Branson Golf

[JLB Please excuse me, I'm a Dick. Not a moron just a Dick Find all posts View Profile Close JLB]

Johny Morris/Bass Pro/Big Cedar Lodge is buying up real estate, golf courses, marinas, campgrounds, etc. just south of Branson, in Ridgeway, MO, which surely will be renamed Morrisville before too long.

He is building a unbelievable golf mecca, and has been hosting The Legends of Golf Champions Tour Event. That is this week, and kicks off two days of Pro Am tomorrow.

The icing on the cake this year occurred today when Johnny Morris, Tiger Woods, and Tracey Stewart announced the start of construction on a new Payne Stewart tribute course, Payne's Valley.

The Payne Stewart Golf Club opened in 2008 in Branson, and I have been working there since the Grand Opening. Three (?) years ago the owners of that course (the well-to-do Branson developer who built and developed the Grandvista timeshare resorts) dropped their affiliation with the Payne Stewart Family Foundation, and renamed the course Branson Hills Golf Club. Johnny Morris is friends with the head of the foundation, so he has been trying to buy that golf course, and re-instate the Payne Stewart affiliation.

A couple months ago DW and I were out and about down at our Florida home, and a couple ladies I know from another golf course in Branson (Fine Kettle of Fish) saw me and told me that Johnny Morris had bought "my" golf course. No, seriously, they said. This time it's for real. Well, what they heard through the grapevine is what was announced today.

If Johnny Morris can't buy something, he builds it. & he builds it until he likes it. He took 7 years to rebuild Top of the Rock.
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Other Branson stuff this week.

Hank Williams Jr in concert.

Dick Vitale keynote speaker at FCA banquest.

Classic Car Auction

Plus all the normal crap.

[M. Henley Class President Find all posts View Profile Close M. Henley]

And so...
WTF

[JLB Please excuse me, I'm a Dick. Not a moron just a Dick Find all posts View Profile Close JLB]

And so...
WTF

Kinda what a lot of people in Branson think, since Big Cedar and all that stuff considers themselves better than Branson.

[M. Henley Class President Find all posts View Profile Close M. Henley]

Been there, done that, got the t shirt...

[JLB Please excuse me, I'm a Dick. Not a moron just a Dick Find all posts View Profile Close JLB]

I certainly don't desire to defend Branson against anyone's preconceived notions, but today's Branson is a whole lot different than 20 years ago or even 10 years ago.

For instance, most people see it as a place where has-been entertainers go and open a theater. The fact is that no has-been entertainer owns a theater any more. The last one, Mickey Gilley, sold his theater to a Chinese acrobats show not long ago.

Actually, the fact is that although there are still shows, and some decent ones, shows are not the primary feature they once were, and most are more contemporary than they once were. There are just few hanging on to the corny country image that was once prominent, and, actually, those shows still do quite well.

Branson is resurging with a whole bunch of non-show, family-oriented attractions, many focused on youthful outdoor activities. In fact, the past year the shows' association has been quite unhappy that much of the CVB marketing has been targeted at non-show stuff. There's a lot more choices, a lot more pieces of the pie than there used to be.

There's still a lot to be done in the transition.

Visitation reached an all-time record last year, 9 million. All tourism-related stats were at record levels.