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.
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.
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.
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.
Deerhurst Resort, a four-season playground located two hours and two turns north of Toronto dating to 1896, has grown into one of Canada's best golf resorts. Deerhurst draws golfers to its scenic Deerhurst Highlands and Deerhurst Lakeside courses. Other attractions include treetop trekking, mountain biking, horseback riding, paintball and driving a Hummer, a race car or an off-road rock buggy. The Shizen Spa provides stress relief indoors from all that outdoor overexertion.
A five-minute boat ride across the Lake of Bays gets the blood flowing for what lies ahead at Bigwin Island Golf Club on the isolated 700-acre island in Muskoka cottage country two hours north of Toronto. Course designer Doug Carrick transformed an abandoned Stanley Thompson course in 2001 into a stunningly scenic private playground that is only open to the public in spring and fall.