Pike Lake Golf Centre offers a scenic and challenging golf experience in Wellington County. This family-owned facility features a 27-hole layout split between two distinct courses: the 18-hole Links Course and the 9-hole Lake Course. The fescue-lined Links Course, which hosted the 2004 Ontario Mid- Amateur Championship winds through mature hardwood forests and environmentally sensitive areas. The Lake Course is a par-36 gem, originally built in 1934 and redesigned by renowned architect Robbie Robinson.

Tangle Creek, opened in 2002 and designed by renowned architect Rene Muylaert, spans over 200 acres of rolling terrain and blends classic and links-style elements, offering a visually stunning and challenging experience for golfers of all skill levels. Generous fescue-lined fairways on the links-style holes blend harmoniously with more traditional parkland holes that utilize dramatic elevation changes amongst forested areas. Wetlands and ponds add even more spice to the mix. Tangle Creek is known for its excellent condition and well manicured greens.

The Lindsay Golf & Country Club is over 100 years old (1909) and the original nine was closer to town. However, there was no room to expand, so the club engaged Graham Cooke to design a new 18-hole course which opened in 2003. Cooke makes the most of a relatively flat piece of land with an intriguing routing around wetlands and a creek, and blends links-style holes with parkland holes for a visually appealing layout. The moderately-sized greens are quite sloped and very fast and missing a green will leave you with a harder than usual up-and-down.

Located in Huntsville, minutes off Highway 60, Huntsville Downs describes itself as Muskoka’s best hidden gem. Designed by John Robinson, the course debuted in 1925. Since then, Huntsville Downs has matured into a 6,521-yard, par 72 championship golf course. Much of the course blends into the Muskoka landscape as rock outcroppings and dense forests are commonplace. With five sets of tee decks, Huntsville Downs provides a fair and friendly challenge for golfers of all skill levels.

Lake St. George is one of those courses that let you relax the minute you turn into the driveway. Tall pines frame the entranceway and project a serene Northern vibe. No signs of the city here. The three nines were designed by a different architect at different times, and each has a distinctive look. The primary course comprises the West (Bob Moote, 2002) and the South (Robbie Robinson, 1972) and tops out around 6,200 yards. The West is tighter and framed by trees while the South is mostly fescue lined and has more dramatic elevation. Both have large, contoured, sloping greens and are a delight to putt.

Muskoka Highlands prides itself on offering a “Wee Touch of Scotland” for those in search of something a little different. Located two kilometres west of Bracebridge on Highway 118, this Scottish links-style golf course is unique to the Muskoka area. Golden fescue grass, well-placed water hazards and deep bunkers make Muskoka Highlands a worthy test for all golfers. Measuring 6,000 yards, the golf course is consistently in good condition and is well known for its large tee decks and deceptively contoured greens. Owners are welcome to bring their dogs, as long as both adhere to proper course etiquette.

One of Tom McBroom’s earliest designs, it defines the themes you see at his other Muskoka projects – lots of exposed rock, dramatic elevation changes and excellent use of ponds and wetlands to guide or amplify the routing which takes you into and out of dense woods where narrow corridors require all the accuracy you can muster. On other holes, the course opens into what at one time was farmland where you skirt water hazards and waste bunkers and rock. Parry Sound tops out at just under 6,000 yards.

Long before the high-profile Muskoka courses started grabbing headlines, a local Bracebridge course featured all of the same grandeur that is emblematic of its better-known neighbours: spectacular granite outcroppings, tall pines, dense forest, dramatic elevation and ball-gobbling wetlands. The first nine opened in 1974 and a second nine was added five years later. Both were designed by Canadian Golf Hall of Famer Robbie Robinson, who used the rugged landscape to shape a scenic and varied challenge over the 6,300-yard layout.

Stephen Young fashioned this pretty layout on 250 acres near Nottawa, using the Niagara Escarpment as a backdrop and the natural wetlands adjacent to Batteaux Creek to craft a very playable routing. There is water on just about every hole here, but the fairways are quite generous, and the greens are large and accessible. The course is quite flat and perfect for walking with no long treks to the next hole and play moves along at a brisk pace.