Oak Solid
by Jason Logan
Oak Bay G&CC is the latest addition to the Muskoka area and offers a shot and slender moderately priced option.
Setting aside any discussion of first, whether Ontario's Muskoka region needed another golf course and second, whether the long-planned-and-now-coming-to-fruition Oak Bay Residences will flourish in the present-day economy, the Shawn Watters-designed Oak Bay G&CC, which opened last May, is a fun golf course with enough teeth to present a good challenge.
With its clubhouse under construction and not due to open until this fall, the course, which lies near Honey Harbour on the east side of Georgian Bay, currently begins on what will eventually be the eighth hole and finishes on the 10th, though there is no awkwardness to the temporary routing. The layout has much of what golfers have come to expect from Muskoka tracks - rock outcroppings, marshy hazards, lake (in this case bay) views and, unfortunately, black flies. But with the exception of the fourth - a narrow par 4 that drops down to the left from a hill crest - there are no blind shots or mystery holes at Oak Bay. Though fairways are narrow with Watters, who's based in Elora, Ont., placing a premium on accuracy off the tee, the remaining frames are, for the most part, right out in front of you. The exception is the par-5 18th, a brutally difficult closer with a razor thin fairway. A greater landing area would have been prudent and as is, the hole is bordering on unfair, but environmentally protected areas prevented such a widening.
The strongest collection of holes at Oak Bay is undoubtedly the par 3s. In particular, the 15th is a get-your-camera-out hole. It plays 170 yards at its longest and traverses a hazard to an imposing, multi-tiered green set high on a steep rock face. The original routing had the hole playing in the opposite direction, however a snake pit close (but not that close) to the current tee decks prevented Watters from having the space to design a green there. In truth, it would have been a shame had that original plan come to pass; it's a much better hole for the reroute. The second is also strong, playing a beefy 220 from the tips (191 from the white tees) over another hazard and to a narrow green while the 200-/173-yard 17th juts out into the bay for perhaps the best view on the course.
Balancing the difficulty of putting the ball in play are relatively benign green complexes. With the exception of that on the previously mentioned 15th, the putting surfaces are fairly flat and shouldn't strike any fear into the hearts of golfers. At only 6,500 yards from the tips and 6,050 yards from one deck up, Oak Bay's length doesn't present much of a problem either. Truthfully, it's the bigger hitter who'll suffer the most here if he or she isn't on point.
Oak Bay's summer rates are $79 before 2 p.m. on weekends and $69 on weekdays. Considering the steep fees of most Muskoka courses the price is reasonable, though there is currently no practice facility and the location isn't exactly in the heart of Muskoka, lying some 20 minutes from Gravenhurst. While the course is easily walked, the rates do not include use of a power cart.
Canada's Best New Course Award
ScoreGolf has not produced a Best New Course in Canada ranking since 2010 when Doug Carrick's Ridge Course at Predator Ridge Resort took top spot. There simply haven't been enough course openings in recent years to warrant such a ranking. That will change this year when we announce the best courses to open since 2011 on ScoreGolf.com in November. The following courses, which were not eligible for this year's Top 100 because they had not been opened for two years, are candidates for Canada's Best New Course:
- Blue Devil, Calgary, Gary Browning
- Cabot Links, Inverness, N.S., Rod Whitman
- Oak Bay, Muskoka, Ont, Shawn Watters
- The Quarry, Edmonton, Les Furber
- Southwood, Winnipeg, Thomas McBroom
- Wildstone, Cranbrook, B.C., Gary Player
These articles appeared in the Summer 2012 edition of ScoreGolf Magazine. It is currently unavailable online.
