Buffalo Ridge
Tom Fazio's Ozark course at Big Cedar, where a free-roaming herd of bison grazes the prairie beyond the ropes. Springs, tablerock bluffs, and a genuine wildlife encounter — golf unlike anywhere else, and another Internet Invitational stage.
Only at Big Cedar can a wayward drive be watched by a bison. Buffalo Ridge is Tom Fazio’s Ozark course — originally the Branson Creek layout, reborn under Fazio and Johnny Morris with springs, tablerock bluffs, and, grazing the native prairie beyond the fairways, a free-roaming herd of North American buffalo. It’s a genuinely strong championship course wrapped around a genuine wildlife encounter, and one of the three stages for the Internet Invitational. There’s nothing else quite like it.
| Yards | Rating | Slope | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tips | 7,036 | 74.0 | 134 |
| Regular | 6,616 | 72.0 | 132 |
How it plays
Classic Fazio: beautifully framed, fair off the tee, and defended by elevation, water, and exposed Ozark rock. At 7,036 yards and a slope of 134 from the Buffalo tees, it has real teeth — the par-4 2nd is a brute at 471 yards and the honest No. 1 handicap — but the forward sets make it very playable, and the scenery does half the work of keeping you happy. Springs and creeks come into play, the greens run firm and fast, and the back nine tightens the screws just as the bison come back into view.
A wayward drive here can be watched by a bison.
Where it bites
The long par-4s and the water. The 2nd and the 12th (477 yards) demand two serious shots, and the par-5 14th stretches to a muscular 615. Keep it in play, respect the tablerock and the creeks, and don’t let the wildlife distract you from a tricky two-putt. It rewards position over power and patience over heroics.
The pedigree
Buffalo Ridge has been a Missouri leader since Fazio’s reinvention — Golfweek’s #1 you-can-play in the state in 2019, a Top 100 national fixture, and a Golf Digest Greatest Public honoree. It co-hosted the PGA Tour Champions’ Bass Pro Shops Legends of Golf and now takes its turn as an Internet Invitational venue. The 2025 greens renovation only sharpened it.
Plan your visit
It’s at Big Cedar Lodge near Branson, part of the same six-course property as Payne’s Valley and Ozarks National — so it slots perfectly into a two- or three-day Ozark golf trip. Book through the resort, take a forecaddie (the program is standard here), and keep your camera handy for the bison on the opening holes. Rates swing by season; resort guests get the best of them.
Who should play here
Travelers chasing the full Big Cedar experience, Fazio fans, and anyone who thinks a round of golf is improved by a herd of buffalo. Buffalo Ridge isn’t the most avant-garde course on the property — Ozarks National owns that — but it’s a strong, scenic, one-of-a-kind round, and an essential third of the Internet Invitational trio. Play all three and you’ve seen the best of the Ozarks.
Full scorecard — Buffalo Ridge (Springs) (Buffalo tees)
Par 71 · 7,036 yards · 74 rating · 134 slope
| Hole | Par | Yards | Handicap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | 578 | 5 |
| 2 | 4 | 471 | 1 |
| 3 | 4 | 405 | 9 |
| 4 | 3 | 195 | 17 |
| 5 | 4 | 449 | 7 |
| 6 | 4 | 353 | 13 |
| 7 | 3 | 245 | 11 |
| 8 | 5 | 524 | 3 |
| 9 | 3 | 198 | 15 |
| 10 | 4 | 377 | 12 |
| 11 | 3 | 158 | 18 |
| 12 | 4 | 477 | 4 |
| 13 | 4 | 462 | 8 |
| 14 | 5 | 615 | 2 |
| 15 | 4 | 366 | 14 |
| 16 | 4 | 425 | 10 |
| 17 | 3 | 165 | 16 |
| 18 | 5 | 573 | 6 |
| Total | 71 | 7,036 | — |
Hole-by-hole yardages and stroke indexes are illustrative.
Buffalo Ridge, quickly
- Is there really a bison herd at Buffalo Ridge?
- Yes — a free-roaming herd of North American bison grazes the native prairie along the edges of the course, especially near the opening holes, tied to Johnny Morris's adjacent Dogwood Canyon conservation lands. It's the course's signature.
- Who designed Buffalo Ridge?
- Tom Fazio. It opened as Branson Creek around 2000, was acquired by Big Cedar and reworked by Fazio into Buffalo Ridge (reopened 2014), with a further greens renovation in 2025.
- How is Buffalo Ridge ranked?
- Golfweek named it the #1 'Best Course You Can Play' in Missouri in 2019 and ranks it among the Top 100 you-can-play nationally; Golf Digest has placed it on America's 100 Greatest Public list.
- Is Buffalo Ridge part of the Internet Invitational?
- Yes — it's one of the three Big Cedar courses used in the YouTube-golf Internet Invitational, alongside Ozarks National and Payne's Valley.
- How much is a round at Buffalo Ridge?
- Roughly $190 to $375 depending on season and whether you're a resort guest, cart included. It's a premium resort-public rate.
We may earn a commission on the tee-time link above — we only point you where we’d book ourselves. Scorecard figures are illustrative.