Tom Lehman and Tom McBroom combined their design talents at the Golf Club at Lora Bay, the star attraction of a prime stretch of South Georgian Bay shoreline being touted as Canada’s next great golf destination.

One of Ontario cottage country’s star attractions: the Golf Club at Lora Bay. (Image: The Golf Club at Lora Bay)

Nothing sells like celebrity, a modern-day reality that helped stamp the Golf Club at Lora Bay as one of Ontario cottage country’s star attractions when it opened in 2006.

PGA Tour veteran Tom Lehman teamed with Canadian architect Tom McBroom in building a gorgeous layout that twists along Nipissing Ridge, high above Lora Bay near the town of Thornbury, about a two-hour drive north-west of Toronto. Slowly building momentum, the course rolls with the natural landscape, incorporating old barns and an apple orchard that comes into play on the 14th hole.

Following the example of Whistler and Mont-Tremblant, developers are working hard to make the South Georgian Bay region as well known for its superior golf courses as for the ski slopes at Blue Mountain Resort, one of Ontario’s busiest ski facilities in season. Bateaux Creek Golf Club, Monterra Golf Course, Cranberry Golf Resort and other highly touted courses are drawing golfers to a region experiencing explosive growth. In the town of Collingwood, the area’s central hub, new housing construction has more than doubled in the past decade.

Another big draw are the famous white sand beaches of Wasaga Beach Provincial Park, which have been luring tourists to the area for more than a century.

“With the rapid elevation changes of the Niagara Escarpment and spectacular views of Georgian Bay, this is exciting terrain for golf,” McBroom says. “We might be witnessing the birth of the next great Canadian golf destination.”

The scene at Muirfield during the 2002 Open Championship. (Image: Muirfield)

Scotland’s Golf Coast includes fabulous links North Berwick, Dunbar, Gullane and, of course, Muirfield, the site of this summer’s Open Championship. In fact, there are so many outstanding local courses our editor is willing to forego — just this once — a visit to St. Andrews.

Late last month I flew to Scotland, where I attended the R&A’s media day at Muirfield for the upcoming Open Championship and played a few local courses in the company of a group of mostly American golf writers.

The morning press conference at Muirfield produced few surprises. Peter Dawson, the R&A’s chief executive, felt certain the Open (July 18 to 22) would be a huge success, with about 160,000 fans expected to pass through Muirfield’s gates. And, yes, the old links has been slightly tweaked to make it more challenging to the pros since the Open’s last outing there in 2002.

What did catch my attention was Dawson’s confirmation during the wide-ranging press conference that Northern Ireland’s Royal Portrush Golf Club is still under consideration as a potential Open site. The worry about Royal Portrush, which last hosted the Open way back in 1951, has been that the local infrastructure might not be able to accommodate the modern-day hordes. But everyone in golf from the R&A leadership on down agrees that an Open there would surely be a hit with players and fans. Tumbling down a hillside to the seaside cliffs that define Royal Portrush is an unbroken profusion of links holes as fine as any in the British Isles.

The R&A then invited us to play Muirfield, a links many regard as the best of the nine courses currently in the Open rotation. But the same screaming winds that nearly blew Tiger Woods off the course — and killed his chances — in 2002 had nothing on what was coming off the Firth of Forth when we teed off. Even the few low-handicappers among us came in with scores about 20 strokes higher than their usual.

The rest of our week included stops at Gullane No. 1, Dunbar and North Berwick, three outstanding links found along a stretch of coastline just east of Edinburgh marketed as Scotland’s Golf Coast. In fact, the golf was so spectacularly good I hardly minded that our trip’s itinerary didn’t include the usually mandatory side trip to St. Andrews, the cradle of golf and a first glimpse of heaven for every true believer.

Higher praise than that I cannot give.

