MONKEY ISLAND, Okla. – The sign is small and doesn’t stand out among the steel fences and bustling trees that line the side of the road, and its simple nature hardly previews what’s to come.
It reads “Monkey Island,” a dancing ape next to the letters greeting motorists as they whiz by. The road travels a few miles down a peninsula that reaches into Grand Lake o’ the Cherokees in Northeast Oklahoma, a man-made body of water that has since become a summer haven for boating and other water activities. While there won’t be any live primates waiting at the end of the road, there is a hidden gem of resort golf.
At the end is Shangri-La Resort, which features 27 holes of golf, a stellar hotel and amenities for the entire family, from a pool to numerous restaurants and more. Before reaching the resort, The Battlefield par-3 course will catch an eye with its tumultuous terrain, tempting colors and stellar layout.
Opened in 2023, The Battlefield is one of the newest short courses in the U.S., built with golfers of every skill level in mind. The layout can be fun for a novice while challenging for an everyday golfer.
Tom Clark and Kevin Atkinson designed the 80-acre track, which winds players through natural creeks and falls, while exposed rock outcroppings and railroad ties hold the land together.
Aerial view of the island at Shangri-La in Monkey Island, Oklahoma. (Gabe Gudgel/Golfweek)
“It’s a diamond in the rough, man,” Shangri-La director of golf Ryan Snyder said. “It literally is Shangri-La. Shangri-La is an imaginary paradise on earth, and that’s exactly what we have here in Northeast Oklahoma.”
Meanwhile, Shangri-La Resort’s 27 holes sits at No. 3 in Golfweek’s Best 2024 ranking of public-access courses in Oklahoma. The Battlefield debuts at No. 14 on Golfweek’s Best public-access ranking of short, non-traditional or par-3 courses in the U.S.
The Battlefield honors service members
On every tee box stands a black sign with a look into the past. Each has the yardage from the five sets of tees at The Battlefield, but the each sign’s biggest draw is just beneath those numbers.
For all 18 holes, there are names of Oklahoma service members who served in World War II. Along with their names are their hometowns, in which branch they served during the war and their years of birth and death. And a fitting touch is a QR code for golfers to scan and learn more about the heroes for whom the holes are named.
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