Semi-Private (June-August private, shoulder season public times available)
Doug Carrick (2001)
20th in Canada (SCOREGolf)
In the Muskoka area, golfers are blessed with an abundance of good golf options, and one near the top is Bigwin Island, a 2001 design from Canadian Doug Carrick. Part of the allure of a place like Bigwin Island is, as the name suggests, the island factor, where you take a boat to the golf course from the mainland. Pretty cool, and quite unique, as Canada has nothing like that.
Part of the allure also comes from the interesting history of the island, with Stanley Thompson originally building a golf course here and the club being a booming place back in the 20’s. But in 2001, Doug Carrick completely started from scratch and built his own 18 hole golf course.
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Doug Carrick designs good golf courses, and usually, they’re pretty. Bigwin is both, it’s not great, nor bad. It’s stunning and fun, and something that you could enjoy every day of the week. As you can see, it’s nothing crazy, and not too architecturally interesting, but the round is enjoyable and something worth a day trip from Toronto.
Have you played Bigwin? What are your thoughts? Did you enjoy it? Let me know in the comments below!
Based in Toronto, but having lived in Alberta, British Columbia, Montana, Arizona, and Texas, I have been lucky enough to see over 400 golf courses and counting!