The Vancouver Island Golf Trail includes Olympic View Golf Club. (Image: Olympic View Golf Club)

A string of 10 courses stretching from Victoria to Campbell River, the Vancouver Island Golf Trail is now offering a six-night, six-round holiday package that swings through some of British Columbia’s most spectacular scenery. Cost: $899 till June 30; $975 through the summer.

Included in the package is two nights accommodation in each of Victoria, Parksville and Courtney, as well as a hot daily breakfast and shared power carts. Golfers are invited to build their own golf itinerary by choosing any six courses from among Arbutus Ridge Golf Club, Bear Mountain Resort’s Valley and Mountain Courses, Olympic View Golf Club, Cowichan Golf and Country Club, Fairwinds Golf and Country Club, Pheasant Glen Golf Resort, Crown Isle Resort, and Storey Creek Golf Club.

Formed in 2002, the 250-kilometre-long Vancouver Island Golf Trail includes stops in the wine region of the Cowichan Valley, the seafront tourist towns of Parksville and Qualicum Beach, and the still largely unspoiled wilds of the North Island.

Stanley Thompson designed the front nine at Clear Lake Golf Course in Riding Mountain National Park. (Image: Clear Lake Golf Course)

As distinct as the forest scents of pine and cedar, there’s often a strong — and environmentally beneficial — whiff of French fries in the air at Manitoba’s Clear Lake Golf Course.

The smell is expelled by the exhausts of six maintenance machines rigged to run on used cooking grease gathered from nearby restaurants. It’s just one of several green initiatives that have turned the 85-year-old layout carved through the boreal forest in Riding Mountain National Park, about 95 kilometres north of Brandon, into one of the most environmentally progressive courses in Canada.

“Working every day in the beauty of a national parkland is both inspiring and a responsibility,” superintendent Greg Holden says. “When we spot a problem, we always try to fix it in an ecologically soft way.”

A need to conserve groundwater led to a switch to compost toilets, which in turn provided a source of natural fertilizer. And the use of cooking oil for maintenance machines was a way of annually recycling as much as 10,000 litres of an otherwise useless waste product.

“The only downside we’ve found to the cooking oil project,” Holden jokes, “is that golfers are reporting a constant craving for fast food.”

Scones, pastries and other treats are served during tea time at the Fairmont Empress. (Image: Fairmont Empress)

Great golf and a spot of afternoon tea at Victoria’s stately Fairmont Empress Hotel make the perfect island blend.

Unlike many golfers who reach for the Scotch after a cold and rainy day on the links, my go-to comfort drink has always been a steaming pot of well-steeped tea.

I’ve sipped and savoured more than a few high teas across Canada, but I’ve found there’s no better place to indulge my passion for a cuppa than lovely Vancouver Island, by far the most Olde English of Canadian destinations.

In Victoria, the provincial capital, afternoon tea in the quietly elegant Tea Lobby of the Fairmont Empress Hotel has been a beloved ritual since 1908. Chintz fabrics, tapestries, wing back chairs and hand-carved tables provide a suitably Victorian setting for the delicious scones, pastries and tea sweets prepared by executive pastry chef D’Oyen Christie.

Fairmont Empress Hotel: a suitably Victorian setting for afternoon tea. (Image: Fairmont Empress)

It’s the ideal spot to unwind after a round of golf at Bear Mountain, Olympic View, Cordova Bay or any of several other excellent local courses. And the house tea, called the Empress Blend, is one of my personal favourites. Created exclusively for the Fairmont Empress, it magically blends teas from Assam (thick, malty and full bodied), Kenya (floral-like with a golden coppery infusion), South India (fruity and sprightly), Ceylon (airy, almost piquant) and China (burgundy-like depth, with light oaky notes). It’s a true tea lover’s delight.

More proof that Victorians take their tea seriously is found at the Tea Bar at Silk Road, a popular shop that has been creating its own premium quality organic teas since 1992. Tea is served in a variety of unique brewing styles, including tea flights, tea and chocolate pairings, and the Chinese tea ceremony.

