Muskoka Lakes has more top 100 public-access courses than any other golf destination in Canada. Picking the top five places to play here isn't easy, but Jason Scott Deegan has done it.
Golfers playing Oak Bay Golf & C.C in Port Severn, Ontario should be happy about hitting the green on any of the tough -- but gorgeous -- set of par 3s. Architect Shawn Watters transformed this 6,503-yard course into a dramatic test of golf on the southern tip of Muskoka.
Architect Doug Carrick was thrown a curveball while designing the Muskoka Bay Club in Gravenhurst as he was forced to route the golf course through a more rugged, rockier piece of land near the back of the property. Carrick knocked that curve out of the park with a scenic layout that weaves through Muskoka rock without losing much in the way of playability. The result is one of the top courses in Canada.
A major $6-million renovation managed to make The Rock Golf Club more playable, but Nick Faldo's first design in Canada is still one tough nut to crack. The Rock opened in 2004 in Muskoka and immediately went under Faldo's knife again in 2007. Faldo's second effort to get it right covered extensive changes.
Taboo Golf Club delivers all of the beauty of the Muskoka region: The forest, wetlands and, yes, those imposing granite outcroppings. In 2002, architect Ron Garl used the natural topography to sculpt wide rolling fairways for playability. Mother Nature, however, makes sure golfers never get too comfortable. Environmentally sensitive areas litter the 7,340-yard course, creating forced carries from numerous tees and some scary approach shots on tough par 4s.
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