Payne's Valley Golf Course, Hollister MO

A fantastic golf experience. Great course, incredible scenic views, and the highest quality of service. We especially appreciated tips for assist pro Steven Shumate.

Simply amazing course. Love how it sets up. You won't lose too many balls with the wide fairways but the strategically placed bunkers will keep you honest. Not crazy long if you play from the tees that match your skill. Greens roll true and reward good pace. Staff is extremely pleasant. This should be on every golfers list. Hope they'll have me back next year.

A great golf course ruined by pace of play, primarily by cart-path-only restriction. In my opinion, restriction TOTALLY unnecessary.no empathy by the pro shop; 5hrs 45 minutes no way to play golf.

More pros than cons. Played the couple par 3's and Buff, Payne, and Ozark.
Pros:
Service was excellent across the facilities and restaurants. We stayed a bit further away near camp long creek. I'd recommend staying closer. The fore caddy (Shane) we had was experienced, had a good attitude, and had a separate cart to get around to all four of us. These are not walking courses for the most part.
Courses were all in pretty solid shape. If I had to rank them in order of how much I enjoyed them. Ozark>Buff>Paynes in that order. Paynes was 'neat' and maybe slightly gimmicky.as the 19th hole was cool, the drive up, wide fairways, etc.but nothing too special. After the construction, I could see me liking Paynes more but it still may not change the order for me. Ozark and Buff were more 'traditional' courses but they felt more carved into nature instead of plowing it to carve what you want.
Branson is generally a nice area. Bag pipes at sun down at one of the restaurants with a cannon going off. Nice area to walk around if you have the time.

Cons:
There is a lot of construction going on at Paynes, and while that happens.they don't mention it anywhere on the website, when you call, or (not expected) offer a small discount. They are making a really cool par 3 course on the side of the hill that will be complete in 2025 (?). Paynes is around twice the cost as Ozark/Buff.
The par 3 course prices don't make sense. The Top of the Rock is only 9 holes and was around $135. Mountain Top is 13 holes and $80. I guess the extra $55 was for carts.but $110 between 2 players to use a cart is steep.especially for 4 less holes and only 9 holes. Also, 4 years ago, there was a sinkhole that sunk the practice area at Top of the Rock, so no putting/chipping/short wedges before you're off playing 9 holes for $135.4 years is awhile ago. To not have a small chipping/putting area and maybe a couple nets and turf area set up after 4 years is.odd. Again.no mention of this on the website or prior to showing up to the course. We showed up 40 mins before our tee time after getting off the plane to try to have some time to loosen up and.were told when we showed up.

That is probably the biggest con.anything that is negative or would turn people away.all the construction on the more expensive paynes course or the lack of practice area at an expensive par 3 course was not mentioned any time we called or more specifically, on the website. If a hotel has a bunch of construction going on, they typically have it listed on their website. You're out in nature and there is large heavy machinery making a lot noise on several holes you paid $350 to play at when you were hoping to hear the sound of golf + nature.and maybe your buddy swearing after shanking it into the woods.

CART BARN THEFT

Stayed on propert came down from Scottsdale, AZ to play with my cousin and his wife. We had a Bose speaker in the case in our cart that we left behind.

We called security, went to the barn and club house nothing was turned in.

I did file a local police report and will be doing what I can to hold to account whoever in the barn walked with it.

This course is gorgeous and plays amazing. But should be a place that upholds the value of doing the right thing. Due to that - I’m giving it a 1-star as honesty trumps everything.

Amazingly beautiful golf course. Very fun track with breathtaking views. If you're a golfer, you definitely need to play here.

Big Cedar golf should be on your bucket list of golf destinations. Payne's Valley is player friendly, conditions were great. Outstanding views. Everything was fantastic. Expensive but I don't feel cheated. Service was great. Snack bar was a bonus. Stayed for dinner and the experience just kept getting better!

Amazing golf course, will return soon.

Edit: after coming back, Giving a five star due to the incredible conditions at this course. Otherwise, if you are stuck behind a group with a big cedar caddy, you can expect to play a 6 1/2 hour round without playing through.the caddies do a very bad job of setting the pace for their group, and absolutely clogging the tee sheet up, making the pace of play so incredibly slow. Otherwise, the course is absolutely immaculate and stunning and definitely worth visiting. Big Ceder is by far the most impressive and elite golf properties around so it’s definitely worth a visit. Just don’t book to play 36 in a day because it won’t happen with the pace of play. Missed multiple tee times following a morning round due to course pace Manegment.

Golf at its finest. Enjoyed the course, the bison dog, and the snickers ice cream bar. Missed the hole in one on 19. Maybe next time!

Was a very fun course. Food was good minus the free hot dog you get at the turn between 9-10. People are nice. Hospitality is a little off. Not as welcoming as you would think for 450 dollars a round. Would like to have seen like a swag bag or something. This is a course for the rich and it show. Everything is so over priced. Remember folks just cause people have money doesn't mean they are smart. I would say a good experience all in all. But I have played better for the money it's worth it once to say you did.

Absolutely beautiful course! A lot of amenities that you may not know unless you ask. Took about 5 hours. Got a little pressured after starting the back 9 by marshals. We were keeping pace but also taking pictures and videos. At a place like this you want to enjoy the course in all aspects. Especially with paying the amount of money you do. It’s worth spending the money to play it one time but idk if I’ll play Payne’s again. It’s pretty steep in price. If they cut it down to $300, it would be more reasonable. We had a lunch as well, it honestly had no flavor. My food or my wife’s. Very disappointed when paying nearly $100. But overall, I give it a 8 out of 10.

On a whim, my husband and I made the drive from Pinehurst, NC to Big Cedar Lodge to play golf for a few days. Day 1: Payne's Valley - we were paired with KYLE and had a great experience. The course is very "fair" and getable for women who can golf their ball. Both of the guys liked it as well. The only negative is when we got to the 19th hole, the ladies at the bar never bothered to come out to the tee box to give us directions or take our picture (like they did on day 4). Day 2: Ozarks National - I didn't like the course because of all the blind shots. My husband played well so he thought it was great. I should mention greens were fantastic - really fast! Day 3: Buffalo Ridge - overall, just a great course! Challenging with fast greens. We both thoroughly enjoyed it. Day 4: Back to Payne's Valley... Congratulations Tiger Woods! This is just a fantastic course for any level of play. The best part of our entire experience at Mountain Top was the staff, particularly Sheila H. We had such a great time and will definitely be back soon!

Stunning, breath taking course! The ride to the 19th hole is unreal! Wyatt and Brooke at the Pro Shop are absolutely stellar. We had an unfortunate issue and they went above and beyond to help us and priovided above 5 star customer service! Thanks to Wyatt's quick thinking and recalection we were able to get our stuff back. Brooke I just can't find the words to explain how knowledgeable and helpful she was to us just stunning, stellar, amazing! Dennis, at the clubhouse and putting green was amazing and so nice! Thank you for making our stay so over the moon amazing!