WHY PLAY?

WHIRLPOOL

$100

WHY PLAY

Whirlpool Golf Course sits at the top of a wonderful parcel of parkland overlooking the stunning Niagara Whirlpool and Gorge.  The classic parkland course continues to be ranked as one of Canada’s most highly rated and renowned public golf courses.

The Course opened in 1951.  It was designed by legendary golf course architect Stanley Thompson and was the final golf course he completed.

In true Thompson fashion you will find long-sloping fairways countered by strategically placed sand traps.  Elevated tee boxes provide challenges for players of all skill levels.

Whirlpool Golf Course also offers a putting green and practice area for golfers to use.

As recently as 2002 Niagara Whirlpool Golf Course ranked #47 overall in Canada among both private and public courses and also ranked as the #4 golfing value among the same courses. Golf Digest has also rated Niagara Whirlpool Golf Course as a Four Star facility over the last few years.

WHY PLAY?

LEGENDS – BATTLEFIELD

$115

WHY PLAY

WHY PLAY?

LEGENDS – USSHER’S CREEK

$115

WHY PLAY

Any Niagara golf trip would be incomplete without a visit to the excellent Legends complex which boasts 2 Championship Courses and everything you need for a great golf experience. Expect 2 stunning championship courses, amazing staff, top-class practice facilities, a wonderful bar, and Patio which overlooks the 18th.   if thats not enough there is also a nine-hole course and a unique, 3-acre, 18-hole putting course.

Ussher’s Creek gets its name from the creek which runs through the course making pinpoint accuracy an absolute necessity. The scenic layout, which borders the Niagara River, features tree-lined fairways and tall, thick fescue rough. There are also wetland hazards coming into play throughout. Doglegs, well-placed bunkers, and prevailing wind are all challenging elements that come into play but generous fairways add a player-friendly touch to the Usher’s Creek course at Legends on the Niagara.

WHY PLAY?

PENINSULA LAKES

$100

SUMMARY

Peninsula Lakes is one of the premier golf courses in Niagara. The course has 27 Holes and is located at The top of the escarpment in the heart of the Niagara Peninsula. Often referred to as one of the Jewels of Niagara Golf.  Golfers should expect to find impeccably groomed fairways, perfect greens, and sparkling lakes. Peninsula Lakes is a must-play course and is suitable for all skill levels.

This Championship Level Course is consistently ranked as one of the best-conditioned courses anywhere in Ontario. The course was designed by legendary Canadian Architect, Rene Muylaert, and has been carved out of the remains of an old sand and gravel quarry.

WHY PLAY?

TABOO GOLF

$175

SUMMARY

Muskoka’s latest new Golf Gem ‘ Taboo’ is located in the small town of Gravenhurst, The Gateway to Muskoka.  In keeping with the ‘Canadian Shield’ terrain in this part of the world, you can expect to experience a course with unique granite rock formations, wonderful elevation changes, and Towering Treelines.

Taboo is a fun all-round fun experience.  The staff are excellent and the waiting area near the first tee has a fun zone that often has music playing where you can purchase drinks and hit balls onto a cool Island Green before you play the course.  There’s also an excellent Gastro Pub and rooftop terrace to check out after your round.

The Course, which plays to 7340 yards.  was designed by golf course architect Ron Garl.  Garls’s other Canadian projects included the excellent  Wooden Sticks which has replica holes from many of the best courses in the world including St Andrews and Augusta.

Taboo opened to a ton of hype back in 2002, having aligned itself with Canada’s Mike Weir who was about to win The Masters, and own an illustrious Green Jacket. The course was to be the centerpiece of the newly restored Muskoka Sands resort and was marketed as a destination course of the highest caliber just two and a half hours north of Toronto.

Taboo was widely advertised as Weir’s “home course” and while I’d bet that he visited the course less than a handful of times over the years, it proved to be quite the partnership for Taboo, especially when Weir won three times in 2003 and locked up his first and only major to this date in the Master’s Tournament.

Taboo will not disappoint – it is one of the prettiest courses you will ever see.  Garl utilizes the wonder of the Canadian Shield to tremendous effect, routing the course around the myriad granite outcroppings on the property. The effect is stunning, to say the least.

WHY PLAY?

DEERHURST HIGHLANDS

$150

SUMMARY

Deerhurst Golf Couse is located in the heart of Muskoka’s beautiful rustic Highlands.  The course was designed by renowned Golf Architects Thomas McBroom and Bob Cupp and opened for Play in 1990.  The development of the Deerhurst course and its excellent new resort was integral in the future development of Muskoka into one of Canada’s top and most exclusive Golf Destinations.

