MAGIC IN THE MOUNTAINS OF QUEBEC...
AND ONLY 1 HOUR NORTH OF MONTREAL !

by GOLF-SOUTH STAFF | VISIT MONT TREMBLANT

On the first day of the vacation to Mont Tremblant, a doe and her fawn amble in front of a tee block at Le Geant. The deer of course know that the safest place to be when I’m ready to launch a drive is straight ahead. It’s another tranquil and exhilarating moment during an awesome golf experience.

The second day is not as tranquil, but a test of golf skill and nerves. Le Diable, the much nastier sister course to Le Geant, can play havoc with golfers whose shots stray wayward. The devilish red sand waste bunkers seemingly have magnets, specifically to the Nike golf balls I’m using on this day. For some reason, perhaps because I’m not a particularly straight hitter, my golf balls consistently avoid the long, narrow fairways, preferring the sand. For one day at least, I feel like Lawrence of Arabia. So much sand and so little ability is not a good combination.

These are two of the wonderfully wicked and majestic golf courses of Intrawest Resort at Mont Tremblant. Close by are a number of other great golf experiences that should not be missed if you are planning a visit to the area they include Club Link’s Le Maitre, Gray Rocks’ La Belle and La Bete, and Manitou.

The village of Tremblant, at the bottom of world- class ski hills, has plenty of magic of its own. The view is breathtaking. You can take gondolas up the mountain and take in the mountain’s entire splendor. There are restaurants and shops galore and with over 1,900 rooms there are many styles of accommodations to choose from.

If golf is not your thing…………is that possible? There’s no shortage of other things to do; horseback riding, whitewater rafting, tennis, ATV tours, fly fishing, or you can just kick back in a spa or just lay on the beach. There’s a Champ Car World Series race. And there’s the International Blues Festival, which always attracts huge crowds. A couple of hours north by car of Montreal and about the same distance east of Canada’s capital city, Ottawa, Tremblant is certainly about much more than the golf.

But it’s the golf we’ll focus on.

The Raven course, Le Diable, put together by Michael Hurzdan and Dan Fry, is more than a “grip it and rip it” course. Don’t go left, home of the waste bunkers. The fairways snake through the heart of a huge red pine forest.

This course hosted the 1999 Skins Game (with Mike Weir, John Daly, Fred Couples and David Duval) was named the Best Public Golf Course by Score magazine in 2003. Golf Style also placed it in its Top 10 Courses in Canada and Golf Digest gave it a rating of 4½ stars.

At a distance of 7,056 yards, the par-71 Le Diable is tough, but fair if you keep the ball in the fairway. Even with the lift and place rule, hell hath no fury like trying to whack the ball out of the cavernous waste traps. The slope rating is 135 from the blacks and 130 from the blues.“On hole No. 3, when you play the course in May, you can see the snow on the mountain,” said Luc Geoffroy, Le Geant’s supervisor.

Le Geant, designed by Thomas McBroom, is more for the social golfer: Plenty of scenery with plateaus that are sculpted into the mountain side ….. some great views of the mountain and village … and plenty of wildlife. The course keeps you on your toes, it is tight in spots, so club selection is very important. The 18th hole is a treacherous 457 yards from the double black tee blocks, was rated the best par-4 in Canada by Score. “When you tee off on 18, you can see the lake over the trees,” said Geoffroy. “Each hole is special.”

The par-72 course plays at 6,836 yards. The slope from the double black is 131. “The greens are tough,” said Geoffroy. “Sometimes you can’t see the slopes and if you don’t know the course, it can be tough to read the greens.” The resort offers package deals, and the golf experience doesn’t have to be expensive. You can book online … and you can golf for as little as $69 CAN for twilight rates.

You can also check out the wonderful Mont Tremblant Golf Academy. One day with five hours of lessons will cost you $249 CAN, with four days running approximately $879 CAN.

You’ll find a good mix among the golf clientele.“(Percentage-wise) it’s probably 40-40 for Ontario and Quebec, maybe 15% American and 5% foreign,” said Geoffroy. While you’ll be buzzing about the golf, it’s really the whole Tremblant experience that’ll keep you come back for more.“People who come here are on vacation,” said Geoffroy. “It’s not like you’re playing in the morning, then going in to work. This is relaxing.”