Ozarks National Golf Course — Local services in Hollister

Ozarks National definitely follows the tradition of Big Cedar being an Amazing Golf destination. It shares the practice facilities with Payne's Valley, which are amazing. I particularly love the short game area. Let's face it we all need practice in that area.

I would definitely consider this course more of a players course. As far as difficulty, I would rate this pretty close to Buffalo Ridge and definitely harder than Payne's. Ironically, of all three, I shot the best here. Playing the course for the first time is different. There are several blind shots where you think you are taking a good line and could end up in trouble. Knowing the fairway slopes on this course is highly recommended. If you are playing the course for the first time, and have the means to do so, I highly recommend taking a caddie. At the very least I would watch some of the numerous videos on YouTube to learn some of the holes.

The fairways and greens were amazing. Landscaping is second to none as are all the courses at Big Cedar, with not one weed or piece of crap grass to be found. Zoysia fairways are amazing and really promote good ball striking if you hit them. There were some spots where rough was truly penalizing. Ozarks brings more fescue into play than the other courses and as with the others fairway bunkers can definitely be in play. Green speeds were in between Payne's, being the slowest, and Buffalo Ridge being the quickest. I will say one thing, you do not want to be long on a majority of the greens. Most of them did not have a lot of room if you were long. Greens were receptive but not as much as Payne's. The ball rolled true on puts and if you put a good stroke on it, it held its line. What it lacks in water features it makes up for in bunkering. As with all the courses the sand was perfect and it was not too difficult to play out of as long as you were far enough back to clear some of the lips.

The course has amazing views. Nothing like Payne's but amazing none the less. The staff was extremely professional and personable. The facilities were excellent and everything was pristine. One of our favorites after the round was sitting in the rocking chairs on the patio bar and watching golfers come into 18. The clubhouse was the only property to offer the Big Cedar Golf leather head covers. They had all the courses embroidered on it including the Big Cedar logo. My buddies gave me a black one to use for play and for organizing the trip, and I bought a white one for display in my office.

We will...

BIG Cedar Golf is heaven on earth. Every golfers dreams come true at this property. I got there early to take pictures and soak it all in. From the main pro shop you can see all the courses to get some great pictures. Range balls and practice area is available before the round if needed. Starter was late so I took off and he caught up with me finishing hole 1. The course was beautiful. The course was in perfect shape. The views are to die for. 10/10 would golf here in a heartbeat. I am actually coming back to play Payne's Valley upon opening. My only frustration with the round came with the grounds crew. Holes 2-5 I had to wait for the gentleman to mow the greens. Then, I battle a young man blowing off the greens with a blower. It almost felt like they were working along beside me as I were playing the round or racing to beat me to the next green/hole. There was 3 shots I remember distinctly were there was an employee standing directly between me and the hole. They would wave me on and not step out of the way. Basically resulting in my three worst shots of the day because I'm more worried about hitting the guys. The guys in the pro shop stated there would be maintenance on the course but 80 percent of my round had some sort of distraction that took away a little magic from the overall round. I wouldn't recommend a 7 am tee time unless you like gators, lawn equipment, and maintenance crew rolling through during every hole. Lack of food thanks to Rona. I would recommend playing any of Big Cedar courses. I may be ranting a little to much about maintenance but it was $150 round so IDK. A beautiful course needs upkeep, I'll get over it....

Let me first state that I loved, loved, loved the golf course and its condition - I've never seen firmer and faster greens anywhere in Missouri. Even with zoysia starting to go dormant, the mowed areas were in very good condition as well. The routing is delightful and I think without question this is the best public golf course in Missouri.

The only issue I had is with management, but it was a pretty big one. I played as a single wedged between two sets of foursomes a half an hour apart on the tee sheet, so I decided to take my time and ensure that I stayed far enough from both groups to avoid either waiting or holding anyone up. I had no issues doing so - the group behind me was only ever on the same hole as I was on a par five when they teed of as I was putting, the hole immediately after I spent a long time looking for a ball - but was nonetheless approached by a "player's assistant" while standing on the twelfth tee who indicated that "the main office" had instructed him to speed up my play. At the time, my cart told me I was a whopping 3 minutes behind pace. As a single who was not causing any problems and was capable of playing much faster if I saw the group behind me getting close, I was frankly insulted to have my pace of play micromanaged to that level. I'll also note that despite the fact that I did not speed up my pace at all out of spite after his visit, I nonetheless finished in over ten minutes under the "recommended" pace of 4½ hours. That visit's only outcome was to make me angry and thus sour what was otherwise...