Bass Pro Shops founder Johnny Morris announced a collaborative partnership with 79-time PGA TOUR winner, Tiger Woods and the Payne Stewart Family to create the first-ever public access golf courses designed by TGR Design, a world-class championship golf course and a family-friendly short course at Big Cedar Lodge.
Scheduled to open in 2019, and named in honor of the late Payne Stewart, Payne's Valley Golf Course will be first completed fully public-access course in the world designed by Tiger Woods' design firm, TGR Design. Built to showcase the region's natural beauty, the course will include a 19th hole, 'The Rock' that can be used to settle unfinished wagers. According to a written release, the "challenging but player-friendly walkable course will have an unforgettable finish where golfers will actually traverse through a breathtaking natural cavern system to return to the clubhouse after completing the 19th hole."
Stewart was a friend of both Morris and Woods and the winner of 11 PGA TOUR events. To further honor Stewart's legacy, Morris, with the help of Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw, is also creating The Payne Stewart Learning Facility, a practice facility that will contain a tribute museum displaying Stewart's personal trophies, scorecards, apparel, photos and more.
Payne's Valley Course will complement the golf, angling and shooting experiences already available at Big Cedar Lodge, located in Missouri's Ozark Mountains. The new course will be located adjacent to another new 13-hole short course designed by Gary Player (opening in 2017) and Ozarks National, an 18-hole championship course designed by Coore & Crenshaw (opening in 2018).
The courses will join Big Cedar Lodge's existing golf offerings: the nine-hole par-3 course designed by Jack Nicklaus; a 16-hole practice facility by the late Arnold Palmer, a 6,000-square foot Tom Watson "Himalayan" putting complex, and the 18-hole championship golf course, Buffalo Ridge.