Celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, this Tom McBroom design was ranked as Ontario’s best new course in 2005 and has been a perennial inclusion on any Best Value listings since. Five minutes from the Ambassador Bridge to the U.S., there’s a wonderful texture and elegant bunkering on this windswept layout. Stay & play packages are available at Caesars Windsor and the Holiday Inn Ambassador Bridge.

Nestled in the gently rolling landscape of Cambridge, this is a shotmaker’s course, despite it measuring less than 6,300 yards from the tips. Designed by C.E. “Robbie” Robinson, it meanders over mature woodland, natural contours and meandering creeks. The surrounding topography features subtle elevation changes and sweeping views of the countryside. With top-tier conditioning and practice facilities and a welcoming clubhouse, it’s a much-recommended play for fans of classic design. And note that Friday’s $72 fee includes power cart!

One of the strongest values for your golfing dollar in Ontario, Copetown is as famous for its exquisite conditioning (credit huge tees and greens for some of that) as it is for its management (credit GM and marketing genius Barry Forth). Built over a former broccoli farm, this was veteran golf architect Dick Kirkpatrick’s first solo design. It’s a marvellous, gently rolling layout highlighted by fescue, waste bunkers and large water hazards. And its patio for post-round F&B is exceptional. But take note—actually, two notes: Copetown is a cashless facility, and it has no bunker rakes—so play it as it lies or tee it up at your discretion from the sand.

This well-maintained gem is located in the rolling hills of Oxford County, just north of Woodstock. With mature trees framing fairways and nine possible tee deck combinations,  there are lots of options to find your perfect yardage. While there have been subsequent architectural tweaks from Doug Carrick, Mike Weir and Ian Andrew, the original 1959 Robbie Robinson design has stood the test of time. There’s a reason multiple notable tournaments have been held here, including the 2014 Canadian Women’s Amateur.

Turning 100 next year, Erie Shores started celebrating a little early with the grand opening of its new clubhouse on June 21. Its mature, tree-lined routing, with its gentle elevation changes, makes it an easy walk. With Lake Erie in full view at the start and finish of both nines, it’s a scenic walk as well. Although just 6,145 yards from the tips, the proximity to the lake means that wind can be a regular factor.

Dating to 1961, when Jack and Ann Windsor shaped 18 impressive holes out of a dairy farm in the quiet hamlet of Copetown, Flamborough Hills now features three nines. Each has its own unique character and topography, as their names might imply: The Woods, The Hills and The Lakes (the newest of the group). Elevation changes are a defining feature, although The Hills certainly stands out from the other two nines in this respect. Green speeds and conditioning are excellent this year.

About 5 kms north of Highway 401, between Cambridge and London, Innerkip is a warm hug of a course. Measuring 6,432 from the tips, the gently rolling property is easily walked. Trees are more for framing—set well back from landing zones, save for the tight par-5 9th and 15th holes. But this well-maintained design does feature a pair of watery graves: the island green at the par-4 5th; and the par-3 6th and 17th holes, which wrap around opposite sides of a pond and gentle waterfall.

Located in the heart of the picturesque Red Hill Valley and at the foot of the Niagara Escarpment, this is an understandably popular public facility, averaging 42,000 rounds annually over the last five years. Designed by former City of Hamilton Parks Foreman Matt Broman, with input from Chedoke head pro Rod Goodes, the course opened for play in the fall of 1973. It offers some terrific elevated tee shots (the dramatic par-4 11th calls to mind Glen Abbey’s famous 11th hole) and a challenging routing that crosses the Red Hill Creek six times. Its variety of ups and downs will make a power cart a good idea for many at the picturesque course.

Celebrating its 100th anniversary, Kingsville, just a 30-minute drive from Point Pelee National Park, is home to more than 200 species of birds and other wildlife, as well as natural historic elements unique to Essex County. There are three nines to choose from. The White course opens with a series of raised tees and greens, followed by five flat holes, before closing with more great movement at the par-3 9th. The Red course makes for the easiest walk, while the Gold course gets the gold medal as the most visually impressive and elegant of the three nines.

Green fees are only below our $80 ceiling in the shoulder season, but the quality of both 18-hole courses and the depth of the accompanying facilities made it an easy choice for our panel to include both 18-hole layouts at the Audubon-certified Legends. Doug Carrick’s Battlefield Course, one of the two cornerstones of the 1,000-acre Legends property, sits adjacent to the historic plains on which the Battle of Chippewa was fought during the War of 1812. Despite its flat terrain, the course offers piles of visual interest as it weaves through majestic oak woodlands and across gently rolling plains. But it’s the 20-acre lake dividing the 9th and 18th holes that provides the greatest drama. This course played host to the LPGA BMO Canadian Women’s Open in 2004.