Planning an extended stay on Vancouver Island to play Arbutus Ridge, Pheasant Glen, Crown Isle and other courses on the popular Vancouver Island Golf Trail? Then remember to look for these other essential tea shops, each guaranteed to sooth jangled nerves after a tough round — and maybe even help lower your next score.

• Teafarm, in the Cowichan Valley, features tea-inspired treats and more than 30 original steaming blends that incorporate locally grown herbs. Teafarm is Canada’s first small-scale grower of tea.

• Twisted Sisters Tea Room, an hour’s drive north of Victoria in Chemainus, is a cozy and convivial 10-seat establishment owned by twin sisters Teresa and Debra, who serve more than 300 tea blends.

• Calico Cat Tea House, in Nanaimo, offers afternoon tea, homemade pastries and the irresistible invitation to let local tea leaf readers predict your future.

Sam Torrance (Image: PGA Tour)

Scottish golf legend Sam Torrance quit school at 13 to play the game fulltime, and turned professional at 16. He went on to represent Scotland in 11 World Cups and, even more impressively, played in eight Ryder Cups. But Torrance is perhaps best known on this side of the Atlantic for captaining the European team to its thrilling victory at The Belfry in 2002.

So, given Torrance’s resume, we paid close attention when VisitScotland asked him to pick his homeland’s top hidden gems. Here, as described by the former Ryder Cup hero, are four previously unsung Scottish courses to add to your must-play list:

The Roxburghe Championship Golf Course, Kelso, Roxburghshire

Set on the Duke of Roxburghe’s idyllic estate in the Scottish Borders, this Dave Thomas-designed course is a joy to play. The standout hole for me is the 14th, called Viaduct. This is easily one of the best driving holes in Scotland, where you look from on high down to the River Teviot meandering below. With immaculately presented greens and fairways, the reputation of this course is set to grow and grow.

Western Gailes Golf Club, Gailes, Irvine

Western Gailes is one of those courses that once you have finished playing, you want to walk straight back to the first and play it all over again. With views of the hills of Arran and Ailsa Craig, this superb sandy links has ambience and character in abundance. Even if you are not playing your Sunday best, you will still enjoy the course that Harry Vardon and Gene Sarazen rated as one of Scotland’s finest.

Longniddry Golf Club, Longniddry

Resting among links golfing heaven in East Lothian, Longniddry is a truly fabulous course. A mixture of links and woodland, this course will get your strategic golfing brain thinking. I particularly like the drivable dogleg par-four 5th hole, at just over 300 yards. A must-see course for all links enthusiasts.

Kilmarnock (Barassie) Golf Club, Troon

Set in Ayrshire, where I learned to play golf, Kilmarnock (Barassie) is one of Scotland’s finest hidden gems. Golf has been played there for over 100 years, and it is now an Open qualifying course. Nestling beside Troon, Kilmarnock (Barassie) is a tough links challenge and a great course to test golfers of all standards.

Alpine vistas, a towering forest of fir trees, and a glacial river set the stage at Canmore Golf and Curling Club. (Image: Canmore Golf and Curling Club)

From the forests of Newfoundland to the mountain valleys of British Columbia, a spring survey of unjustly overlooked golf courses offering bargain green fees, less crowded fairways and jaw-dropping scenery.

Of Canada’s nearly 2,100 public courses, only about 25 enjoy national renown. These marquee layouts dominate the various course rankings, and golfers eagerly pay top dollar for the satisfaction of striking them off their must-play lists.

Yet, throughout our wildly varied golf landscape, there are courses just as gorgeous and brilliantly designed that go largely overlooked. Sometimes they’re handicapped by isolated locations, making it difficult for golfers to get to them. When they are in popular destinations, glamorous new neighbours may have grabbed the spotlight by recruiting famous architects and spending lavishly on promotion.

