Clinton McKee worked his way up to head equipment manager at Big Cedar Lodge in Ridgedale, Mo. Photo by Chris Dillon
Clinton McKee, CTEM, admits to being a hands-on kind of guy. This, however, was on another level.
Picture McKee — head equipment manager at Big Cedar Lodge in Ridgedale, Mo. — soaring near the top level in what can be considered an extreme challenge at Cliffhangers Golf Course. The new 18-hole par-3 course was created by Bass Pro Shops’ leader and 2023 GCSAA Old Tom Morris Award recipient Johnny Morris, and Morris’ son John Paul. Cliffhangers dangles on a steep hillside adjacent to the Payne’s Valley Course completed by Tiger Woods and his TGR Design firm.
Cliffhangers features dramatic elevation changes and breathtaking views and is carved into the region’s iconic limestone cliffs and flowing creeks.
During construction, facilities technician Josh Brantner and McKee were getting after it on high at Cliffhangers.
“I was in a harness, hanging off the side of extreme cliffsides, welding and fabricating fall protection by my own design,” McKee says. “The Cliffhangers project was one for the books.”
Or more like another chapter in McKee’s industry rise.
A seven-year GCSAA member, McKee is from Clearwater, Kan., who moved across the border to Missouri and was raised in Aurora, Mo., 45 minutes east of Joplin. McKee proved to be athletic. The 6-foot-2 forward scored 28 points in a high school basketball game and had designs on being a police officer. His father, David, talked him out of it. It wasn’t the only cue McKee took from his dad, who worked in and with engineering, creating pumps and blowers. The father taught the son a thing or two about building and assembling.
“I remember growing up and fixing my dirt bike, and I put in the transmission in my dad’s 1983 Jeep Scrambler. I was 12,” McKee says. “I was really good with my hands. I wanted to work with my hands and wanted it to be technical.”
McKee enrolled in a school for HVAC and refrigeration before an uncle introduced him to a career in wind turbines. McKee pursued. For 14 years, he traveled throughout the U.S. and built wind farms. It had perks. “Really good money,” McKee says.
McKee has built a career and a family in southwest Missouri. Here he is with his wife, Alyssa; daughter, Paisley; and son, Brody. Photo courtesy of the McKee family
Ultimately, big bucks didn’t match his goals. “It was a single man’s life — very demanding, long hours,” he says. “I decided to slow down, start a family.”
Mission accomplished. He searched for a new job. McKee inquired at Big Cedar Lodge, which has six golf courses contained in its enormous footprint in the Ozark Mountains. McKee accepted an offer to work at Top of the Rock Golf Course and was mowing greens and weedeating. He also settled down. McKee married Alyssa, and now they’re parents to son Brody and daughter Paisley. Still, he entered uncertain that this was the right line of work for him at Big Cedar Lodge. “To be honest, it was a job until I found a real job,” he says.
Soon enough, it got real — even spectacular. “A couple months in, I realized I could do anything with my hands,” McKee says. He added tasks such as becoming an irrigation tech for a year. He transitioned to equipment. McKee got the hang of it with reels and was intrigued with quality of cut and the after-cut with mowers.
He was moved from Top of the Rock to Buffalo Ridge Course. During his time at Big Cedar Lodge, McKee gained experience on the equipment side of growing-in courses and was there during builds at Ozark National Golf Course, Payne’s Valley and, of course, Cliffhangers. He was more than moving on. He was moving up, too. Four years ago, McKee was named head equipment manager for all courses. “The pay, the responsibility, the challenge … I was feeling proud. And I was kind of surprised to what this job here had turned into. It turned into a career,” he says.
Jeff Steen, CGCS, saw it coming. “I think I’m a pretty good judge of character for telling right away, and I saw him as a man of integrity. He leads by example and gobbled up the culture with his hands,” says Steen, VP of golf at Big Cedar Lodge and a 25-year GCSAA member. “If you want someone in the trenches with you, Clint McKee’s the guy. He represents us well.”
In 2024, McKee was recognized by Big Cedar Lodge as Manager of the Year. Morris was among those who let McKee know what people think about him. “He sent me to the Masters. I was shocked,” McKee says. “I think it was an attaboy for getting my CTEM and seeing that through.”
McKee is the only CTEM in Missouri. “It was another milestone,” he says. “It puts me at the top of my game with others in the nation.”
McKee has served on both the GCSAA’s Equipment Managers Task Group and North Arkansas Community College’s curriculum committee and brings students to Big Cedar for a grinding presentation. He is serious about what he does.
“I hope to draw more interest for future equipment managers. It’s a skill you have to pass on, or this thing is going to die. That’s how I feel about it,” he says.
Brandon LaPlante is in his fourth year as an equipment manager at Big Cedar Lodge who appreciates McKee’s leadership ways. “He knows a lot of things. He knows his staff. He wants us to figure things out on our own,” LaPlante says, “but if you’re kind of stumped on something, he knows how to get you there.”
Big Cedar Lodge is all in on cutting edge. McKee is part of the driving force. Among it is touchstone GPS in its carts. Four years ago, Big Cedar was the first resort to have all its courses (five at the time) designated Audubon International Sanctuary facilities. As for hanging onto cliffs, McKee plans on hanging around Big Cedar Lodge for a while. “I really enjoy passing on knowledge,” McKee says, “seeing people blossom, teach them the details, make it their own art, take it to another level.”
Howard Richman is GCM's associate editor