Great golf in Muskoka is 'Taboo'

By John Gordon,
Contributor

GRAVENHURST, Ontario - At what used to be known as theMuskoka Sands Resort, everything is Taboo. Everything, that is, but change.

To clarify, Taboo is the name of the RonGarl-designed golf course acouple of hours north of Torontothat opened last summer to ravereviews. It is built upon the Canadian Shield, the enormous granitegeological formation that, when viewed from the air, must look likeGod's rock garden. Garl created a straightforward design in thetraditional mode, one which should contend for the honor of best newcourse in the country this year.

But the owners, brothers Norman and Elly Reisman, were not content torest upon their laurels. Four new tee decks have been added for thesecond season, and the 489-yard par-5 16th hole has been changed to apar-4, making the layout a 7,173-yard, par-71 challenge.

"They [the Reismans] are passionate golfers and passionate that the gameof golf retains its integrity," says Nigel Hollidge, Taboo's director ofgolf operations/marketing. "They didn't want a golf course that'stricked up. It had to be part of nature."

That theme led, in an indirect way, to the unusual name which might, tosome, have a negative connotation. And they would be right, in a mannerof speaking, says Hollidge.

"Taboo? The name is one of the things I really like about this golfcourse. When you're out there, you really do see quite clearly the areasyou don't want to be in, the areas that are taboo." He is referring tothe rocky outcroppings, centuries-old oaks, maples, hemlocks and pines,and wetlands of varying severity. However, generous landing areas makethose gut-wrenching instances relatively infrequent.

If "taboo" also means breaking with convention or tradition, then the course's touring PGA Tour professional did that with extreme prejudice in April when Mike Weir became the first Canadian to win a major at The Masters.

Hollidge was in Augusta, home of TheMasters, for most of the week,staying with Weir's family before returning Saturday night. "It wassurreal! Come Sunday night, I could hardly watch [the TV]. I was soexcited for Mike, just pure joy because he is such a good guy and sodeserving of this. The [winning] putt hadn't hit the bottom of the holewhen my phone started ringing."

The phones rang incessantly for the next few days. "International press,well wishers, people trying to get hold of Mike, and people who wantedto play Mike's home course. It was literally insane."

The resort capitalized on Weir's victory by offering a "stay-and-play orstay-and-spa" package, starting at Cdn$190 per person, double occupancy.The package includes accommodation and one day of unlimited golf, withcart and practice facility. A $100 spa credit is available in lieu ofone round. Also included are all non-motorized amenities of the resortand its half-mile of beautiful Lake Muskoka beach, which includeswimming, kayaking, canoeing, windsurfing, rowing, tennis, mountainbiking and more.

The hubbub surrounding the renaming of the resort, its exciting future and Weir's win threatens to overshadow the fact that the course has been the catalyst, and justifiably so.

"From every tee deck, Taboo becomes a totally different golf course,"Hollidge notes. "That is the mark of a great design. There are nogimmicks, everything's right there in front of you, but it rewards onlyreally good shots and severely penalizes bad ones. You have to earn agood score at Taboo."

Garl, a Florida-based architect, did a superlative job with theexpansive setting, especially in selecting green sites. When Weirattended a media day last summer, he chose the par-3 seventh hole todemonstrate his skill with a 6-iron. The hole plays more than 200 yardsslightly uphill to a relatively accessible green, although any shot tothe right will find native undergrowth. The controversial design of thepar-5 18th hole means that it will never play the same way twice. "Afteryour tee shot, you crest a hill, and there before you are rocks,fairway, big trees, and the hole sweeps back up to the green. It's afeast for the eyes," rejoices Hollidge.

That phrase could be used to describe the entire layout which had theluxury of wending its way over and through a couple of hundred acres ofrugged topography. As a result, each hole stands on its own with a senseof happy isolation from its neighbors.

So enthralled were the owners with the positive reaction to the label"Taboo," that they renamed the entire 1,200-acre resort, formerly knownas Muskoka Sands.

"As soon as the golf course opened, it was recognized as a greatlayout," Hollidge says. "We had done the deal with Mike before that andhaving him at the media day was a coup that focused a lot of attentionon not only the course, but the whole resort. So we decided to build onthat momentum.

"Our goal is to make Taboo the best resort not only in Muskoka, but inCanada, and the name change is a symbol of that."

The former Muskoka Sands had a lot to offer, but was starting to showits age. Its rejuvenation has already begun with renovation of theexisting hotel, construction of cottage chalets, and expansion of themarina facilities to accommodate up to 60 boats. Preparations for a24-suite boutique-style spa-hotel adjacent to the golf course areunderway, as are the initial steps towards a Weir-endorsed teachingacademy and even a charitable foundation similar to the Francis OuimetSociety in the United States. The latter scholarship program wouldsubsidize the education costs of young people who are seasonal employees atTaboo and lack the funds to attend post-secondary institutions.

The crowning development could come when and if Weir collaborates withan architect to design a second course. The association with the 2003Masters champion is something of which Taboo's owners and staff are veryproud, says Hollidge, because of his well-earned reputation forintegrity and refusal to accept anything than a best effort.

"When we did the deal with Mike, when he put his name beside Taboo's,then we knew that this place was as good as we thought it was."

They were right.

For more information, visit tabooresort.com or call (800) 461-0236.

June 3, 2003

John Gordon has been involved fulltime with golf since he became managing editor of Score, Canada's Golf Magazine, in 1985. In 1991, he was recruited by the Royal Canadian Golf Association to create their Member Services and Communications departments, and to revive Golf Canada magazine, their national membersmagazine which had been defunct for a decade. After successfully relaunching Golf Canada and serving as its inaugural editor, he was named executive director of the Ontario Golf Association. He returned to fulltime writing in 1995.