First impressions of Muskoka, a golf destination north of Toronto in Ontario, Canada

I got my first taste of golf in Muskoka and it has whet my appetite for more.

I love nothing more than discovering a destination that by my standards is still “undiscovered.” I’ve not read much about Muskoka, nor heard many golfers talk about it. It’s always been on my wish-list since it’s so close to my hometown of Port Huron in the thumb of Michigan. It’s less than a five-hour jaunt across the Blue Water Bridge to a vacation hotbed teeming with courses and lakes. Muskoka is “cottage country” to Toronto residents who live roughly two hours to the southeast.

This week’s visit started at the Oak Bay Golf & Country Club on the southern tip of the destination. The course, which opened in 2011, looks beautiful but plays tough, a characteristic I better get used to for the five rounds to come. The lakes, forest and rocky Canadian Shield make for some serious target golf. The photo above is one of the four strong par-3s at Oak Bay.

The fall colors aren’t out yet, although it’s easy to see this would be a great fall golf getaway. For dinner, I grabbed a quick bite to eat from the local country store and took it to a picnic table on the beach at Clevelands House, where I’m staying. It was a peaceful setting that would look at home on a postcard. I think I’m gonna like this place.