The evolution of cottage
golf in Ontario has truly been stunning. In the last
5 years alone cottagers in places like Huntsville,
Port Carling and Bracebridge have been treated to
a bevy of great new championship golf courses. Visitors
to Muskoka can now play some world class golf while
they're up north, rather than simply spending their
days fishing or boating or lounging on the deck.
Now, with launch of the
exciting new Wildfire Golf Club, just outside of Peterborough,
ON, the Kawartha tourist region is now beginning to
make a name for itself when it comes to great cottage
golf in Ontario as well. Course design legend Thomas
McBroom has created a challenging, yet eye-catching
design that has already been nominated by Golf Digest
for its 'Best New Golf Course in Canada' award for
2004.
Wildfire Golf Club is located
on the venerable Stoney Lake, one of Ontario's most
popular cottage retreats, about 15-20 minutes north
of Peterborough and winds itself through an impressive
210-acre tract of pristine forest, meadows and wetlands.
A design true to the natural characteristics of the
site, it features a myriad of rock outcropping, massive
boulders and undisturbed nature areas. The course
measures 7,020 yds and plays to a par-72. And, interestingly
enough, features 5 par-5s and 5 par-3s over its 18
holes.
One of the more impressive
holes at Wildfire is the dogleg-right, par-4 9th hole
(photo above). McBroom incorporated a large number
of granite boulders that were found on the site, to
give this hole a truly unique look. Combine that with
a beautiful, marshy pond and you have one of the prettiest
holes on the course.
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Another impressive hole
is the par-5, 562-yds 11th. This hole features an
elevated set of tees that overlook a stunning, natural
wetland/lake. The fairway hugs the right side of this
marshy lake and provides a picturesque landing area
for your tee shots. Even the longest hitters will
have a tough time reaching the island green in two
on this hole, most golfers are forced to lay up and
play a challenging short-iron third shot to this large,
undulating green. Great hole.
All in all we found Wildfire
to be a well-laid out, challenging course. A course
that is fairly easy to walk and didn't have large
distances between holes. Thomas McBroom's signature
fairway bunkers were prevalent on many holes and really
put a premium on accuracy off the tee. While the routing
of the holes on the course was quite good, we were
a little disappointed that Wildfire had not produced
a course guide or map to help us navigate our way
along. One would assume that, along with a new clubhouse,
this will be upcoming in the next few years.
If presented with the opportunity,
we would definitely recommend a visit to Wildfire
during your next visit to the Peterborough / Stoney
lake area. For more information on Wildfire Golf Club,
call 705-877-9453 or visit www.GolfWildfire.com.
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