Muskoka Bay Club, a Doug Carrick design located in Gravenhurst, Ontario, has received its share of accolades – not the least of which is its ranking, over each of the last four years, as the 9th best golf course in Canada by ScoreGolf magazine. In a recent ranking of public courses only by the same magazine, Muskoka Bay came in at number 1 in Ontario and number 6 nationally. With a pedigree like that, I was certainly looking forward to my first visit to the club.
I decided to play the blue tees, which measure in at 6352 yards, with a rating/slope of 71.6/137. That is the highest slope of any course I've played this year, though I've certainly played courses of similar difficulty in the past. Most of the difficulty arises from forced carries off the tee. From the blues, none of these are exceptionally long, extending no more than 210 yards. What makes them challenging is the visual intimidation factor. Granite outcroppings narrow sightlines or loom near landing zones. Having said that, the landing zones themselves are generally fair in size.
I striped a beautiful drive on hole #1, which features one of the carries I just described. I pulled my second shot with the pitching wedge 30 yards left of the green. Pitching from well above the green to a surface that fell away from me, I limped in with a double-bogey. Still, I was very proud of the way I dealt with the first tee shot.
Confidence grew over the next two holes, which produced a pair of pars. The first of these came on a 147-yard par-3. I nailed the back of the green with an 8-iron, then finished with two putts. The second came on a par-4 measuring 393 yards. I hit the left centre of the fairway with driver, but the slope kicked the ball further left, about a yard into the rough. From that position, large granite outcroppings completely obscured my view of the green. Accounting for a healthy rise, I hit a 7-iron from 150 yards. The ball sailed over the granite and came to rest on the putting surface, within birdie range. It was one of the best shots of the day.
My tee shot on hole #4 found a large bunker right of the fairway. Accounting for a significant rise into the green, along with a back left pin position, I opted for the gap wedge. The ball was headed straight at the flag, but landed just a yard short and rolled back down a steep bunker face. Bunker shots have been my nemesis in recent years, with the odd exception, but there was no exception this time. My first attempt was fat and stayed in the bunker. My next attempt got out, but squirted to the right and across the whole green. I chipped on and 2-putt for a triple bogey. It really goes to show how golf is a game of inches. If my approach shot carries one more yard, I'm right beside the flag and walk away with no worse than par. As it was, I tacked on three additional strokes.
I played pretty well for the rest of the front nine. Holes #5 and #8, both of which are par-5 holes, were especially good. In both cases, I nailed the fairway with driver, then advanced the ball with pitching wedge on the second shot. I had the option of hitting 3-wood to get on or close to the greens in two, but everything would have to be perfect for that to work. It's an extremely low percentage shot and the penalty for missing would be too severe. I made the right call by playing conservatively and earned a bogey and another par.
Hole #9, a 369-yard par-4 known as “The Narrows” is the one pictured above. Many people think it's an unfair hole, as huge slabs of granite pinch the fairway leading up to the green down to a mere sliver. All of this after a forced carry of 200 yards off the tee. I piped one just right of the fairway centre, leaving 140 yards to the flag. Now the pressure was on. As long as one carries the rock on the approach, there actually is some room to work with. I succumbed to the visual intimidation and pulled one left into the granite and trees. After a penalty stroke, my next attempt was fine, finishing flag-high, a couple yards left of the green. The first miss was costly, resulting in a triple-bogey. Still, it was a fun hole.
Shooting 51 at the turn, I felt like the course was not pushing me around. With one exception (a ball hit off the heel on tee #7) I was driving the ball well. My irons were also remarkably straight. In fact, I hit many quality shots. Sure, I had some trouble with bunker shots and imprecise pitches, but my putting was good. With continued good play and some luck, I felt like I could break 100.
On the back nine, penalty strokes began adding up. I pulled my drive ever so slightly on hole #10 and hole #13. On the first of these, the area was staked red, so I was able to take a penalty and drop within two club lengths. No such luck on the second, as fescue and other vegetation produced a lost ball. Hitting three from the tee, I nailed the fairway centre, but the damage had already been done.
I struggled terribly in a greenside bunker on hole #11, a 147-yard par-3. I inadvertently picked the ball clean, flying way over the green into a hazard. I made a miraculous out from a terrible lie and had a makeable putt for bogey, but the green was slippery and I overshot it. In fact, I missed the comebacker and earned a triple. An errant 3-iron from the fairway started a chain of terrible events on hole #15. After taking a penalty, I flopped an approach into a bunker. Once again, I caught the ball thin and sailed past the green into a hazard. This time, I couldn't find the ball, so it was another penalty stroke. I finished with a score of 9 on the par-4 hole. Ouch!
Still, there were many good moments, even on the back nine. I saved a description of the best for last. Hole #12 is a par-5 measuring 524 yards. I cut the hole in half with my tee shot, a 270-yard drive to the middle of the fairway. A large pond left of the fairway comes into play on the second shot. Wanting no part of it, I hit a 5-iron 180 yards to the very right of the fairway. Great shot! Playing into an elevated green, I hit sand wedge, leaving the ball five feet below the hole. I proceeded to drain the putt for birdie! The picture above shows the hole from the green, looking back toward the fairway. Beautiful.
In the end, I shot 107. Though the score seems to suggest otherwise, I actually played quite well. I've had many scores in the low and mid 90's where I didn't hit as many quality shots as I did on this occasion. Golf is strange that way.
Score: 107
Putts: 34
Fairways: 8
Greens: 5
Penalties: 8
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