“Part of the fun of being a golfer is discovering these underappreciated gems,” says Doug Carrick, a top Canadian golf architect. “One of the most spectacularly scenic projects I’ve ever worked on is Twin Rivers Golf Course in Newfoundland. But because it’s hidden away in Terra Nova National Park, a two-and-a-half hour drive from St. John’s, few golfers have heard of it.”

A significant advantage to playing lower profile courses, especially for golfers on tight budgets, is the bargain green fees they usually offer. The $67 prime-time rate at Twin Rivers, for instance, is less than a third of what is demanded by the best-known public tracks.

Even in peak season, there’s almost never a problem booking a tee time at the nine courses described here. From the forests of Newfoundland to the mountains of British Columbia, the thrill of discovery awaits.

Twin Rivers Golf Course, Newfoundland

Two whitewater salmon rivers and the Atlantic shoreline define Twin Rivers Golf Course in Newfoundland. (Image: Twin Rivers Golf Course)

The remote splendor of its location is both the great strength of Newfoundland’s Twin Rivers Golf Course and the fatal flaw that has kept this dramatic oceanfront layout from national prominence.

Situated at the southern end of Terra Nova National Park, 223 kilometres west of St. John’s, Twin Rivers boasts a wild and wooly natural setting rivaled by only a handful of Canadian courses. Two whitewater salmon rivers define a 6,546-yard layout that skirts the Atlantic Ocean before winding through a coniferous forest teeming with moose, bald eagles and other wildlife.

Designed by the late Robbie Robinson and Doug Carrick, who each contributed nine holes, Twin Rivers presents golfers with one idyllic vista after another. Especially unforgettable is the 18th, a 175-yard par three played through the mist rising above a waterfall to a small green nestled in the forest.

Eagle Creek, a short nine-hole course designed by Newfoundlander Robert Walsh, and the 82-room Terra Nova Park Lodge are also found on the property.

The Pines Resort Golf Course, Nova Scotia

Given Stanley Thompson’s status as Canada’s greatest golf architect, it’s difficult to believe that his Pines Resort Golf Course in the Nova Scotia town of Digby once teetered on the brink of obscurity.

Owned by the provincial government, Thompson’s now 82-year-old layout too often went begging for the funds needed to properly maintain a championship course. But a decade-long restoration has the Annapolis Valley beauty back on top of its game.

Designed in the classic style, with tight fairways and small, subtly undulating greens open at the front, the 6,222-yard parkland design places a premium on accuracy. One of the toughest par threes Thompson ever built is the 213-yard 14th hole, where swirling crosswinds can drop even well struck balls like lead.

Each hole at the Pines, just as at all Thompson’s best courses, has an appearance and personality entirely its own.

Fairmont Le Manoir Richelieu Golf Club, Quebec

Spectacularly situated on cliffs overlooking the mighty St. Lawrence River, the 27-hole Fairmont Le Manoir Richelieu Golf Club is unknown to most golfers outside of Quebec because of its remote location 140 kilometres east of Quebec City in the ruggedly beautiful Charlevoix region.

Nine superb new holes have been added to the Fairmont Le Manoir Richelieu Golf Club. (Image: Fairmont Hotels)

Nine superb new holes, several of them affording commanding views of the river, were added several years ago during a $14-million expansion, which also saw the restoration of the original 18-hole course and the opening of a new practice facility. Also added was a stunning cliff-top clubhouse, from which diners can sometimes view whales frolicking in the water far below.

Nearby is the Fairmont Le Manoir Richelieu, a chateau-style grand hotel opened in 1929 that offers 405 guest rooms and a lively casino.

South Muskoka Golf and Curling Club, Ontario

Located in the heart of Ontario’s popular Muskoka Lakes tourist district, South Muskoka Golf and Curling Club has long been overshadowed by a growing local lineup of high-end courses by Tom McBroom, Doug Carrick, Ron Garl, Nick Faldo and other top architects.

But the recently restored Robbie Robinson valley design in the town of Bracebridge is nobody’s poor relation. Robinson, who began his career in 1929 as an assistant to the legendary Stanley Thompson, built drama and challenge with a series of sharp doglegs through mature forests. Distance off the tee is secondary to pinpoint accuracy throughout a tricky 6,427-yard layout featuring nasty bunkers and wearying uphill climbs.

By far South Muskoka’s most difficult hole is the 16th, a par four featuring a long approach over a ball-hungry gully to a tiered green.

Whitewater Golf Club, Ontario

Whitewater Golf Club is routed through and around dramatic plateaus, ravines and wetlands. (Image: Whitewater Golf Club)

Architect Tom McBroom’s Whitewater Golf Club perfectly captures the wild beauty of a Northern Ontario river valley with its rough-and-tumble routing through and around dramatic plateaus, steep cliffs, ravines and wetlands.

McBroom makes strategic use of the Kaministiquia River throughout the 7,293-yard layout just west of Thunder Bay’s city limits. Golfers get their first look at the river from the elevated tee of the par-four fourth hole, which doglegs sharply before a tricky approach to a green carved into the side of a ridge. But by far the most dramatic river hole — and surely one of Ontario’s prettiest par threes — is the 13th, a nerve-rattling 176-yard shot from an elevated tee to a green set at the river’s edge.

Moose, bear, deer and lynx are frequent visitors to a property whose impressive clubhouse is furnished with beaver pelts, paddles and other antiques recalling the area’s fur-trading past.

The Links at Quarry Oaks, Manitoba

One of the most eclectic golf properties in Canada, The Links at Quarry Oaks, 60 kilometres southeast of Winnipeg near the town of Steinbach, presents golfers with a choice of three nine-hole courses, each with its own unique flavour and appearance.

The Oak Nine, which opened together with the Quarry Nine in 1992, is a forgiving parkland-style design cut through stands of oak, poplars and aspens. The tougher Quarry Nine, which tumbles across the stark landscape of an abandoned quarry, features large waste areas, grass mounds and other links-style features. Opened in 1998, the Desert Nine, as the name suggests, offers even more waste areas and gravel ridges.

But perhaps the most unique feature of these three stunning prairie designs by Les Furber, who more than any other modern architect has put his stamp on golf in Western Canada, is the abundance of water. Five man-made lakes, covering 12 hectares, loom large on several memorable holes, including the Quarry Nine’s sixth, a diabolical 184-yard par three with an island green.

Deer Valley Golf and Estates, Saskatchewan

Sometimes a single golf hole can capture the character of the game in a particular region of the country. One such iconic hole is the par-three second at the Deer Valley Golf and Estates course just north of Regina.

From the elevated back tee, golfers hit across snaking Wascana Creek into an unforgettable vista of valley dunes and stands of aspen against an endless northern sky.

Designed by Calgary-based ProGolf Design Ltd. and opened in 2001, the challenging yet always fair 6,777-yard layout rolls seamlessly through the beautiful Qu’Appelle Valley. Mature beyond its years, Deer Valley offers no tricks or gimmicks, just pure prairie golf.

Canmore Golf and Curling Club, Alberta

Alpine vistas, a meandering glacial river, towering forests of fir trees — Canmore Golf and Curling Club offers many of the same mountain golf experiences as the nearby Banff Springs and Stewart Creek courses at about half the cost.

Established in 1926, the club moved to its current location in the heart of booming Canmore in 1961, first as a nine-hole course before expanding to 18 holes in 1981.

At least two holes rank among the most scenic in the Alberta Rockies. At the par-four fifth, the surging Bow River runs the length of a fairway offering uninterrupted views of the snow-capped Rundle mountain range. Just as pretty is the eighth, a lush and secluded 172-yard par three requiring a precision tee shot over a tranquil pond.

Salmon Arm Golf Club, British Columbia

Salmon Arm Golf Club winds through roller-coaster terrain at the base of Mount Ida.  (Image: Salmon Arm Golf Club)

Blessedly free of the fairway homes and condos often seen at B.C. courses, Salmon Arm Golf Club offers mountain golf at its unspoiled best.

Course management is the key on narrow pine tree-lined fairways that wind through roller-coaster terrain at the base of looming Mount Ida, just outside the town of Salmon Arm in the Thompson Okanagan region. Designed by Les Furber, the 6,738-yard layout offers jaw-dropping views of the Shuswap Mountains with every shot.

The sense of isolation is almost eerie as golfers stroll fairways cut through the boreal forest. Each hole is invisible from the next, and other golfers are glimpsed like phantoms through the branches.

Like all superior courses, Salmon Arm ends with a wallop. The 18th is a thrilling 504-yard par five, reachable in two for those with the nerve and skill to carry their approach shot over a large pond fronting a well-bunkered green.

Jasper Park Lodge Golf Course established Stanley Thompson’s reputation as Canada’s leading golf architect when it opened in 1926. (Image: Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge)

As distinctively Canadian as the beaver and Niagara Falls, the mountain courses of Alberta and British Columbia are a vital part of our golfing heritage; living proof that, thanks largely to the genius of Stanley Thompson, nobody builds them better.

Though born in Toronto, Stanley Thompson was at heart a Rocky Mountain man.

Canada’s greatest golf architect made his reputation in the 1920s with the opening of his now world-famous courses in Jasper and Banff. Envied and imitated by golf architects around the world, Thompson’s courses established a template for mountain layouts followed to this day.

In my experience, nothing in the golf world — not even my travels to the fabled links of Scotland and Ireland — compares to the thrill of teeing it up at Canada’s most beautiful mountain courses. Towering evergreens straining toward the northern sky. Jaw-dropping panoramas of glacial lakes and pristine mountain valleys. What could be more satisfying — or uniquely Canadian — than golf experiences such as these?

Recently, I was asked to select my top 10 public-play mountain courses in Western Canada for the 2013 edition of the Toronto Star Golf Guide. Despite the difficulty of winnowing the field down to such a select few, I tackled the project enthusiastically. Here, compiled after considerable thought, is the list I presented in the magazine. As always, I’d be happy to hear any quibbles or suggestions from readers who have already enjoyed the privilege of playing them. As for those who haven’t, what the heck are you waiting for?

Alberta

Jasper Park Lodge Golf Course
One masterful mountain valley hole flows into the next at a Stanley Thompson course that startled the world with the brilliance of its design — and made its architect’s reputation — when it opened in 1926.

Banff Springs Golf Course
Stanley Thompson’s Banff Springs course, the first anywhere to cost more than $1 million, has long been included in virtually every ranking of the game’s leading layouts, and its most celebrated hole, the par-three Devil’s Cauldron, numbers among the most photographed in golf.

Mount Lorette & Mount Kidd
Robert Trent Jones built two astonishingly assured and gorgeous courses at Kananaskis Country Golf Course. The legendary Jones, who started out in the 1930s as Thompson’s junior partner, called Kananaskis the best natural site he had ever worked with.

Stewart Creek Golf and Country Club
Calgary-based architect Gary Browning treats golfers to a roller-coaster thrill ride at a course set in the shadow of the Three Sisters, a spectacular three-peak massif in the Rundle Range.

British Columbia

Big Sky Golf and Country Club
Mount Currie looms like a granite god over a superb links-style course built by American architect Bob Cupp on the flatlands of a former potato farm.

Chateau Whistler Golf Club
Wild elevation changes are the hallmark of a design by Robert Trent Jones Jr. that rolls with the natural contours of the landscape at the base of Blackcomb Mountain.

Greywolf Golf Course
Canadian architect Doug Carrick’s drama-filled layout features 500 feet of elevation change, as well as the aptly named Cliffhanger, one of Canada’s most unforgettable par threes.

