The Ridge at Manitou began, as most big projects do, with a small idea posed by a group of Manitouwabing Lake cottagers several years ago.  After careful planning and consultation, 300 acres of spectacular land was acquired. The kind of natural environment that excited the golfer with its pristine course and unspoiled wonders of nature alike.

The goal from the start was to create a special place, where the concepts of discretion and excellence would comfortably coexist with unpretentiousness and relaxation. The result is The Ridge at Manitou, a golf course, social centre and nature sanctuary. Located about 20 minutes east of Parry Sound, near McKellar, The Ridge at Manitou offers its members entry into a unique world, one in which the golf course itself comprises less than half of the land, with the remaining 150 acres dedicated to preserving the rugged landscape that is home to deer, moose, black bears, wolves, great-horned owls and myriad other forms of wildlife.

To ensure that the sanctity of the environment came first, a complete environmental plan had been developed. That task was given to Michalski Nielsen Associates of Bracebridge. Course designer, Tom joined the team to create and shape an 18-hole course that would complement the land’s natural features, while providing an accessible, but also competitive, round of golf. During construction of the course, Tom and environmental expert Michael Michalski worked together to make certain the course always melded with, but never intruded upon, the natural surroundings.