The First Public Golf Course Tiger Woods Designed Is Surrounded By Waterfalls In Missouri's Ozarks

As if Tiger Woods hasn't accomplished enough in the game of golf, his new ventures in golf course design seem to be just as ambitious as his playing career. On the heels of a career with 82 PGA Tour wins and 15 major championships, Woods is taking everything he's experienced as a player and bringing it to golf courses of his own creation with his small design group, TGR Design. Together, they designed private tracks like Bluejack National in Texas, El Cardonal at Diamante in Mexico, and a unique par-3 experience at Pebble Beach. But before those courses, in Hollister, Missouri, Woods first designed Payne's Valley, a course dedicated to a golf legend on the Big Cedar Lodge property.

The destination feels tailor-made for golf trip excursions in the paradise of the Ozark Mountains. And true to Woods' other amazing designs, Payne's Valley delivers 18 holes of stunning vistas and a 19th hole unlike anything you've ever seen.

From the moment guests pull into the rustic Ozarks luxury of Big Cedar Lodge, you can tell why the resort's branded itself "America's Nature Golf Destination." With a total of six stunning courses on its premises, as well as lodging, dining and transportation for groups of all sizes, there's something for every golfer in the group to enjoy at Big Cedar Lodge. (There's even mini golf for the kids.)

Tiger's Payne's Valley Course is dedicated to the local legend Payne Stewart, a major Missouri-born champion who tragically passed away in 1999. The Payne's Valley track is a friendly, wide track with large fairways and greens on a mountaintop setting in the Ozarks, with an array of pristine water features protecting the course. In an exhibition match that Woods played to open the course in 2020, spectators and guests immediately saw the views from the elevation on full display. The Payne's Valley track at Big Cedar Lodge is jokingly referred to as the "19th wonder of the world" by golfers in the know because, beyond the 18 championship holes, there is an extra special touch at the end of the course that sets it apart from any golf destination in the world.

As you play the 18th hole at Tiger's track, the 19th hole which is known as "The Big Rock" looms. This "bonus" hole is an imaginative par 3 with a largely epic setting, carved out of the limestone sheets that sit everywhere on the property. It's hard not to be distracted by the massive Payne's Valley clubhouse looming overhead as waterfalls crash around you and the 19th hole, but it's time to hit one more golf shot. After all, the 19th hole is the best way to settle any final wagers for the day.

The Big Rock par 3 plays anywhere from a wedge to 202 yards from the furthest tees, and the thinly sliced island green is completely surrounded by water. The 19th hole was actually designed by the founder of Bass Pro Shops and owner of Big Cedar Lodge, Johnny Morris, and now sits as the perfect punctuation to the Tiger Woods design that has become the signature course on the property. After hole 19, the Top of The Rocks clubhouse is your post-round gathering spot to recap a golf day to remember playing Tiger's course in the Missouri Ozarks.