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New Course Openings Bring Missouri into Spotlight

By Len Ziehm

Where do you start in describing all the big new things Johnny Morris has in the works for golfers in the Missouri Ozarks?

For starters, how about a prediction?

This area in the Ozark mountains near the entertainment hub of Branson will – in the not very distant future – become the America’s next great golf destination. That’s what Morris, the founder of Bass Pro Shops, wants and there’s no reason he can’t achieve this the latest of his ambitious goals.

Keep your eye on the Missouri Ozarks. That’s where the action is now, and by as soon as 2020 – when the Tiger Woods-designed Payne’s Valley course is up and running at full steam — the established hotspots will have a most worthy challenger.

Top of the Rock Golf Course, Ozark National, Buffalo Ridge, Mountain Top and, coming in 2019, Payne’s Valley are making the Ozarks a destination to rank among the nation’s best. More