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Course History
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 Long
before Branson became the country music Mecca of the Ozarks, visitors to
the area would come to the Golf Ranch Country Club. Now known as Holiday
Hills Resort and Golf Club, the Golf Ranch was a popular spot for
golfing or just having fun in the rustic clubhouse for people from all
walks of life.
It was in 1938
that golf first came to Branson, Missouri. A well- known Chicago Golf
Professional, Don Gardner and his wife, Jill, moved to Branson and
developed the Golf Ranch Country Club. Prior to moving to Branson, Don
taught golf at the Flossmoor Country Club in Chicago for seventeen
years. For several seasons he was a free-lance golf instructor at the
Rogers Park Driving Range in Chicago where he had the reputation of
giving more golf lessons than any other Golf Pro in the Chicago area.
Jill was a well educated woman. Being the daughter of medical
missionaries, Jill had the advantage of schooling in Europe and then
America. Jill took post-graduate courses in speech at Northwestern and
began teaching. She wrote a book, went on the radio, utilizing her wide
travel experience and gave lectures, utilizing her musical voice. |
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In the winters (off season for
Don) the Gardner's would tour the country filling Jill's lecture
engagements. Always, as they drove through 38 states, they looked for a
spot where they could establish a golf ranch. One year, their tour led
through the Ozarks. They fell in love with the hills and eventually came
back to the "Shepherd of the Hills country" and purchased a wide farm,
lying along highway 80 (now known as E-76) just outside Branson.
Don and Jill's first task was to turn a pasture into a golf course.
The Gardner's did a lot of trading in those days, as did most of the
old-time farmers. When Don wanted to replace the existing wire fence
with log fence, he reportedly put a sign on the neat wire fence saying
he would trade it for an old log fence. Farmers thought he was crazy!
Don and Jill learned a lot about trading those first years. Golf club
memberships sold to local people were largely taken out in trade,
groceries, stock feed, lumber, nails, and just about anything the
Gardner's needed.
Then came World War II! Don, still under 38, was drafted and served as a
member of the Armed Forces for twenty-seven months, spending fifteen
months in the ETO. After the war ended, Don was made a member of the
Golf Team of the Third Army and was able to play many of the best and
most famous golf courses in Europe, England and Scotland, even the
renowned St. Andrew's course. Even during combat days, Don had found
opportunity to see golf courses, collecting souvenirs along the way.
Now, the Gardner's long planned
golf ranch was a reality, with the course stretching to eighteen holes,
a water hazard and sand greens. There were many things that made this
ranch unique. Don reported would hitch an open trailer equipped with
deck chairs to his tractor and haul golf students to the teaching range.
Jill was known for flying up chicken and baking pies for their guests.
 There
were mural masterpieces throughout the dining room depicting the
Gardner's golfing, authoring, lecturing, farming and soldiering. A lot
of the wonderful memorabilia from those days can still be seen at the
new Holiday Hills.
Don and Jill Gardner sold the Golf Ranch in 1964, with Don retaining the
Pro Shop, teaching privileges and golf shows. Many an Ozark vacationer,
who never held a golf club before in his life, has taken a brief course
of lessons and learned to play the Golf Ranch course within a week. Just
mention the word golf around Branson and Don's name is sure to come up.
There was a landing strip at the Golf Ranch, and people came from all
over the United States to take lessons from Don. Many a seasoned golfer
has cured a shank, a hook, or a slice in five minutes with Don Gardner's
expert help. On Tuesdays and Friday evenings Don entertained hundreds of
people with his golf show extravaganza and his "bag of tricks".
Back then, in the early days of golfing in Branson, big stars came to
play at the Golf Ranch. Forrest Tucker of "FTroop" is shown in a four-
some with Don Gardner in 1952. Charlton Heston frequented the Golf Ranch
in 1954. And even today, many of the stars you come to see perform on
stage in Branson, can be seen on the course, maybe playing right next to
you.
Branson's first and oldest course, the Golf Ranch Country Club is now
Branson's newest golf club, Holiday Hills Resort and Golf Club. Holiday
Hills has recently completed a multi-million dollar total re-build.
Their goal was to build a new championship 18-hole course that the vast
majority of golfers would enjoy, while at the same time offering a stiff
challenge for more competitive golfers from the back tees.
What was once a nine-hole course, is now 18-holes with par 68, 5,771
yards with Hybrid Bermuda Fairways and Tees and Bent grass Greens. There
are over 50 large bunkers, and water comes into play on five holes. Each
hole has four sets of tee boxes for each level of play; ladies tees
being the most accessible. The bunkers are very playable; the greens are
large with a lot of undulations. Several greens have a double elevation,
making it very important for golfers to place their ball on the correct
side of the green, or face some difficult putts. Holiday Hills has a
Class A Golf Professional on site that offers lessons and clinics to
teach you how to play golf or just help you improve your game. Branson
has been an area most known for it's variety of music shows, beautiful
lakes, tournament fishing, outlet mall shopping and now, with the
addition of Holiday Hills new course, for it's great golf courses.
Branson is fast becoming a golf destination; between Stone and Taney
counties you will find some of the finest golf facilities in the region
with some of the most beautifully landscaped courses mingled throughout
the Ozark Mountains.
 The
weather in the Branson area brings new scenery to the golf courses each
season. Spring brings the blooms of the dogwood and redbud trees. Summer
boasts the plush greenery covering the Ozark Mountains with various
trees and colorful wildflowers. Trees are ablaze with reds, oranges, and
yellows in the Autumn (my favorite season). And finally Winter offers us
endless views of the Ozarks, as the trees shed their leaves, exposing
yet another world of hidden beauty.
As you are making your vacation plans for Branson,, Missouri, don't
forget your golf clubs. The staff at Holiday Hills invites you to play a
"round" with them. The scenery alone is breathtaking. Your round of
golf at Holiday Hills will promise to be a golfing adventure you won't
forget!
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Holiday Hills Resort and Golf Club
