Muskoka Bay Club
Played Muskoka Bay in 2013 with Johnny Cocktails and Joey Z. Really liked the course. Reminds me a lot of the Ridge in NJ (except it’s ridgier). The region is kind of a golf getaway spot about two hours from YYZ (the Toronto airport not the Rush song). It flies way under the radar down in the states as a golf buddies trip destination but there are more than a dozen courses up here and the three we played were really nice – Muskoka Bay being the best.
We stayed at a cabin on property which had a grill so our one meal night was steak on the grill. I like this better than dining out as long as you have the right accoutrements – like wine, various sauces and rubs, and did I mention wine (our booze collection is pictured below less Miller Lites had to call ahead to get those stocked. This is also further proof that I loved Tito’s well before it was a thing. The new vodka of choice is Stateside a local Philly distillery which is enhanced with electrolytes to prevent hangovers).
The course itself is ranked in the top ten in Canada by Golf Digest and others. It’s that good. There are a lot of elevation changes, wetlands, and rock formations – features an awesome clubhouse and private club conditioning.
This is another of the best first holes in golf IMO. You need to drive through a narrow valley between two rock formations to a slightly doglegging 370-yard par four (from the tees we played). Nine was another favorite; it’s another shortish par four that you need to negotiate rock formations to an uphill (way uphill) green on your approach. The par threes here are all among the best you’ll play and ogle at (if you like mountain golf, this plays like a mountain course though it’s not really a mountain course).
There’s no Canadian Ballet here, so if that’s your flavor, get your jollies in down in Toronto. Muskoka has a great clubhouse so do dinner there one night. Do a dinner in Toronto as well – the Keg is the Canadian Morton’s or Harbor 60 was a great steakhouse too.
Oh, and let’s talk about the Bloody Caesar here. The difference, of course, is clamato juice versus tomato juice. You say clamato and I say tomato. The good thing about the caesar is you can pretty much get it everywhere portably up here. Every course has canned caesars. It is less acidic than a bloody mary but a little more bland. Now, I’ve never experimented with caesar’s like I have with mary’s but I did used to mix half tomato and half clamato for my bloodies. Clamato is tougher to get down here and it didn’t make much of a difference so I stopped. If you are sensitive to the acidity in tomato juice you may want to try this. Final verdict: when in Rome (or Canada) do the Bloody Caesar but I’ll opt for the Bloody Mary if both are offered.
Oh and ice wine sucks. It’s big up here, don’t do it.
Golf Scrapbook 