By BRENT LONG

It's interesting to see that 15 Muskoka area golf courses are pooling their resources and are actually working together to create a destination. While several courses made a run at the Muskoka Golf Trail a few years back, it never really caught on and eventually wandered into oblivion. Too early to tell what will happen to this initiative, but it's nice to see a significant number of owners and general managers on the same page and promoting golf in Ontario.

What I learned from visiting the new Golf Muskoka booth at last month's Toronto Star Golf and Travel Show is I still have my work cut out for myself before I can say, "been there and done that" about playing golf in Muskoka Cottage Country.

The participating courses, and you can learn more about them at www.golfmuskoka.net include: The Diamond in the Ruff, Deerhurst Resort, Muskoka Highlands GC, North Granite Ridge GC, Muskoka Bay Club, Rocky Crest GC, The Lake Joseph Club, Grandview Golf Club, Huntsville Downs G&CC, Windermere G&CC, The Ridge at Manitou, Seguin Valley G&CC, Bigwin Island GC, South Muskoka Curling and GC, and The Rock. I have only played 10 of the 15, but have also teed it up at the likes of Parry Sound G&CC and Port Carling G&CC, which happen to be private, as well as Taboo, one of my top-5 courses in the area – it opted not to join for reasons that are unknown to me.

"People know about Muskoka and they hear of golf courses here and there, but they don't see the whole picture, says Muskoka Highlands owner Don MacKay. "This is our chance to showcase who we are." The courses and web site is linked to Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Flickr and the clubs are being encouraged to blog regularly so they can connect with the new world of Social Media. Golf Muskoka will be coming out with its own mobile App within the next few weeks and there are other initiatives in the works. I totally enjoy spending three or four days each summer playing golf in Muskoka. It's some of the best golf you'll find in Canada, but it's definitely not cheap and I don't think it should be. Nine of the 15 courses have prime time summer green fees at more than $100 plus taxes, while Bigwin Island tops out at $200 and that's in September because the course is closed to the public in July and August – but this Doug Carrick design is a must play for anyone who doesn't mind the drive to Lake of Bays. You'll find the most reasonable rounds at Muskoka Highlands, Diamond in the Ruff, North Granite Ridge and the unsung gem that I would recommend the most would be South Muskoka Curling and Golf Club, which was rated among the top-5 courses to play in Ontario for $65 or less last summer by Ontario Golf magazine. As a young boy, Tom McBroom fell in love with the rugged natural beauty of Ontario's Muskoka region summering at his family's cottage on Lake Muskoka. The forests, the wildlife, the clear lakes and the Canadian Shield were his playground. Throughout the 1990's and into this decade, the Muskoka landscape has been the breathtaking canvas where McBroom, Canada's preeminent golf course architect, has etched a name for himself, while capturing worldwide attention for the region. It was his earlier works in the 1990s - Deerhurst Highlands, Port Carling G&CC, Parry Sound G&CC and The Lake Joseph Club that first put the region on the map. The debut of McBroom's timeless design at Rocky Crest GC in 2000 solidified Muskoka as the place to unwind, vacation with the family, enjoy the great Canadian outdoors and play golf! If you're willing to drive to the northern reaches of Muskoka, up past Parry Sound, you'll find The Ridge at Manitou, another must play course that was once exclusively private but is now open to the public. It's a treasure not to be missed even at $135 in peak season. Perhaps the course I'm most excited about playing for the first time is Seguin Valley, which is now under new ownership for 2011 after being closed for all of 2009 and much of 2010. I have visited this course and with a new clubhouse in the works it's on my list of top-5 courses to play in 2011 that I have yet to tee it up at.

Deerhurst Highlands The Ridge at Manitou Muskoka Bay The Rock

A handful of international designers including veteran PGA Tour players Mark O'Meara and Nick Faldo, as well as American architect Ron Garl, have ventured into the area to create their own masterpieces. Faldo, a three-time British Open and Masters Champion, meticulously etched his first signature course in Canada right through the ancient Canadian Shield creating a demanding 6,545-yard, par-70 track at The Rock – that is more player friendly than given credit.

The Mark O'Meara Course at Grandview Golf Club opened in 2001, signifying the design debut for the PGA Tour stalwart. The course features rugged terrain, wetlands and dramatic elevation changes as well as the area's distinctive granite outcroppings. Delta Hotels operates year-round resorts at both Rocky Crest and Grandview that are within easy driving distance for several area courses. Just down the road from Grandview, visitors will find Deerhurst Resort on Peninsula Lake near Huntsville. Here golfers can enjoy two courses - the robust 7,011-yard, par-72 Deerhurst Highlands and the family oriented 4,712-yard, par-65 Lakeside Course.

There's no shortage of great places to stay in Muskoka and if you're looking for a stay and play package I'd also recommend Clevelands House, Windermere House, The Rosseau Muskoka and the amazing villas at Muskoka Bay.

I saved the best for last, and if there's one course in Muskoka that's open to the public that should be on your bucket list it should be the Muskoka Bay Club – a course that jumped into the top-10 in Canada, at No. 9 in 2010 after only opening in 2006! It's just a magical property and the ebb and flow of the holes is a work of art, a masterpiece that is worth every penny of the $175 in my books.

04/11