On Netflix, Lake of the Ozarks became famous to the nation as the hideout for a drug money-laundering operation run by a financial advisor played by Jason Bateman.
What the series didn’t show was that the central Missouri lake is also an affordable golf destination with quality courses and an assortment of lakeside accommodations and restaurants.
Famous designers including Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Robert Trent Jones and the team of Tom Weiskopf and Jay Morrish offer scenic and challenging layouts across the undulating Ozark hills (elevation ranges from about 750 to 1,110 feet) at rates similar or slightly above those at top Triad public courses.
Thanks to the addition and improvement of several roads during the past two decades, the courses are all within 20 minutes of each other surrounding the small municipalities of Lake Ozark, Sunset Beach, Osage Beach and Camdenton.
Though traditionally known for boating, fishing and family vacations, Lake of the Ozarks’ golf reputation has grown significantly over the past few decades.
Starting at the north end of circuit, only a mile or so from Bagnell Dam, where the Osage River is transformed into the lake, Osage National is a broad-shouldered, 27-hole Palmer design with holes that stretch along the river below high limestone bluffs on the other side.
Osage National’s three nines, which go by self-explanatory names River, Links and Mountain offer different looks. The modern design with combinations measuring more than 7,000 yards features big greens and sprawling traps with several small lakes providing other hazards.
At the south end, Old Kinderhook stretches along the hills outside Camdenton. Regarded by many as the Lake’s top public option, the par-71 Weiskopf-Morrish collaboration measures more than 6,700 yards from the tips.
The nicely sculpted fairways, bunkers and large greens require an assortment of shots with the Lake coming into play on a few holes. A few waterfalls add to the experience. Like Osage National, Old Kinderhook has a memorable, short par-4 drivable for many players willing to challenge sand and water.
Osage National has villas with stay-and-play packages. Old Kinderhook offers packages with a lodge, villas and cottages. Both have dining facilities.
The Lake’s two major resorts, Margaritaville Lake Resort at Lake of the Ozarks and Lodge of the Four Seasons, also offer golf options. Both have an assortment of lodging and dining choices as well as amenities including pools, racquet sports and marinas.
The Oaks, located a mile or so outside the Margaritaville gates, features undulating, tree-lined fairways with the Lake coming into play, most spectacularly on the par-3 14th, where the green sits just above a cove.
Bruce Devlin and Robert Von Hagge designed the course, which has more than 60 bunkers. Accurate shot making is more important distance on the par-71 course measuring just over 6,400 yards, though elevations changes make the layout seem longer.
The Lodge has two courses. Though conditioning has been widelycriticized in recent years, new owners in 2025 brought new investment and Troon management, leading to optimism of improvement.
The first Lodge course, The Cove, was the Lake’s original destination layout featuring a 200-yard-plus par-3, No. 13, over a small Lake cove. The par-71 Trent Jones design measures almost 6,600 yards with more than 70 bunkers and forest as obstacles.
The Ridge, designed by Ken Kavanaugh, features three holes with views of the nearby Lake. Stretching to more than 6,400 yards, the layout covers mostly hilly terrain.
Members of Kemper Sports clubs should take advantage and play The Club at Porto Cima, a private Nicklaus design with seven holes along the Lake, including No. 15, a 546-yard par-5 on a peninsula with the Lake surrounding a perched green.
Other courses include Lake Valley, a somewhat open course offering six par-3s and six relatively short par-5s and Bermuda (unusual in Missouri) fairways, near Old Kinderhook. A solid, convenient choice is Bear Creek Valley in the center of the region in Osage Beach.
Though the population of Miller and Camden, the Lake’s primary two counties, is only about 60,000, the area has a selection of popular restaurant and hotel chains, supermarkets and national retailers, in addition to many local businesses.
Traffic can be heavy during the summer boating season. Though constructed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, most of the shoreline is privately owned.
The Lake is about two hours from St. Louis and Kansas City via I-70 and U.S. 54. Air service is also available to Columbia (one hour away) through American Airlines and United Airlines.