5 Unusual Attractions Hiding at Top-Ranked Golf Resorts

Five golf resorts recently ranked among the world's best are drawing attention for what sits beyond their courses, from a private museum in the Ozarks to a wildlife reserve in South Africa.

What is at Big Cedar Lodge and Bandon Dunes?

At Big Cedar Lodge in Ridgedale, Missouri, founder Johnny Morris's Ancient Ozarks Natural History Museum displays arrowheads, dinosaur fossils, a war vest that belonged to Sitting Bull and a preserved lock of Abraham Lincoln's hair. On the Oregon coast, Bandon Dunes Golf Resort keeps a stone labyrinth in the woods, copied from one carved into the floor of France's Chartres Cathedral roughly 800 years ago.

How old is the kauri tree at Kauri Cliffs?

A short walking trail through native bush at Kauri Cliffs in Matauri Bay, New Zealand, ends at a kauri tree thought to be 700 to 900 years old, among the oldest kauri standing on private land in the country. The oldest thing on the property isn't the golf course design, it's the tree next to it.

What is inside the lava tubes at Pronghorn?

At Pronghorn Resort in Bend, Oregon, a 45-foot drop near the 8th hole of the Fazio Course opens into tunnels carved by molten rock some 60,000 years ago. Staff lead tours through the tubes, including seasonal sunset outings.

What wildlife can guests see at Sun City?

Sun City Golf Resort in South Africa, home to Gary Player's Lost City course, sits beside Pilanesberg National Park, set inside an extinct volcano's crater. Lions, leopards, elephants, rhinos and buffalo live there, and the resort books dawn, dusk and night drives to see them.

The oldest thing on the property at Kauri Cliffs isn't the golf course design, it's the tree next to it.