Thick stands of deciduous trees, multiple wetland hazards, dense fescue rough and consistently strong conditioning have defined this Tom McBroom design since it officially opened in 2002. The parkland course makes its way along the namesake creek, with narrow fairways carved out of the surrounding forest and smaller greens than Legends’ Battlefield layout. It’s a design that examines your shot-making skills. Need another reason to visit? The TaylorMade Niagara Performance Centre at Legends offers a full-scale club-fitting experience, while the nine-hole Chippawa Course is delightful.

This is only a nine-hole layout. But it’s an iconic nine-hole layout—the oldest golf course on its existing site in North America (est. 1875)—that we simply cannot omit it. Situated on the edge of Old Town Niagara-on-the-Lake, this traditionally immaculately manicured design runs along Lake Ontario, with century-old trees framing fairways and brilliant sunrises and sunsets all adding to the experience. The property dates to the battles of 1812, with Fort Mississauga still standing as a backdrop beyond the first green.

Opened in 2008, this head-turning Dick Kirkpatrick creation is situated in a rural farm community, 20 minutes from Woodstock. Encompassing 300 acres and carved through the wooded valleys of Otter, Cedar and Spittler Creeks, the course meanders cleverly over former farmers’ fields and tobacco lands. It stretches to 7,100 yards, but six sets of tees provide plenty of options. The rustic 5,000 sq. ft. clubhouse and 1,500-square-foot patio offer superb views of the 18th hole, which carves through the wooded creek valley. Note that this is a cashless facility.

Often referred to as the dean of Canadian professional golfers, George Cumming and then golf design partner Melville Miller teamed up in 1929 to craft the first nine holes at Port Colborne. Nearly a century later, six of those original nine remain intact. Just minutes from Lake Erie and renowned for its top-notch conditioning, this is old-school golf, with mature trees defining fairways, and quick, smallish greens demanding precision.  

Canada’s only municipal Donald Ross golf course (est. 1926), Roseland rests in the heart of Windsor. An elegant layout loyal to its original design, its terrain may be flat, but its greens provide elevation and movement. Typical for Ross designs, putting surfaces are generally pitched from back to front, with multiple tiers, but each is distinct from the rest, with the odd false front contributing to the challenge. The depth of well-placed greenside bunkers adds to the defence of par—although our favourite stretch of sand might be the nefarious fairway bunker that dissects virtually the entire fairway at the par-5 2nd hole, 100 yards from the green. There’s an absolute grind to the three finishing holes, while a nine-hole par-3 course offers a more stress-free walk in the park.

Among the top five picks of two of our panel members, 35-year-old Sutton Creek is a parkland layout that plays hard and fast. And if that’s not enough to keep you on your toes, 60 bunkers, seven expansive ponds and the county’s McLean Drain, which winds through the course, all add to the need to be precise. Water embraces the final two greens, including the signature 18th, a reachable par-5 where the putting surface arcs into a pond, with two bunkers also defending par.

There are few comparisons in Canada and nothing like it in Ontario. With its pot bunkers, firm and fast, fescue-lined fairways, and crafty, undulating greens, this creation from English golf architect Martin Hawtree—his only Canadian design—is a throwback to the links found on the Scottish coast, the west of Ireland or the south of England. A short drive southeast of London, it’s an addictive, everchanging, windswept experience. Bring your imagination—and a decent bump-and-run and sand game. Since opening in 2007, Tarandowah has cultivated a great fan base—one that is growing daily.

Listed among GolfPass.com’s Golfers’ Choice top 25 public golf courses and hidden gems in Canada, this member-owned semi-private club hugs its gently rolling countryside atop the Niagara Escarpment in the heart of Niagara’s Benchlands wine region. Twenty Mile Creek lurks like a serpent in the grass as it weaves its way along the course. This photogenic layout has hosted multiple high-calibre tournaments, including the Ontario Senior Men’s and Women’s Championships.

Opened in 1950 and situated above the Niagara Whirlpool and Gorge, this was the final course designed by the legendary Stanley Thompson. Although easily walked, this parkland layout offers great variety to the terrain for a Niagara layout. It’s undergoing a phased reno by Thompson restoration expert Ian Andrew—one that management promises will minimize disruption to play quality and ensure the course remains in excellent condition and open to golfers throughout the project.

The feature photo on the home page of Graham Cooke & Associates’ golf course architectural firm is Willow Valley. That should say something about what Cooke and his lead designer at the time, Darrell Huxham, feel about the Hamilton design, which opened in 2000. Built into the Niagara Escarpment’s undulating terrain, the course offers dramatic elevation changes and sweeping vistas, with the property’s natural beauty accented by gently rolling fescue, dramatic bunkering and sculptured greens.