Golf options, features expanding in Ozarks

Some area golf courses have plans to expand their offerings, while others are looking to get back to normal after an extremely harsh winter.

In the Branson area, work continues on John Daly’s Murder Rock, the new course from Branson Development LLC. Construction is complete on the $20 million course, according to Murder Rock General Manager and Director of Golf Chris Meade; the course is now in the “grow-in” phase.

The accompanying 12,000-square-foot clubhouse is scheduled for completion by August, in time for an Oct. 5–6 pro-am tournament to officially open the course. Other facilities also include a driving range, putting green, swimming pool, tennis courts, a fitness center, pro shop and full-service dining facility.

Construction also continues on Payne Stewart Golf Club, HCW Development Co.’s new course within Branson Hills. The 7,400-yard, $22 million course, intended as a tribute to Springfield-born pro golfer Payne Stewart, will open in early 2008, according to HCW President of Marketing G. Kim McDonald.

The facility also will include a swimming pool, tennis courts, a pro shop, full-service dining and the Payne Stewart golf library.

Storm recovery

The Springfield-Greene County Parks Department had to cut down more than 300 trees between its three public golf courses – Bill & Payne Stewart, Horton Smith and Rivercut – as a result of the January ice storms.

Bob Belote, assistant parks director, said now that the process of removing trees and limbs due to safety considerations is complete, the department is now beginning the process of pruning the remaining trees to ensure proper growth.

“We had some old historic trees on courses that defined holes, and where we’ve lost those we’re trying to go back in and redefine those holes,” Belote said. “We want to use more hardy species, more oaks, as we go back in.”

Country club changes

While Springfield municipal courses are getting storm-related facelifts, the area’s private courses – and the country clubs that operate them – also have changes in the works.

Deer Lake Golf Course is expanding, according to owner and General Manager Noel Spering. The course is adding a patio to its pro shop to add outdoor seating for more than 100 people, as well as a new scoring area for tournaments and private outings.

Spering said another 40 residential lots are also being added to the adjacent subdivision, which Spering also owns. The club also redesigned the 16th hole to accommodate those homes.

“We’re making a bunch of improvements to position ourselves to move forward,” Spering said, adding that the course also purchased 70 new golf carts with new global positioning systems. “We’ve been in business here for 16 years, and we want to be around for a long while.”

Twin Oaks Country Club is upgrading its swimming pool and clubhouse as part of its Vision 2008 plan. General Manager Jim Adkins said the new zero-depth-entry pool should be complete by mid-May. The club is also upgrading its dining areas and business center; those renovations should all be complete by the beginning of the 2008 spring season.

Adkins said the changes are a progressive move on the part of the club’s board.

“It’s an attempt to position us to … continue to compete in the Springfield market,” he said. “We recognize that there are other country clubs, but we think we do a lot of things well, and we wanted our facilities to match that.”

Behind the Name

John Daly’s Murder Rock is named after a certain spot on the eastern edge of the Branson Creek property, where an apocryphal story says that Civil War bushwhacker Alfred Bolin and his gang were known to ambush travelers.

Award Winner

While Branson may be closer to getting two new championship-caliber courses – Murder Rock and Payne Stewart Golf Club – Branson Creek Golf Club in Hollister, was named again to two national lists of the best golf courses in the country. The course was No. 60 on Golf Digest’s list of America’s 100 Greatest Public Golf Courses and was No. 74 on Golf Magazine’s list of the Top 100 Courses You Can Play. The eight-year-old course was the highest-ranked Missouri course on both lists.

Tree-planters Wanted

The Springfield-Greene County Parks Department is looking for members of the public willing to help plant new trees in municipal parks and golf courses damaged by the January ice storm. Anyone interested in helping should call the parks department at (417) 864-1049.