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Sweet and Lowdown
Southwestern Ontario There are more lauded courses in the GTA than you can swing a nine-iron at, but head south and you’ll find quieter greens and great deals. London’s Forest City National Golf Course is an affordable public track that’s tough enough to host professional events. (Beware the deviously placed sand traps and hazards, like the arroyo-sand-trap combo surrounding the 17th green.) A few other spots to swing by include the rolling John F. Robinson design at Ironwood Golf Club in Exeter and the well-groomed semi-private track at Ingersoll Golf & Country Club. Another favourite is the reworked Innerkip Highlands course, with its daunting island green.
Quebec With its deceptively pastoral setting, Carling Lake Golf Club offers an alternative to the Laurentians’ luxe (and pricey) resorts. Don’t let sheep pens off the first fairway distract you. Other tricky layouts include a partially hidden green, stiffly protected by a screen of trees and a ball-eating brook. The Royal Laurentien, with water on all but three holes and more than 90 sand traps, is lovely but dangerous. Built by the Ménard family, it’s been ranked as one of Quebec’s 10 best courses. Another family affair is the Cadieux’s Deux-Montagnes Golf Club in Saint-Eustache. This democratic course caters to a wide range of handicaps with five sets of blocks at each tee.
Newfoundland There’s nothing like geographical isolation to preserve a hidden gem. The landscape is unmatched and fees are a fraction of what they’d be on the mainland. Starting in the northeast of Bonavista Bay, the Twin Rivers course at Terra Nova Golf Resort yields to the surrounding national park. But beware the second hole: A gut-checking 521-yard par-5 requires a 200-yard carry over a chunk of the Atlantic. The 12th hole at the challenging Wilds at Salmonier River, carved from a landscape of stunted trees and protected wetlands, is alone worth a visit. Then for a Maritime-only bargain, play the first nine holes of Doug Carrick’s showstopper at Humber Valley Resort. For $100 – the highest fee in the province – you can play all 18 holes. Write to us: letters@enroutemag.net |