The Highlands Golf Course sits on a beautiful parcel of land which flows naturally through a rugged yet lush landscape scattered with granite outcroppings, deep valleys, and heavy forests.  There’s lots of drama and fun to be had all over the course with water, deep bunkers, and wild fescue always seemingly in play.  The 10th Holes is a 464 Yard Par 4 from an elevated Tee.  You’ll need to contend with water on the left, a 30 feet rock wall on the right with trees above and rock formations, deep Bunkers, a forced carry and did I mention it’s a dog-leg right.  Get ready for the thrilling ride that is Deerhurst.

Your experience starts with a BANG.  The first hole is one of the most stunning and photographed opening holes in Canadian golf.  Right is dead, left is dead and running through the fairway is dead. You might want to keep the driver in your bag and put the ball in the middle of the fairway with an iron.

Its wonderful vistas and elevated tee decks make for an excellent golf experience.  …both difficult and easy holes make for a great challenge. The fairways are very generous for miss-hits but trouble always lurks in some very deep bunkers. Great food after golf at Antlers steak house make the day even better.

The risk/reward par five 14th, a 523 yarder that’s reachable in two for those willing to clear a large lake fronting the green. Meanwhile, the 15th is an excellent 411-yard par four with a creek that meanders the entire length of the hole, forcing the player to clear it twice before reaching the putting surface. Lots of options on this hole make it one to remember.

So get ready for a variety of tee decks and the wonderful scenery. Watch out for old Tom Mcbroom’s little bumps that will either bounce your shot closer to the target or into the fescue! Miss by a little is good. Miss by a lot and it might end in tears. If you enjoy a challenge with numerous elevation changes and granite and danger never far away, it’s time for Deerhurst.

NOW ON THE TEE FULL REVIEW OF DEERHURST

WHY PLAY

THE MUSKOKA BAY CLUB

$189

COURSE SUMARY

The Hugely Impressive Muskoka Bay Club sits at “The Gateway to the Muskoka Lake District”.  Embedded in the southern tip of the Canadian Shield, Muskoka Bay’s landscape is marked by rugged rock formations, its lakes, and rivers having been carved into the Shield in prehistoric times by retreating glaciers.  Doug Carrick used all of his experience to design a world-class layout that blends a golf course seamlessly into this beautiful piece of land.

The course opened for golf in 2006 to critical acclaim.  The course quickly took its place as the Number 1 Rated Public Golf Course in all of Ontario and the 18th Ranked Course in all of Canada.   Carrick’s creative routing takes the course over rocky cliff tops, through deep wooded valleys, and even around stunning wetlands.  The result is a Masterpiece that has a wonderful flow from the start to the finish of your golf experience.

Golfers can expect some dramatic features such as elevation changes and tree-lined fairways that wind their way around the property.  The views are simply stunning and almost every hole has a view of natural Muskokan rock formations.  If you are lucky enough to golf here in Muskoka in the fall you will have a stunning visual memory that will last a lifetime.

Forced carries are par for the course and inevitable on such undulating terrain.  Carrick however elevated many of the tees to give golfers a clear view of the landing area.  This helped to keep the number of blind shots required to a minimum.

DOUG CARRICK DESIGN ARTICLE 

Amid beautiful, sparkling lakes and breathtaking landscapes lies Carrick Design’s second Muskoka masterpiece – the Muskoka Bay Club. It’s the heart and soul of the area’s largest recreational golf community, an 850-acre development hidden from the hustle and bustle of the city at “The Gateway” to Ontario cottage country.

For this project, we took the most rugged terrain and thoughtfully adapted it to create one of the most visually stunning golf courses to be found anywhere. Our client asked us to leave the less rocky land for the 1,000-unit $500 million eco-friendly master-planned residential community in order to minimize servicing costs. It turned out to be a brilliant strategy, as our design team turned rocky cliffs, deep valleys, scenic wetlands, and dense woodlands into an impressive layout that flows effortlessly through the rugged Muskoka ridges. This is a course that builds with suspense and excitement from start to finish yet it’s designed to be extremely player-friendly when played from the appropriate tees. Finding the perfect routing took time, patience, and creativity from our design team. The dramatic elevation changes, thought-provoking shot values, undulating fairways, ragged bunkers, and subtle greens create a series of uniquely memorable golf holes – each punctuated by Muskoka’s signature natural rock outcroppings – have made it the talk of the town and the place to play in Muskoka.

WHY PLAY?

PREDATOR RIDGE – THE RIDGE

$200

SUMMARY

Doug Carrick and his team built the $10 million Ridge Course, which features eight completely redesigned holes from the old Peregrine course and ten brand new ones. The terrain is absolutely spectacular, with holes climbing up and down the mountainside, rock outcroppings galore and beautiful vistas of surrounding mountains and lakes always a constant.

