Milford Manor GC -- A Family Run Quirkfest in Muskoka

[Mark Saltzman]

Milford Manor is a 9-hole family run golf course that is as quirky as they come.  There is no clubhouse and no on-site staff -- payment is on the honour system and it's $12 for 9 holes. 






The setting of the first tee is far from serene, but, heck, that's never hurt Pebble Beach's reputation.




As seen from behind, the push-up green at the 100 yard 1st can be an elusive target with a hidden bunker/tree double-hazard guarding the rear.




A 90 yard drop-shot par-3 at the 2nd with OB lurking on the right:






The uphill par-4 3rd at 230 yards features a reverse-cambre fairway and a green set perfectly at the top of the rise:




A look at the (sadly) NLE 4th hole, which at one time was set nicely against the water:




The current 4th is a mere pitch of 50 yards over a valley of sin:




The 5th is a dangerous 210 yard par-4 over a diagonal hazard and OB left ready to catch any pulled tee shots:




Of little interest is the 135 yard 6th, but it is a way to get to the far more interesting 7th:




At 275 yards the 7th is a short par-5, but trouble lurks everywhere.  Some will be tempted to drive the green though the smart play is to the left, the only place from which one can access the green:




This plateau green is set amongst the trees and calls for the highest level of precision.




As seen from 50 yards out, approaching from the right is near-impossible, requiring a very delicate pitch under tree limbs over broken ground:




Missing left leaves an even more difficult recovery over a ridge and under the trees:




The 235 yard 8th shares a fairway with the 7th and its short yardage will tempt the golfer to give-a-go at the green around the corner:






At 160 yards the par-4 9th is as quirky as holes come.  This short par-4 features a greater than 90 degree dogleg and requires a tee shot as near the outside of the dogleg to leave a clear view of the green:




Failing to hit the tee shot long enough leaves an obscured view of the green:

[Mark McKeever]

Nice find!  That 7th hole looks great!

Mark

[Guy Nicholson]

Mark,

I went to school with daughters of the then-owners. I first played here with my gym teacher on the last day of Grade 7 or 8 -- 1985 or 1986. Last time was in the late 1990s.

The 4th green used to be the 5th. After playing the NLE 4th, you teed off next to the water and came back uphill -- a difficult hole. The 6th and 7th were played as a short but difficult par-5 requiring a precise tee shot through the notch, followed by the precision layup for access to the green. The 8th has always been a good hole.

Otherwise, things look very much as remembered, including conditioning.

[JimFatsi]

thanks for taking the time to post, love the simplicity of this business

[Tommy Williamsen]

Where is this?  It does have simplicity but would you play it more than once?

[Matthew Runde]

The approach on 7the looks like a ton of fun.  Very tricky, and I love it.

[Phil McDade]

Where is this?  It does have simplicity but would you play it more than once?

Muskoka is part of the "Up North" area north of Toronto about an hour or two -- lots of little towns and "cottages" built on the numerous lakes there -- pretty similar to what you'd find in the northern reaches of Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan and parts of New England, esp. the Adirondacks and the lake region of New Hampshire. Wonderful country, but vicious -- really vicious -- black flies in the summer.

[Dan Herrmann]

Love it!

[David Harshbarger]

Mark,

Finding majestic Milford Manor on a map took some doing, but once found, it appears there is another course of maybe similar qualities around the corner at the Beaumaris Yacht Club.

http://www.beaumaris.org/

It's private, and may be 18 (hard to tell through the shadows, esp. given the complete absence of bunkers and the uniform grassing), but maybe a well-placed call could get you on?

Dave