Immense Cart Ride At Tiger Woods Course Seen In Viral Instagram Video

The video takes viewers from the course's bonus 19th hole to the clubhouse - several hundred feet above it

Three images showing the view from the cart trip from the 19th the the clubhouse at Payne's Valley
(Image credit: Instagram/Zire Golf)

Tiger Woods’ first public golf course, Payne’s Valley, has developed a reputation for being out of the ordinary since opening in 2020.

Players taking on the course at Big Cedar Lodge in the spectacular Ozarks will find a lush course brimming with rolling fairways, vast greens and some of the most breathtaking views you’re ever likely to encounter. One of the most incredible aspects, though, is saved until the end - the bonus 19th hole, nicknamed Big Rock at Payne’s Valley, a par-3 202-yard effort that features an island green against a backdrop of waterfalls on the limestone cliff-face.

So, what could be more impressive than that? We may have the answer. Following a player’s round, one potential issue is that, after the final putt drops into the hole on the 19th, the clubhouse stands several hundred feet away – above the green.

The 19th hole at Payne's Valley with the clubhouse above it

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Now, an Instagram video, shared by Zire Golf, shows the immense journey players need to make after completing the 19th to find the sanctuary of the clubhouse, and it’s one for the thrill-seekers.

After hopping in the cart, players embark on a ride that includes driving through foreboding caves with cascading waterfalls, before emerging into a turn that appears perilously close to the mountain’s edge before tackling the “Cliff Hanger Trail,” a narrow bridge over the top of a spectacular (and disconcertingly high) canyon. 

While the journey is not for the fainthearted, the final few seconds of footage show the welcome reward awaiting players  – the incredibly inviting-looking clubhouse with a roaring fire.

Green fees for Payne's Valley and are between $200 and $325 for resort guests, between $215 and $350 for public guests and between between $75 and $85 for juniors (17 and under), depending on the season.

Mike Hall
Writer

Mike has over 25 years of experience in journalism, including writing on a range of sports throughout that time, such as golf, football and cricket. Now a freelance staff writer for Golf Monthly, he is dedicated to covering the game's most newsworthy stories. 


He has written hundreds of articles on the game, from features offering insights into how members of the public can play some of the world's most revered courses, to breaking news stories affecting everything from the PGA Tour and LIV Golf to developmental Tours and the amateur game. 


Mike grew up in East Yorkshire and began his career in journalism in 1997. He then moved to London in 2003 as his career flourished, and nowadays resides in New Brunswick, Canada, where he and his wife raise their young family less than a mile from his local course. 


Kevin Cook’s acclaimed 2007 biography, Tommy’s Honour, about golf’s founding father and son, remains one of his all-time favourite sports books.