Monday, July 18, 2016

Airline Service Launched to Branson-Area Golf Destination; Big Cedar No. 1 in “World’s Best”

(BRANSON/LAKES AREA, MISSOURI) – Branson is convenient to two-thirds of the country’s population by car, but those who prefer flying can now reach the rising-star golf destination by newly launched airline service at Branson Airport (BKG).

“This is great news for golf travelers who wish to play at our award-winning courses and enjoy our many off-course leisure choices,” says Branson/Lakes Area CVB Director of Communications Lynn Berry. “Our golf destination has never been more popular than ever, and with two new courses under construction we’re growing in quantity and quality.”

Elite Airways began daily non-stop service July 15 from Branson to Denver (DEN) and Houston (IAH) with connections to over 100 markets nationwide tomorrow. The Branson Airport, Elite Airways and Great Lakes Airlines have teamed up to launch this new program.

Customers can book non-stop flights between Branson and Denver or Houston at EliteAirways.com, or connecting ones through those cities. The full range of flight options is also available on your favorite travel websites such as United.com, Expedia, Travelocity, or Orbitz. The new Elite Airways’ service will deliver more than 100 connections to major U.S. cities with multiple flight options. Flights are available now at FlyBranson.com.

Elite Airways and Great Lakes Airlines have entered into a codeshare agreement permitting the use of interline e-ticket and baggage agreements with legacy airlines including United Airlines, American Airlines and Delta Airlines making the connections seamless for the customer. This arrangement will enable customers to purchase a single ticket from over 100 cities to Branson on United.com or on their favorite on-line travel website such as Expedia, Travelocity or Orbitz. For details visit FlyBranson.com.  

Big Cedar Lodge Ranked No. 1
The Branson area golf destination has something for virtually everyone -- short courses (Don Gardner and Holiday Hills), championship courses (Branson Hills), new courses (Top of the Rock), popular courses (LedgeStone and Pointe Royale), courses with no surrounding development (Buffalo Ridge Springs) and courses in the heart of Branson (Thousand Hills). It can now offer a new distinction to discerning players – courses that are amenities of the top-rated resort hotel in the Midwest, as determined by Travel + Leisure magazine readers.

More than 200,000 survey respondents weighed in and thrust Big Cedar Lodge to the top spot of the travel publication’s “World’s Best Awards” issue (August 2016).

“We have hotels, motels, condos, timeshare units, villas, cabins and resorts in our beautiful Ozark Mountain oasis,” says Branson/Lakes Area CVB’s Lynn Berry. “But Big Cedar Lodge is an eclectic, one-of-a-kind place – from its family friendly marina, world-class destination spa and new shooting sports outpost to its restaurants, the newly reopened Dogwood Canyon Nature Park and two golf courses that host the Legends of Golf PGA TOUR Champions event each spring.  Visit Big Cedar Lodge and you’ll see why Travel + Leisure readers bestowed this wonderful honor on it.”

In addition to existing Big Cedar Lodge golf courses – Top of the Rock and Buffalo Ridge Springs – two more courses are being built, a 12-hole, family-friendly course designed by World Golf Hall of Fame member Gary Player and an 18-hole course by Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw.  The courses Coore and Crenshaw have designed read like an “America’s Best Courses” list: Bandon Preserve, Streamsong Resort, Barton Creek, Bandon Trails, Kapalua’s Plantation Course and many more.

The golf destination is home to several esteemed courses with two more currently under construction. Existing courses include the following.
· Pointe Royale Golf Village, www.pointeroyalegolf.net, 417.334.4477
· Thousand Hills Golf Resort, www.thousandhills.com, 800.487.0769, 417.334.4553
· LedgeStone Country Club at StoneBridge Village, www.ledgestonegolf.com, 417.335.8187
· Top of the Rock Golf Course, http://www.topoftherock.com/Page/Golf.aspx, 417.339.5343
· Branson Hills Golf Club, www.bransonhillsgolfclub.com, 417.337.2963
· Holiday Hills Resort and Golf Club, www.holidayhills.com, 417.334.4838
· Don Gardner Golf Course, http://www.bransonparksandrecreation.com, 417.337.8510
· Buffalo Ridge Springs Golf Course, http://www.topoftherock.com/buffalo-ridge-golf-course/,  417.339.5430

For more information about Branson/Lakes Area Golf, visit www.facebook.com/BransonGolf or www.explorebranson.com/golf.

No comments: