Here’s a taste:
Doug Carrick is a quiet man with a big vision.
Most of the golf courses he’s created in recent years are bold, wondrous affairs like Toronto’s Eagles Nest, Bigwin Island in Ontario cottage country and, most recently, Muskoka Bay. Though his course’s speak loudly, Carrick is typically reserved and quiet. He’s rarely boastful, and even when he is, you might have to move close to hear him.
But the Toronto designer is justifiably proud of Muskoka Bay, a course just near Gravenhurst, Ont. Never mind that the bay is not in sight on the course, it is still a facility that demonstrates Carrick’s love of aesthetics and intriguing challenges. And though he’s worked in Muskoka before at Bigwin Island, his new project sees the architect stretching a bit, reaching for new concepts he hadn’t previously tried.
That means there’s some exposed rock, but used in a different way from Tom McBroom’s aptly named Rocky Crest. Similarly the course plays through dense Muskoka forest, but it isn’t as ever-present as is the case at Taboo. And unlike some of Carrick’s recent work, with their wide fairways, Muskoka Bay is a little tighter, a little tougher.
Full column is here.
