The most popular golf hole at Big Cedar Lodge isn’t even among the Missouri resort’s three traditional 18-hole courses or even its two par-3 courses. That distinction goes the 19th hole, a 112-yard bonus hole designed by Bass Pro Shops and Big Cedar founder Johnny Morris at the resort’s newest layout, Payne’s Valley.
Built into a pond beneath a stunning cliff wall featuring waterfalls, the bonus hole until recently had been aced 12 times since its introduction in September of 2020, when the Tiger Woods-designed Payne’s Valley opened with a name in tribute to Ozarks native Payne Stewart. But on August 18, that total was raised by two more holes-in-one in a matter of minutes.
Billye Hollister of Arlington, Virginia, made the first hole-in-one of the pair, and his group went suitably bonkers after his shot from the back tees found the cup toward the front-middle of the island green. The left-hander’s ball touched down just past the stick before one-hopping backward into the hole.
Just minutes later in a different group, Susan Stevens of Augusta, Georgia, jarred her tee shot from the front tee box, the ball bouncing twice before rolling into the cup as gently as a putt.
It’s an amazing setting for a 19th hole, and the resort has made significant upgrades since the par 3 opened two years ago. A bar was recently built near the tee, and a new waterfall feature was added to the cliff wall atop which sits the clubhouse and cabins. Check out the photos below.
Big Cedar is home to three of the top four courses in Missouri, as judged by Golfweek’s Best rating of public-access courses for each state. Ozarks National, designed by Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw, ranks No. 1 on that list, followed by the Tom-Fazio designed Buffalo Ridge at No. 2 and Payne’s Valley at No. 4. The resort also boasts the Top of the Rock and Mountain Top par-3 courses among dozens of other attractions that include everything from fishing to go-cart racing for kids.
