The Georgian Bay Club

Overview: The Georgian Bay Club is an 18-hole private course on the Nippissing Ridge above Georgian Bay and the Niagara Escarpment. Jason Straka completed the design with Hurdzan Fry Environmental Golf Design, creating a par-71 layout that stretches to 7,122 yards. The club describes it as a second-shot course, with wide fairways leading to large undulating greens where the best approach angle matters more than simply finding the centre of the fairway. The surrounding bay and escarpment give the holes a strong natural frame.

History: The course opened for play in June 2004 on an ancient alluvial plain with rich watersheds and a 450-million-year geological history. The development used material mined on site for roads, drainage and other construction, while the club’s land plan protected springs and rainbow-trout spawning grounds. Hurdzan Fry’s environmental design approach is therefore part of the course’s history, not an afterthought. The club’s current architect pages credit Straka and the Hurdzan Fry team.

Did You Know? More than sixty bunkers are inspired by Alister MacKenzie’s style, even though the course was designed by Hurdzan Fry and Jason Straka. The club also says its final three holes form a par-4, par-3 and par-5 finish that tests the player after the clubhouse first comes into view. Georgian Bay’s water, escarpment and ancient land are all visible in that closing stretch.