Bracebridge, Muskoka  ·  Est. July 1, 1993

Fifty years in golf.
Not one day wasted.

The story of a man, a shoestring, three sons, and eighteen holes carved through Canadian Shield rock.

Proudly CanadianFamily Owned Since 1993Dogs Welcome on the CourseBagpiper on the First TeePay Your Age if You Are Under 25Six Hole Rounds AvailableBBB Accredited A+ Proudly CanadianFamily Owned Since 1993Dogs Welcome on the CourseBagpiper on the First TeePay Your Age if You Are Under 25Six Hole Rounds AvailableBBB Accredited A+

How It Started

A tractor, a dream, and a budget that would make a banker nervous.

Don MacKay didn't build Muskoka Highlands because the numbers made sense. He built it because the land was there, the game was in his blood, and nobody had ever told him what couldn't be done.

July 1, 1993. Canada Day. The course opened with nine holes, a shoestring operation, and three boys who were too young to understand what their father was building. Andrew, Scott, and Russell. They grew up on this land, pulling weeds, raking bunkers, learning the game the way it was meant to be learned. By doing it.

The timber-frame clubhouse went up in 1996. Eighteen holes by 2001. Every expansion done the same way the first nine was done: carefully, stubbornly, and without losing sight of what the course was supposed to be. A place where people felt welcome the moment they arrived.

Russ eventually came back. He runs the day-to-day now. Don still shows up at dawn.

The MacKay family wearing Muskoka Highlands shirts
The MacKay Family
Three Generations. One Course.

"The scorecard fades. The stories don't."

Bagpiper at Muskoka Highlands
A Wee Touch of Scotland
Every Weekend

What Fifty Years Teaches You

The scorecard fades. The stories don't.

Don started playing golf in Lively, Ontario, with a 5-iron and a putter. That's it. Two clubs. He made it work.

Fifty years later he'll tell you the best golfers he's ever seen weren't the ones with the lowest handicaps. They were the ones who showed up. Who brought their kids. Who came back the next Saturday even after the round on Saturday fell apart completely.

Golf at its best isn't a performance. It's a conversation that happens to involve a ball and eighteen holes of increasingly complicated grass.

Don figured that out early. Everything about Muskoka Highlands, the pricing, the rules, the welcome, comes from that understanding.

What Makes This Place Different

None of this was in the original business plan.

Dog Friendly

Your best friend plays free.

Dogs are welcome on the course. Always have been. People drive from Toronto specifically for this. We've had golfers tell us the round didn't count unless the dog came. We understand completely.

A Wee Touch of Scotland

Weekends come with a soundtrack.

A lone bagpiper on the course on weekend mornings. No announcement. No schedule. Just the sound drifting across the fairways when the conditions are right. You either love it immediately or you come to love it by the third hole.

Growing the Game

Under 25? Your age is your price.

Ten years old? Your season membership costs $100. Eighteen? $180. Twenty-four? $240. Don decided in 2018 that golf needed young golfers more than young golfers needed golf. So he opened the gate. Literally.

An Hour of Freedom

Only have an hour? That's enough.

Six-hole rounds available any time. Come after work. Come at lunch. Come because you just need to hit something and the driving range won't scratch the itch. No judgment. No minimum. Golf on your terms.

Every Season

Usually first open and last closed in Muskoka. Every year.

When other courses are still deciding whether conditions are right, we're already on the first tee. When they've packed it in for the winter, we're still out there. Comes from the same stubbornness that built the place.

The Dog Guide Program

Meet Vegas and Yoda.

Muskoka Highlands raises guide dog puppies for the Lions Foundation Dog Guide Program. They live on the course, meet every golfer, and eventually go on to change someone's life. Don't be surprised if they follow you for a few holes.

"Three generations. One shoestring. Still going."

The Family

Three generations. One shoestring. Still going.

Don. Joyce. Andrew. Scott. Russ. A course built by a family and still run by one. That's not a marketing line, it's the operating model. When you call the pro shop, you're not calling a call centre. You're calling Russ. When something needs fixing on the course, Don usually already knows about it.

There's a difference between a business that says it's family-owned and a business where the family is actually there every morning. This is the second kind.

The MacKay family, keeping the lights on, the greens honest, and the beer cold since July 1, 1993.

The community at Muskoka Highlands
Community
Since 1993

In the words of people who've actually played here.

★★★★★

"By far the best greens I have played on all summer. And I have played some nice courses this year."

Carter Powell

★★★★★

"I have played on some great golf courses this year but none of their greens compare to the greens at Muskoka Highlands. Always perfect. Great job Don and Nick."

Paul Martin

★★★★★

"We loved our golf visit to Muskoka Highlands. The course was well maintained, greens were tough, fairways were fair as long as you stayed out of the long grass. We will return."

Frank Roth

Now you know the story. Come add yours.

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