Branson Area Golf Courses Open and Virtually Unscathed by Storm

Branson Area Golf (BAG) courses were spared virtually any damage during the tornado that came through Branson last week. The area's courses include three of the top five "Best Courses You Can Play" in Missouri, as rated by Golfweek magazine.

The vast majority of off-course Branson attractions are open, and the ones damaged by the storm are on their way to full recovery. With more than 22,000 lodging and hotel rooms, Branson matches every style and budget, and there are many golf stay-and-play packages available. To keep up with the latest golf news visit www.facebook.com/BransonGolf

Branson area courses include these public access facilities: Thousand Hills Golf Resort, Murder Rock Golf Club, Payne Stewart Golf Club, LedgeStone Country Club, Branson Creek Golf Club, Holiday Hills Resort and Golf Club, Top of the Rock Golf Course, and Pointe Royale Resort & Golf Course.

Branson Area Golf Courses Nearly Sweep Best-In-State Honors by Golfweek magazine

Golfweek magazine's "2012 America's Best Courses You Can Play" by state was released digitally yesterday, and three Branson courses made the best-of list, including three of the top four: Payne Stewart (No. 1), Branson Creek (No. 3) and LedgeStone (No. 4) garnered top marks from Golfweek raters.

Golfweek's rankings take into account overall strength of routing, feature shaping, natural setting, greens, variety and memorability of holes, conditioning, maintenance, landscape management and other criteria. Golfweek sends approximately 400 "America's Best" raters in search of the country's finest golf courses. Those raters submit ballots grading on a 10-point scale and the scores for each course are averaged to get the overall rating.

"These 'best-of' honors highlight a few of the options and values available in Branson, some of the many very fine courses available to visitors," says Ross Summers, President/CEO of Branson/Lakes Area Chamber of Commerce and CVB.

In addition to its inspiring, beautiful course design, Payne Stewart includes a museum-like clubhouse with trophies, pictures and other memorabilia from the former U.S. Open champion, who grew up in nearby Springfield, Mo.

LedgeStone offers players a remarkable Ozark Mountain golf experience, with memorable risk-reward holes, dramatic vistas, and the service level of a private country club. In addition, LedgeStone's pro shop has received numerous awards for merchandising.

Branson Creek is carved out of rolling terrain that is as pristine as it is engaging. Designed by Tom Fazio, the course is brawny and scenic, with multiple sets of tees that allow all level of player to enjoy their game.