There are few places, if any, on earth that can offer the variety and depth of golf facilities, coupled with world class attractions that Ontario can.
Southern Ontario and the near-north especially, are blessed.
The Niagara region offers outstanding golf courses like Peninsula Lakes, Grand Niagara, and the Niagara Parks Commission’s Legends on the Niagara and Whirlpool with après golf attractions like the casino, landscaped gardens, War of 1812 battlefield site and Niagara Falls itself, one of the Seven Wonders of the Natural World.
The Muskoka area offers breathtaking golf courses carved out of the rolling hills and rock outcroppings like Muskoka Bay, Taboo, Bigwin Island, Ridge at Manitou, Grandview and Rocky Crest.
And in between, the Greater Toronto Area offers a plethora of fine courses.
In Oakville you can tee it up at Glen Abbey Golf Club where the PGA Tour’s Canadian Open has been played 25 times and won by players like Tiger Woods, Lee Trevino, Vijay Singh, Nick Price and Greg Norman.
On the 18th hole throw one into the fairway bunker and see if you can match the shot that Woods hit 218 yards with his six iron over the pond on to the fringe of the green – the shot that has been voted one of the best of his legendary career.
From Windsor in the west through London, Hamilton, Niagara, Toronto and through to Kingston, you’re bound to find a golf course to challenge your game. Enjoy the golf season even more and plan to play one or all of these great golf courses and resorts.

Nottawasaga Inn and Golf Resort – Everything for Golfers

At Nottawasaga Inn and Golf Resort they have everything the vacationing golfer could want all in one location.
It’s the only resort in Ontario with 45 full length golf holes.
On top of that the resort has two driving ranges, practice greens, indoor tennis, a 25-metre pool, 100-foot water slide, sauna, whirlpool, mini-golf and an arena with two NHL-sized ice surfaces.
That’s all on top of the 269 luxurious guest rooms including 34 deluxe suites with a Jacuzzi and a fireplace.
It’s little wonder the Nottawasaga Inn, which is just 45 minutes north of Toronto, has been named one of the Top 25 Golf Resorts in Canada and The Best Family Golf Resort in Ontario.
The par 71 Ridge Course features tree-lined fairways and dramatic elevation changes and plays to 6,625 yards from the tips.
At the Nottawasaga Course, where they have three nines, the layout runs dramatically over and around the Nottawasaga River.

Niagara Parks Golf – It Doesn’t Get Much Better!

The Niagara Parks Commission has long been known for the perfectly groomed parks and trails in and around Niagara Falls and along the Niagara gorge.
The NPC also operates three of the top golf courses in southern Ontario.
Whirlpool Golf Course, which overlooks the Niagara gorge not far from the famous whirlpool with its Spanish aerocar attraction, has been a favourite of golfers on both sides of the border since it opened in 1951.
The course was designed by Canadian Golf Hall of Famer Stanley Thompson whose work also includes the highly acclaimed Banff Springs, and Jasper in Alberta, Highlands Links in Nova Scotia and St. George’s in Toronto, the host club for the 2010 RBC Canadian Open.
Whirlpool was one of the last courses Thompson finished before he died and it includes many of the design features that The Toronto Terror was famous for.
The NPC’s second foray into golf was Legends on the Niagara which opened in the spring of 2002.
The facility is the only collaborative effort of Canada’s top living golf architects Tom McBroom and Doug Carrick.
Each designed a championship 18 hole course and they worked together on the nine-hole short course, putting course and circular driving range.
The facility, which hosted an LPGA Tour event in 2004, was built adjacent to the Battle of Chippewa, War of 1812 battlefield sight. In fact one of the NPC’s reasons for building the golf facility was to prevent the neighbouring battlefield site from being developed for housing.
Walking trails, with plaques outlining the historical significance of the battle, are now in place where backyards, homes and strip malls might have been.
The fourth tee of the Battlefield Course also overlooks the battlefield site and a historical plaque explains to golfers playing the hole what happened nearby.
The NPC also built Legends to complement what they already had at Whirlpool and to help develop Niagara as a golf destination.
Great golf, casinos, the world famous Falls and wineries – it doesn’t get much better.

Indian Hills Golf Club – One of the Best Courses in all of Southwestern Ontario

Indian Hills Golf Club isn’t what you’d expect in a cottage country golf course.
The course is located just five minutes from the white sandy beaches of Lake Huron and just 15 minutes from the vacation community of Grand Bend. But Indian Hills, which is located in Kettle Point/Ipperwash Beach, is no cottage country pitch and putt.
Opened in 1963 and designed by Ross Axford, Indian Hills is a 6,539-yard par 71 layout with a slope of 133, the highest in Lambton County.
The hilly and well treed course has ponds or streams on 11 of the 18 holes.
In 2003 the London Free Press called it the best course in all of southwestern Ontario.
Owned by the Chippewas of Kettle and Stony Point, Indian Hills is one of only a handful of golf courses in all of Canada owned by a First Nation.

Diamond In The Rough – A Hidden Gem in Muskoka

Immaculate! It’s a word that comes up in almost every conversation about Diamond In The Rough Golf Club.
Almost anyone who has ever played it comes back raving about this little jewel, a hidden gem in Muskoka.
Diamond In The Rough was designed by Ted George and opened in 1994.
Located in the hamlet of Raymond – yes, everyone loves Raymond – Diamond In The Rough offers the unique combination of playability and beauty.
The abundance of flower beds sprinkled throughout the course gives it charm and a homey feel.
The course is 2,754 yards from the tips but the changes in elevation make it play longer than that.
The forests around the course teem with wildlife, deer, moose and wild turkey.
Former LGPA Tour star Sandra Post will make Diamond her base in July and August for the Sandra Post Golf School.
New this year Diamond is offering Stay and Play packages at their new cottages.

Hawk Ridge Golf and Country Club – A Unique Golf Experience

For almost 20 years now golfers from the Greater Toronto Area and beyond have been making the short drive up to Orillia to relax and enjoy great golf at Hawk Ridge Golf and Country Club.
The original 18-hole course, designed by Rene Muylaert, opened in 1991 but has been expanded several times since then and Hawk Ridge now features two 18-hole championship courses and a nine-hole short course. It also has a large practice facility all covering more than 390 acres of rolling countryside and forests.
Many have enjoyed it so much that they’ve come here permanently and taken up residence in the lifestyle community.
Others enjoy coming up for a few days to combine great golf with attractions like Casino Rama, sailing on Lake Simcoe, or just relaxing by the shore.
The Meadows Nest course stretches to 7,008 yards from the tips but four sets of tees allows golfers to choose the length that best suits their game.
The course crosses Silver Creek on 10 of the 18 holes.
The front nine eases you into your game with generous fairways and the back nine winds through mature forests.
The Timber Ridge course, which can play as long as 6,550 yards, features large ponds and mature forests as well as changes in elevation to challenge golfers.
The nine-hole Hawk’s Island Course, which opened in 2006, provides its own unique challenges.
The executive length course designed by Ted Baker, plays from 800 to 1,500 yards but offers you a chance to know what goes through the PGA Tour players’ minds when they tee it up at the famous Island Green hole at TPC Sawgrass.
The fifth hole at Hawk’s Island is also an island green.
Hawk Ridge offers a unique golfing experience. Stay and Play packages are available.

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