Deerhurst Resort (Highlands)

Overview: Deerhurst Highlands is the signature 18-hole course at the Huntsville resort and one of the defining golf experiences of Muskoka. Robert Cupp and Thomas McBroom's par-72 design measures 7,011 yards and uses the Canadian Shield as a playing surface, with elevated tees, dense woods, exposed granite and abrupt changes in ground level. The opening view over Fairy Lake sets the tone, but the course is not simply scenic: the rock, slopes and tight changes of direction repeatedly affect the safest line and the quality of the next approach.

History: The course opened in 1990 and helped establish Muskoka as a major Canadian golf destination. Cupp and McBroom created a modern championship routing that respected the rugged resort landscape rather than smoothing it into conventional parkland. Deerhurst's later master-plan rejuvenation, noted in the resort's course material for 2018, added another layer to a layout whose identity still rests on the original granite-and-forest setting.

Did You Know? The tenth hole is the course's clearest architectural signature: a sheer granite rock face runs along the fairway, turning the Canadian Shield into a direct strategic feature. It is an unusually literal reminder that at Deerhurst Highlands the landform is not background scenery, but part of the golf.