Heading for a 3 day trip in June and will probably play 4 rounds. I have played most the courses up there but has been a while for some, and hear some courses (Deerhurst) arent what they used to be?. Curious people's views and rankings of the top Public courses in the area. Thanks
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Are you including Seguin Valley and the Ridge at Manitou?
If you think it's hard to meet new people, try picking up the wrong golf ball. -
1. Muskoka Bay is far and away the best course ( ainec )
after that there are quite a few that are quite good including
Seguin Valley, Ridge at Manitou, Diamond in the Rough, South Muskoka
next level down
Taboo, Rock, Parry Sound, North Granite Ridge, Deerhurst
"Don't cry because it's over, Smile because it happened "Comment
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Respectfully disagree with Muskoka Bay being far & away the best golf course. In terms of wow factor, then yes for sure!
I play up there a lot and here are a few of my favourites.
Elite Cottage Golf: Taboo, MB, Rocky Crest, Bigwin (Open in the fall)
Sneaky good: The Rock, South Muskoka,Comment
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Rocky Crest is Club Link not public. Very nice course and easily best of the Muskoka CL courses
OP is going in June not Fall . reportedly Bigwin is no longer open to public play (outside their stay and play villas) since the new ownership structure was put in place after the 2020 season.
Bigwin is a beautiful course , great experience with spectacular views and some quality holes but typically average conditioning in the several times I have played it. ( Last was September 2020)
If money isnt a big concern look into their stay and play, it isn't cheap at $3000 a night for 4 people and a minimum 2 night stay ( that includes golf, cart and range but no meals) but if you haven't played it, worth doing once.
if Playing 4 rounds I would say
MBay
Ridge at Manitou
Seguin
Diamond in the Rough ( nine holes so maybe add it as an extra to a day)
, if so
add South Muskoka as your 4th 18 for a great rotation."Don't cry because it's over, Smile because it happened "Comment
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Ridge, Seguin and Diamond are all Parry Sound. Far drives from MBay. Something to keep in mind.Originally posted by Weirfan View PostComment
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4 rounds in 3 days you'll want to keep your courses in tight proximity. Played Deerhurst each of the last two seasons - no issues with conditioning. head there and pair it with Grandview (Clublink vouchers always available) which is literally across the street. then head 20mins south to play MB and Taboo. your foursome won't be disappointed with that foursome.Comment
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Favourite course up there is The Rock...
then Ridge of Manitou, Deerhurst, Seguin Valley.Comment
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Seguin Valley is genuinely awfulComment
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Why do you say? Never played, always wanted to... so legitimately curious. ThanksOriginally posted by drewharvie View Post
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Do we get to know why you think it's awful? Or are you going to leave us hanging?Originally posted by drewharvie View Post
If there was ever a comment to entice people into a potentially heated debate about a course and why their opinions are wrong, this would win the prize.
For reference I won't engage in the debate, you have your opinions. Which I do respect on here. I'm more curious as something that a) has been gaining momentum with the golf raters b) has been shown a lot of love from the golfers in here, is considered absolutely awful by you. Strong words, I'll get my coffee ready.Comment
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Diamond in the ruff is no where near parry sound. It's on the other side of the Muskoka region. Closer to MB and taboo.Originally posted by Sn8989 View PostComment
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About 40 mins yes. Even Ridge at Manitou is a 30 minute drive from Parry Sound.Originally posted by spinaltap View Post
Really Depends on where they choose to stay I suppose.
we have done Mbay on the first day on the way up then its about 1 hour to Parry Sound where we stayed.
wouldn't overlook Parry Sound course as well, its decent."Don't cry because it's over, Smile because it happened "Comment
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Curious as well but if I were to guess ....Drew writes course reviews and has a more discerning eye. The course design itself is not great, and while they have made it much easier than it was when it opened, it is still quite difficult for the average golfer. ( in the beginning it was near impossible)Originally posted by LowStinger View Post
conditions seem to be quite varied from good to bad, but that is not all that uncommon for Muskoka courses."Don't cry because it's over, Smile because it happened "Comment
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Originally posted by LowStinger View PostSeguin Valley feels unfinished and that's because it is. They ran out of money during construction so they just sort of put everything together best they could and said "here."Originally posted by spinaltap View Post
Do we get to know why you think it's awful? Or are you going to leave us hanging?
If there was ever a comment to entice people into a potentially heated debate about a course and why their opinions are wrong, this would win the prize.
For reference I won't engage in the debate, you have your opinions. Which I do respect on here. I'm more curious as something that a) has been gaining momentum with the golf raters b) has been shown a lot of love from the golfers in here, is considered absolutely awful by you. Strong words, I'll get my coffee ready.
I just find the entire property awkward and very shallow in purpose. One is a bad opening tee shot, 3 is a bad tee shot with the rock hiding the hazard from the players line of sight, the routing on the front nine feels forced to get to the 7th (which isn't a good par 3 either, btw. If you have to build a floating tee box on artificial turf to make it work for the front tees, it's a poorly routed golf hole, and the trees on the island are repulsive and take away from the "cool" factor of the hole). I find short 4's that force the golfers hand on how to play them are no different than a long, demanding par 4 that forces you to play one way (boring). Neither are good. Options are the ethos of architecture, and the 11th, 13th, and 15th all provide 0 creativity which make them feel like connector holes. Connector holes are fine, but when it's 33% of your back nine, well...
When they did try and build features, it feels incredibly mailed in, like the three bunkers on 1, the back right bunker on 2, the front bunker on 12 (why did they need that?), the front left bunker on 13 (why did they need that?), etc. I think the green site selection is alright--all on knoll's above the surrounds--but one or two down low would've been good for a bit of variety. I almost wonder if the property is so wet that they had to have every green raised, which makes me question if the site is even suitable for golf in the first place (I don't think it is). I played after quite a bit of rain so I can't comment on conditions. My connect on how wet the property is refers to the swamps and such.
Finally, I felt the greens were "ok," but rarely anything of interest worth talking about happening in the contours, and nothing you couldn't find at 1500 of the 2300 golf courses in Canada. I like 9 & 10 tee shot though. After the tee shot, 10 loses the plot a bit. 14 is decent also. Simple, but not bad.
Out of the 77 top 100's I've played, it is by far the least deserving to be on the list, but I imagine I'll get pushback for this. But again, I'm looking at it much more architecture-y than most, and maybe that's where some won't see eye to eye with me. That's fine! That's the beauty of golf. For me, this is a no bueno golf course. I'd go to Ridge at Manitou, Rocky (not public I guess), Muskoka Bay, Taboo, etc before Seguin.Comment
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