What You Need To Know: The Oaks Golf Course at Margaritaville Lake Resort, Lake of the Ozarks By Brian Weis

What You Need To Know: The Oaks Golf Course at Margaritaville Lake Resort, Lake of the Ozarks

An Insightful Interview With Paul Leahy, Director Of Golf

By Brian Weis

Whether you have played a course 20+ times a year or looking to play the course for the first time, insights from an insider can help enhance your golf experience. Below is an interview with Paul Leahy who shares some valuable tidbits about the course, memorable holes and must eats and treats at the 19th.

Give Our Readers An Overview of the Golf Course/Property
The course is very scenic as it is carved out of the Ozarks mountains. It is a shot makers course where hitting the long ball is not needed to score well. Small, undulating greens make your approach shots difficult and many uneven lies in the fairways also make it a challenge. Beautiful turf conditions year a round due to our overseeing practices make this a great course to play at any time of year. Beautiful views of the Lake of the Ozarks can be found on the inward nine on holes 13 and 14.

If Someone Was Looking To Golf In The Area, Why Should They Play Your Course?
Exceptional turf conditions year a round and scenic views of the Ozark foothills and the Lake of the Ozarks make this a must play on your visit to the area. You don't have to hit it 300 yards off the tee to enjoy yourself and six sets off tee boxes makes the course playable for everyone.

What Tips or Local Knowledge Would You Provide To Help Them Score Better At Your Course?
Keep the driver in the bag on a lot of holes. Hit the fairway and you will be left with short to mid iron approaches. Miss the fairway and double or worse is in the cards as woods and water dot the landscape outside of the narrow fairways that are carved out of the trees.

Any recent changes to the golf course? Or any upcoming changes?
Over the last several years we have over seeded the course to maintain great turf conditions year a round.

Recent Awards or What You Are Most Proud About The Course?
We have been recognized as the Gateway PGA Section Resort Merchandiser of the Year on several occasions and our golf shop is always well stocked and offer a diverse selection of merchandise.

What Is The Signature, Most Talked About, or Most Photographed Hole?
Our Par 5 ninth hole and our Par 3 14th hole are the most photographed holes. Number 9 is a short Par 5 with the approach shot hitting over a pair of ponds and a water feature. Number 14 is a dramatic Par 3, where the Lake of the Ozarks is the back drop and comes into play if you hit your shot left of the green

What Is Your Favorite Hole? Any Tips to Play It?
My favorite hole is Number 14. This Par three is very beautiful with the Lake of the Ozarks as its backdrop. The only safe place to miss is right of the green and if the pin is the back of the green take one less club as you want to play to the middle of this challenging green.

Must Have Dish or Drink after the round at the 19th Hole?
Margaritas of Course, and Bloody Mary's to start your round.

For the traveling golfer, do you have lodging onsite or partner with any area hotels?
Yes, we have an 800 room Margaritaville Resort 1/2 mile from our course. The resort offers full amenities such as multiple pools with slides for the kids, a marina, Spa, fitness center, Pickle Ball, Indoor water park, Horse back riding, bowling, game room, billiards, a water front restaurant and bar, and several more dinning and beverage outlets. There is something for the whole family here.

Who Holds Course Record and What Was Their Score?
Ron McDougal holds the course record with a score of 65. It was shot during the second round of the 1994 National Club Professional Championship. It was raining that week a lot and it took 3 days to complete the 2nd round when he broke the record.

Back Tee Stats
Par: 71
Yardage: 6461
Slope: 132
Rating: 71.7

More Information
The Oaks Golf Course at Margaritaville Lake Resort, Lake of the Ozarks 1524 State Hwy KK OSAGE BEACH, MO, 65065 573-348-8522

https://www.margaritavilleresortlakeoftheozarks.com/

Revised: 12/19/2024 - Article Viewed 1,709 Times - View Course Profile

About: Brian Weis

Brian Weis is the mastermind behind GolfTrips.com, a vast network of golf travel and directory sites covering everything from the rolling fairways of Wisconsin to the sunbaked desert layouts of Arizona. If there’s a golf destination worth visiting, chances are, Brian has written about it, played it, or at the very least, found a way to justify a "business trip" there.

As a card-carrying member of the Golf Writers Association of America (GWAA), International Network of Golf (ING), Golf Travel Writers of America (GTWA), International Golf Travel Writers Association (IGTWA), and The Society of Hickory Golfers (SoHG), Brian has the credentials to prove that talking about golf is his full-time job. In 2016, his peers even handed him The Shaheen Cup, a prestigious award in golf travel writing—essentially the Masters green jacket for guys who don’t hit the range but still know where the best 19th holes are.

Brian’s love for golf goes way back. As a kid, he competed in junior and high school golf, only to realize that his dreams of a college golf scholarship had about the same odds as a 30-handicap making a hole-in-one. Instead, he took the more practical route—working on the West Bend Country Club grounds crew to fund his University of Wisconsin education. Little did he know that mowing greens and fixing divots would one day lead to a career writing about the best courses on the planet.

In 2004, Brian turned his golf passion into a business, launching GolfWisconsin.com. Three years later, he expanded his vision, and GolfTrips.com was born—a one-stop shop for golf travel junkies looking for their next tee time. Today, his empire spans all 50 states, and 20+ international destinations.

On the course, Brian is a weekend warrior who oscillates between a 5 and 9 handicap, depending on how much he's been traveling (or how generous he’s feeling with his scorecard). His signature move" A high, soft fade that his playing partners affectionately (or not-so-affectionately) call "The Weis Slice." But when he catches one clean, his 300+ yard drives remind everyone that while he may write about golf for a living, he can still send a ball into the next zip code with the best of them.

Whether he’s hunting down the best public courses, digging up hidden gems, or simply outdriving his buddies, Brian Weis is living proof that golf is more than a game—it’s a way of life.