Golf gives boost to real estate market in Ontario's Niagara-on-the-Lake

Ontario's Niagara-on-the-Lake used to be one of those little Canadian towns nobody had ever heard of. It was close to Niagara Falls, but not close enough that the honeymooners and families with kids could come. But as the greater Niagara Falls region takes off as a golf destination, Niagara-on-the-Lake is becoming a sought after second home spot. The quaint town is an example of how golf can invigorate a real estate market.

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The great Green Golf swindle

Golf is trying to take a page from the Whole Foods playbook and convince us golfers that "earth-friendly courses" with worse conditions and higher green fees are the noble, righteous play.

Grapes and golf go hand in hand in Niagara

More than 13 million visitors flock to the likes of Niagara Falls, Niagara-on-the-Lake, St. Catharines, Fort Erie and Welland each year. There literally is something for everyone in the Niagara region. And while the magnificent American and Canadian falls are the biggest tourist draws, the golf and wine industries are growing in popularity. The climate that makes Niagara a perfect place to grow grapes, also means golfers can play from April through November.

Pine Knot Golf in Ontario: Tie the knot but first shoot a career-low round

Pine Knot Golf & Country Club is one of the more popular spots to get married near London, Ontario, and you'll pardon the groom if he slips off before his vows to get in a quick 18. Marriage is one of the fundamentals of society, but opportunities for career-low scores don't come every day. Pine Knot is a place where you just might realize that career day and get a bit of the affirmation every average duffer needs from time to time.

Nature and quirks take center stage at Ontario's St. Thomas Golf and Country Club

Ever since its expansion to an 18-hole layout in 1927, St. Thomas Golf and Country Club in Union, Ontario, has undergone regular improvements and is now perennially rated among Canada's 100 best. And for good reason. This parkland course plays up, down and through valleys bordered by hills rising sharply up the sides of undulating fairways lined with beautiful trees, a combination of scenery that makes for a fantastic round of golf.

Ontario's Ironwood Golf Club: White squirrels and tricky holes

Ironwood Golf Club in Exeter, Ontario, may be hard to find, but once you get there, you'll be happy you came. Ironwood is a top-notch family-run operation, easy on the eyes and easy on the scorecard. Opened in the mid-'60s, the course has been expanded, tweaked and fiddled with for four decades, and it's not finished yet. This work-in-progress is an interesting little course that offers fun golf in beautiful rural Canada.

Ontario's Fire Rock: Good golf courses don't have to come from pristine nature

It may be a bit counterintuitive but you don't need a pristine natural setting to build an interesting golf course. Course architect Tom McBroom was able to take an old sand and gravel dump and turn it into a great track at Fire Rock Golf Club in Komoka. McBroom incorporated what natural features the area did have, particularly savannah grasses, trees and small creeks, into a challenging design that grabs you on the final holes.

Ontario's RiverBend Golf: A windy challenge for golfers a certain age

The RiverBend Golf Community west of London, Ontario is marketed as "adult-lifestyle." How do you design a course for those of a certain age? For starters, you make the bunkers easy to get into and out of and you build wide fairways, as architect Doug Carrick did here. Still, the course is not a complete pushover. It's 6,914 yards long and the greens have some subtle slope and can get quick when the sun and wind dry them out.

Ontario's Whistle Bear Golf Club is big and beastly, especially when it gets windy

When you get your first good look at Whistle Bear Golf Club in Cambridge, Ontario, one word may come to mind: "cake." As in, "Yeah, this will be ..." Nary a tree. And look at those wide fairways. As with a lot of links-style courses, though, trouble slithers around the edges and waits in the corners; try 103 sand bunkers, water on 10 holes, and wiry, nasty fescue all over the place. And don’t get us started on the wind.

Spectacular views part of the golf experience at Golden

The Golden Golf and Country Club in British Columbia has been considered a "hidden gem" by many golfers familiar with this area. Located in an area known for its skiing resorts yet a small town feel, the golf club started out as a nine-hour course before expansion in 1993. But, overall, the nines blend together exceptionally well, staff writer Andrew Penner reports, and a first-time visitor would likely never guess that it was two different architects.

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