Opened in 2010, the Ridge Course has quickly become known as one of Canada’s best golf courses. A challenging but playable course taking advantage of the natural topography of the area, the Ridge Course is defined by incredible vistas, long, scenic fairways and beautiful granite rock outcroppings

BEAT THE COURSE TV – PREDATOR RIDGE – WHAT TO EXPECT

Rockstar Golf has Partnered with BEAT THE COURSE GOLF CHANNEL  to bring you the very best Video Blog of many of British Columbia’s amazing golf courses.  If you are looking for some spectacular video and drone footage of Big Sky and what you can expect at Big Sky then check Ben and Brett’s fun Video Log.

NOW ON THE TEE – COURSE REVIEW

The Ridge doesn’t feature a “figure 8” routing, instead of starting and finishing near the clubhouse on very open land in an “out and back” style.

The first hole plays on this links-style land but a very long cart ride awaits in order to get to the second tee and right away you can see the character of the course change, as you move into more of a parkland setting, albeit on a mountainside with rock outcroppings at almost every turn.

The downhill par four second is a beauty and the two-shot third takes you right back uphill. The dogleg right par four 4th is another strong hole, as you get your first glimpse of the lake well down below.

The 244-yard par-three 5th is just a gorgeous piece of business, falling straight downhill the whole way with the mountains and lake providing a memorable backdrop. Things get even more interesting on the 438-yard par-four 6th, as a very large and intimidating rock outcropping obscures the landing area from the tee, making first-time play quite a challenge! I think we sat on that tee for at least a minute before figuring out our line! What a golf hole!

You continue your descent on the par-five 7th, a lovely dogleg left that starts to climb from the landing area all the way to the green.

From there, you must deal with a tough 229-yard par-three before concluding the outgoing nine on the visually stunning par five 9th, a reachable 509 yarder that features rock outcroppings on both sides of the hole.

You begin to climb back up the hillside on the par-four 10th, which again features an outcropping that comes into play just left of the green. The 11th is a lengthy par five that climbs the entire way uphill and features a narrow entry into a well-protected green site.

The 12th is a picturesque mid-length par three measuring 171 yards with a large and undulating putting surface and the 13th is the last par five on the course, a lengthy 562 yarder with a bit of a halfpipe-styled fairway that runs between the outcroppings.

The 14th requires a precise touch both from the tee and green. Not long at only 396 from the tips, the tee shot plays downhill but the second shot is uphill to a partially blind green site, especially if you lay back too far, with a large outcropping on the left side always on your mind on the approach.

The 15th is the last one-shotter on the course, a little 165 yarder with water fronting the left side of the green and an outcropping in the back right that causes trouble for any players that decide to bail out.

The 16th is a bit of an awkward hole, a 336-yard par four that tumbles downhill with a green site hidden behind the treeline and a water hazard on the left. A definite “position-first” hole.

The course moves back to open, links-style land for the last two holes and both are absolute brutes.

The 17th is a 472-yard par-four monster, featuring a diagonal carry across a water hazard with bunkers through the fairway on the right. Meanwhile, the 18th goes back the other way toward the clubhouse and the second shot is a doozy, uphill, over a little creek to a very elevated and expansive putting surface.

Almost all of the Doug Carrick courses I’ve played share similar characteristics and The Ridge Course is no different. You’ll find plenty of elevated tee shots throughout the round, wide playing corridors, more than a fair share of uphill approaches, and large and conservatively contoured putting surfaces. He designs fun golf courses and The Ridge definitely qualifies.

As usual with Carrick, the architecture is strong and he’s done a very good job using the land given to him. The routing is a bit awkward in spots but I’d be hard-pressed to offer an opinion on what he could have done to make it better. The course is very playable for players of all levels and it’s certainly a heck of a lot of fun.

The golf course was pretty much brand new when we first played and I must say that I was extremely impressed with the overall conditioning. You can tell that the resort didn’t rush people onto this course, instead of letting it grow in and settle before having some play. The turf was nice and firm through the greens and the bunker edges didn’t have that brittle look that you sometimes get with newly-designed courses. Bravo!

And I’d be remiss if I didn’t talk about the views, which certainly rank up there with the best our country has to offer. Simply stunning!

Unfortunately, the course really isn’t walkable, with a couple of significant green-to-tee transfers and a lot of downhill/uphill climbs throughout the round but I don’t want that to deter any ardent walkers from experiencing this fine track.

Predator Ridge’s Ridge Course took home some “Best New Canadian” awards upon opening in 2010 and it is considered by many to be among the top 50 courses in the country. It’s a must-play for any visitors to the Okanagan region in British Columbia and I look forward to returning, hopefully, sooner rather than later.

The full Predator Ridge (Ridge) course profile and pictorial can be found here at Now on the Tee