Parry Sound G&CC is pure Muskoka

The Discovery Tour is all about finding new places to play. Each week, I’ll play and review a course in Southern Ontario that I’ve never played before and is perhaps a bit under the radar for other golfers too. For the most part, I’m looking for courses where the green fee is modest.

This week’s stop on my new (to me) golf course tour was Parry Sound Golf & Country Club, a stunning northern course courtesy of Tom McBroom (1982). What a beautiful spot!

I’ve been a fan of McBroom’s work in Muskoka since I first saw it and now sorry that I didn’t visit Parry Sound before. The date makes this one of Tom’s earlier designs and it definitely defines the themes that you see at his other Muskoka projects like Deerhurst, Ridge at Manitou and Rocky Crest – lots of exposed rock, dramatic elevation changes and excellent use of ponds and wetlands to guide or amplify the routing.

Parry Sound is in exceptional condition. The greens are the fastest I’ve played yet this year and a somewhat treacherous speed given the slope on certain holes. The routing 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 (sorry, I can’t call them penalty areas) and waste bunkers and rock. There are several blind shots too.

My stated goal when I planned this tour was to play each course around 6,000 yards. That’s plenty of distance for me and most other seniors. It’s also where Parry Sound tops out. Not that it requires any more yardage to be a strong test for most skill levels.

If like me, you enjoy a beverage after your round, the patio overlooking the finishing holes on each nine is a wonderful place to relax and swap lies. You couldn’t ask for a nicer setting.

For more information about Parry Sound G&CC, click HERE.