Branson/Tri-Lakes News: Pointe Royale eyes completion of $1.5M improvements

A $1.5 million improvement to the public Pointe Royale Golf Club is nearly complete with new grass growing on the greens, said general manager Terry Dody. The golf course and clubhouse restaurant - closed during the remodel - will reopen in March or April.

All 18 holes were renovated with A1-A4 bent grass greens and zoysia collars, said golf pro Jeff Walster. Sand traps were tweaked with zoysia linings and new sand.

"A complete face lift," Walster said. "It's met our expectations and more."

Pointe Royale, now part of the city of Branson, was built in 1986 as a planned development along Lake Taneycomo by brothers Steve and John Redford. The brothers no longer own an interest in Pointe Royale, Steve Redford said. A property owners' association holds ownership.

Pointe Royale is home to the private residences of several area entertainers, including Andy Williams. The development also has condominiums in a nightly rental program, attracting golf enthusiasts, said Dody, the former Branson city administrator, who took the Pointe Royale post in February.

Computerized chocolate

Since opening at Branson Landing in 2006, Northwoods Candy Emporium has added two stores with another on the way. The Anderson family - led by Dennis Anderson and sons Tyler and Charlie - operates stores in Sioux Falls, S.D., and Bismarck, N.D., while a store in Pigeon Forge, Tenn., is coming soon.

The company recently added computer-designed chocolate decorations using company logos, names or images printed with food coloring.

"Any image from a screen, we can put on a piece of chocolate," said 24-year-old co-owner Tyler Anderson.

He and Charlie, 26, are into graphic design and have created 40 images to use as backgrounds for the personalized designs. Examples are at www.northwoodscandy.com.

The family moved to Branson in 2006, and Tyler admits he eats a fair amount of candy to test the products. "We handpick our favorites," he said.

The more the better

The Branson Area Golf Council has added the newly opened Payne Stewart Golf Club. To build Branson as a golf destination, eight area courses pool funds for www.golfbranson.com, billboards, print ads and a presence at trade shows, said Pointe Royale's Jeff Walster, who helped found the council in 1995. Golfers like to play numerous courses when they visit.

"'Taking a drive' to Branson has a whole new meaning," Walster said. The Payne Stewart Course is now managed by Hilton Hotels, said Hilton Marketing Director Bill Tirone.

Another four diamond hotel

The Hilton Convention Center Hotel recently was awarded Four Diamond status from the American Automobile Association, Hilton's Bill Tirone said. Previously, the only Branson hotel with that distinction was the Chateau on the Lake Resort, Spa and Convention Center.

The Branson Hilton Convention Center also enjoyed recent awards including the Planners' Choice Award from Meeting News magazine and Most Memorable Ad from readers of Trade Show Executive magazine, Tirone said. That print ad features a photo of the modern curved glass exterior juxtaposed with the historic Branson train depot - home to the Branson Scenic Railway. Despite economic challenges, the convention center's 240 event days were above projections. The largest convention hosted 4,000 delegates, Tirone said.

Creative business name no dog

Husband-and-wife entrepreneurs Gailann Hause and Robert Gold Kuhl opened I Let the Dogs Out pet-sitting service last month in Branson.

Hause used to work in a flower shop, and she had a white Great Dane puppy named Angel, who one day while she was at work, "ate the couch," Hause said. Angel, who lived to be seven, was a happy dog despite being deaf and blind in one eye.

The couple serves area residents as well as visitors. The company has a Web site, www.iletthedogsout.com.

Good use for phone books

Myer Hotels recently recycled 1,632 telephone directories from its five Branson hotels, raising $81.60 for Girl Scout Troop No. 244. Nestle Purina PetCare Co. in Springfield pays participating Girl Scout troops a nickel per phone book, according to recycling coordinator Elizabeth Aull.

Purina turns the phone books into pet litter products. More than 66,900 books were collected by participants from the Girl Scouts of the Missouri Heartland, known until Oct. 1 as Girl Scouts of Dogwood Trails Council. Total funds to the troops: $3,345.

Kathryn Buckstaff, membership public relations manager of the Branson/Lakes Area Chamber of Commerce, may be reached at kbuckstaff@bransoncvb.com.

[[In-content Ad]]