travel back to a time when European settlers first entered the area or, even further, to explore the mark that Native Americans left on these Missouri hills and hollows.

Today, the park includes a fully-functioning mill, restaurant, conservation center, bike barn, a treehouse built by Animal Planet's Treehouse Masters and a horse stable facility.

Any recent or upcoming changes to the property/resort or golf course?
Our new golf cottages offer guests the chance to stay right at Payne's Valley with incredible sunset views. Our four-bedroom golf cottages even feature their own private putting greens.

How can golfers inquire about golf packages for your resort?
Call us at 1-800-225-6343 or email us at BigCedar@Big-Cedar.com!

Courses at Resort
Number of Course: 5
Number of Holes: 77

More Information
Big Cedar Lodge 612 Devils Pool Rd RIdge, Missouri, 65739 1-800-225-6343

www.bigcedar.com

More Information »

Revised: 04/21/2022 - Article Viewed 4,583 Times - View Course Profile

About: Brian Weis

Brian Weis is the mastermind behind GolfTrips.com, a vast network of golf travel and directory sites covering everything from the rolling fairways of Wisconsin to the sunbaked desert layouts of Arizona. If there’s a golf destination worth visiting, chances are, Brian has written about it, played it, or at the very least, found a way to justify a "business trip" there.

As a card-carrying member of the Golf Writers Association of America (GWAA), International Network of Golf (ING), Golf Travel Writers of America (GTWA), International Golf Travel Writers Association (IGTWA), and The Society of Hickory Golfers (SoHG), Brian has the credentials to prove that talking about golf is his full-time job. In 2016, his peers even handed him The Shaheen Cup, a prestigious award in golf travel writing—essentially the Masters green jacket for guys who don’t hit the range but still know where the best 19th holes are.

Brian’s love for golf goes way back. As a kid, he competed in junior and high school golf, only to realize that his dreams of a college golf scholarship had about the same odds as a 30-handicap making a hole-in-one. Instead, he took the more practical route—working on the West Bend Country Club grounds crew to fund his University of Wisconsin education. Little did he know that mowing greens and fixing divots would one day lead to a career writing about the best courses on the planet.

In 2004, Brian turned his golf passion into a business, launching GolfWisconsin.com. Three years later, he expanded his vision, and GolfTrips.com was born—a one-stop shop for golf travel junkies looking for their next tee time. Today, his empire spans all 50 states, and 20+ international destinations.

On the course, Brian is a weekend warrior who oscillates between a 5 and 9 handicap, depending on how much he's been traveling (or how generous he’s feeling with his scorecard). His signature move" A high, soft fade that his playing partners affectionately (or not-so-affectionately) call "The Weis Slice." But when he catches one clean, his 300+ yard drives remind everyone that while he may write about golf for a living, he can still send a ball into the next zip code with the best of them.

Whether he’s hunting down the best public courses, digging up hidden gems, or simply outdriving his buddies, Brian Weis is living proof that golf is more than a game—it’s a way of life.