ROYAL OAKS ESTATES and Golf Club is the first and only one of two Canadian courses designed by American golf architect Rees Jones—the man behind U.S. Open venues like the Black Course at Bethpage State Park in New York and North Carolina’s Pinehurst No. 2.

At over 7,000 yards, Royal Oaks bears all the Jones hallmarks: generous, rolling fairways; slippery greens; deep bunkers; and subtle contours that mercilessly steer even slightly wayward shots into waiting water hazards. On the par-5 3rd, 545 yards of straightaway fairway and rough-covered shoulders are guarded by deep, gnarly fescue, which stands in for the water hazards and mature forest that are an ever-present danger elsewhere on the course.

Water in is play on more than half the holes, nowhere more so than at the distinctive par-5 7th, a 547-yard titan with tightly mown rough that offers little protection from a gaping lake guarding both the fairway and the slick tiered putting surface. The same lake also makes the 191-yard tee shot on the par-3 8^th hole a daunting affair, to say nothing of the dramatically sloped green.

TOTAL YARDS: 7,100

NUMBER OF HOLES: 18

APRES-GOLF: For true pampering, hit the luxurious Golf Suites at Royal Oaks, right off the 7th fairway and fully equipped right down to the private games room with pool table, racquetball court and horseshoe-shaped bar. And if the weather doesn’t co-operate, there’s always the new indoor driving range at Moncton’s Dundee SportsDome.

Green fees are $75.