Local Guides World
David Parratt
2 reviews on 1 places
Muskoka is known for its expensive, high end golf courses. I recently played 3 of its mid tier options; Muskoka Highlands, North Granite Ridge and Lake St George. They are all good value and kept in very good condition. Of the 3 courses, Muskoka Highlands had the best conditioned tee boxes and sand traps. The greens putted well and were of moderate speed. It is a fun course, offering a lot of open vistas of the surrounding countryside. Many holes are lined with thick fescue, but the fairways are generous enough so that staying out of fescue is usually not a big problem. The grass on a few of the fairways was a bit spotty. The course is par 69 and under 6000 yds from the back tees. If you play from the suggested tee blocks, based on your driving distance, you will have an enjoyable round.
Kudos to the management for making golf more accessible. On my recent round I saw two golfers out with well behaved dogs and a father out with his toddler in a stroller modified to also carry golf clubs.
Kudos to the management for making golf more accessible. On my recent round I saw two golfers out with well behaved dogs and a father out with his toddler in a stroller modified to also carry golf clubs.
There are certainly 5 star aspects to Oak Bay. The conditioning was excellent, apart from the tees. The par 3 7th hole is their signature hole. It is a well designed hole with beautiful views to an inlet from Georgian Bay. What I saw of the clubhouse facilities looked very good. Price was $125 + HST which was fair.
I admit that my opinion of the layout would likely be better if I was a more accomplished golfer. But I feel that being the course that a residential community is built around there are likely a lot of higher handicap golfers attempting to play this course. Be warned. Your golf ego will take a bruising and you will lose a lot of balls.
There are multiple semi blind carries off the tee to tight fairways that seem to slope to unforgiving ‘rough’. By rough I am meaning dense forest and marsh, lined everywhere with poison ivy. The course posts many warnings about the poison ivy, so look for your lost ball at your risk. Pace of play was predictably slow. The front nine on a busy Saturday took 2 hrs and 45 minutes. Pace improved on the back nine.Despite a shorter yardage, this courses has a deservedly high slope. Because of the short yardage the low handicap player may find this course less than satisfying whereas the high handicapper will probably leave frustrated. So I give failing marks to the designer and course developers.
I won’t return until my game improves, which unfortunately I know is not going to happen.
I admit that my opinion of the layout would likely be better if I was a more accomplished golfer. But I feel that being the course that a residential community is built around there are likely a lot of higher handicap golfers attempting to play this course. Be warned. Your golf ego will take a bruising and you will lose a lot of balls.
There are multiple semi blind carries off the tee to tight fairways that seem to slope to unforgiving ‘rough’. By rough I am meaning dense forest and marsh, lined everywhere with poison ivy. The course posts many warnings about the poison ivy, so look for your lost ball at your risk. Pace of play was predictably slow. The front nine on a busy Saturday took 2 hrs and 45 minutes. Pace improved on the back nine.Despite a shorter yardage, this courses has a deservedly high slope. Because of the short yardage the low handicap player may find this course less than satisfying whereas the high handicapper will probably leave frustrated. So I give failing marks to the designer and course developers.
I won’t return until my game improves, which unfortunately I know is not going to happen.