Salmon Arm Golf Club
Tight and constantly demanding, this design by Canadian architect Les Furber offers awe-inspiring views of the Shuswap Mountains with every shot.

The Ridge at Predator Ridge Resort
Doug Carrick’s award-winning course climbs rapidly into the foothills of the Monashee Range, offering cliff-top tee shots and views of Lake Okanagan far below.

Royal St. Kitts Golf Club features three thrilling new ocean-side holes on the back nine. (Image: Royal St. Kitts Golf Club)

Tired of waiting for the warm weather to arrive in Canada? Look south to the lovely Caribbean island of St. Kitts, where a balmy forecast is practically guaranteed for the 32nd Johnnie Walker St. Kitts Open May 17 to 19.

The two-day, 36-hole stroke play tourney is hosted by the Royal St. Kitts Golf Club, a layout brilliantly rebuilt several years ago by top Canadian golf architect Tom McBroom. Added during the reconstruction were three thrilling new ocean-side holes on the back nine. At the par-three 15th, McBroom memorably flanked the green with a cascade of bunkers designed to mimic the waves crashing ashore in the background.

Players compete for prizes in their respective flights (Championship, Men, Senior Men, Super Senior Men, and Women). Entry is $275 for visiting golfers and includes two rounds of golf and complimentary lunch on both days of play.

Golf and hotel packages are offered by The Golf Connection, a U.S.-based golf marketing company that hosts a string of popular winter tournaments throughout the Caribbean — including the Admiral’s Cup Pro-Am (Feb. 2 to 6, 2014), played in St. Kitts and on the neighbouring island of Nevis. Four-night packages for the Johnnie Walker St. Kitts Open start from $625 per person based on double occupancy. Included is one practice round, daily breakfast, a welcome dinner, and a sunset dinner on the final night. The booking deadline is May 1.

Located southeast of Puerto Rico in the Leeward Islands, St. Kitts is an emerging golf destination, with two new courses under construction: a hillside Ian Woosnam design at Kittitian Hill; and a Tom Fazio-designed layout at Christophe Harbour.

The former British colony also offers hiking trails through tropical rain forests, a scenic railway that connects the island’s former sugar plantations, and historic Brimstone Hill Fortress, the only man-made World Heritage Site in the eastern Caribbean.

Home of one of Ontario’s most acclaimed courses — and famous as the site of the 2010 Group of Eight Summit — Deerhurst Resort kicks off the golf season with its annual Masters in Muskoka Weekend.

Here’s a great idea worth repeating: Deerhurst Resort, home of one of Ontario cottage country’s top courses, is ushering in the golf season with its second annual Masters in Muskoka Weekend April 12 to 14.

Guests at the 400-room resort are invited to watch the play-by-play from Augusta National in a Masters Lounge equipped with a big screen TV, as well as tune up their swings in an Indoor Golf Zone featuring practice stations, a putting green, golf simulators and equipment demos. Director of Golf Danny Jackson and his staff will be on hand to dispense advice.

Included in the package is a three-course dinner followed by a comedy performance by the Just For Laughs Roadshow on Saturday evening. Also offered during the weekend are culinary demonstrations and wine tastings.

Located in the town of Huntsville, about a two-and-a-half-hour drive north of Toronto, Deerhurst Resort captured headlines when Barack Obama, Stephen Harper and other world leaders met there for the 2010 Group of Eight Summit. The big attraction for golfers is Deerhurst Highlands Golf Course, a superb Tom McBroom-Robert Cupp co-design that rambles through forest and wetlands, and past immense walls of Canadian Shield granite. Also found here is Deerhurst Lakeside, an 18-hole executive course renowned for its lovely views of Peninsula Lake.

Deerhurst’s two-night Masters in Muskoka Weekend package starts from $189 per night, based on double occupancy.