Golf in Sarnia

A 72 par bluegrass course, Rattle Run spans thousands of yards of greenery to challenge amateur and expert golfers alike. Players can master putting prowess on the 6,000-square-foot practice green, free of windmills and concrete lily pads, before challenging a plaid-panted opponent to a round of 18 holes. The natural beauty of the fairways, lined with trees, rivers, wild vegetation, and ponds, lulls clubbers into a state of relaxed serenity, increasing susceptibility to ensnarement in one of 78 bunkers and water hazards. Customers also get the opportunity to navigate through the treacherous terrain aboard one of Rattle Run’s purebred canopied golf carts, easing the burden of carrying heavy bags.

When you golf at Lakeview Hills Golf Resort, you can get a distinct picture of the sport's different eras. Its two 18-hole courses share the same farmland near Lake Huron but were built 61 years apart.

The South Course, built in 1927, harkens back to the golden era of golf course design, treating golfers to a shorter layout filled with hills and a nuanced short game. The 1991 addition—the nearly 7,000-yard North Course—is built for today's longer hitters, but has four sets of tees for both shorter hitters and anyone using tree branches as clubs.

Despite its name, Lakeview Hills Golf Resort has various sporting pursuits. There are three wooden racquetball courts set near the pro shop, as well as a 16-lane bowling alley.

C.J. Barrymore's encompasses 25 acres brimming with energetic laser tag, a vast arcade, and various other attractions for the young, young-at-heart, and young-at-spleen. With four laser-tag tickets, tyke clans ages 7 and up can simulate battle tactics through fog and pylons in 15-minute team-based matches that, much like court hearings, come enhanced by a roaring sound system and spectacular light shows (a $24 value). Meanwhile, joystick junkies can feed their 132 tokens to myriad arcade games in the neon-lit game room, including old-school favorites such as Ms. Pac-Man and the hands-on sportitude of basketball and air hockey (a $25 value). After all tokens have been spent, gamers can redeem their earnings at the prize counter, choosing from hundreds of rewards to take home, and become the envy of all the neighborhood playground pals and reclusive Peter Pans.

Staffed by experienced coaches and computers who’ve sworn allegiance to the three laws of golfing robotics, GolfTEC’s motion sensors and high-speed cameras monitor swings and break down each individual’s form on a high-definition video display to get results. Sensors chirp with approval whenever they detect the perfect stroke or an especially witty golfing joke. GolfTEC’s certified personal coaches will point out flaws and strengths while providing golfers with tips on how to permanently improve their game from tee to green.

PGA pros Alex Macko and Alex "Breezy" Koskos propagate sound pin-hunting form from their post at Jawor's Golf Center, which fosters year-round practice with indoor and outdoor training areas. The duo can demystify the subtle mechanics of the golf swing at the center's 44-tee driving range, which features 14 covered, heated stalls that enable practice sessions during inclement weather. With clubs and apparel from brands such as Callaway, TaylorMade, and Titleist, the full-service pro shop offers equipment upgrades as well as repair services for club shafts snapped by players who mistakenly teed up a bocce ball. Two outdoor, 18-hole mini-golf courses buttress the facility, inviting players to work on their putting form as life-size cartoon characters break the tension after a missed gimme or a dispute about whether or not an abandoned shoe is an acceptable ball marker.

Vargo Golf Company’s stable of golfing properties allows club-wielders of all skills to test the tees on diverse courses while perfecting their game. The Myth Golf Club furnishes 18 holes on a championship course with spacious greens surrounded by lush woods with playful creatures that occasionally turn out to practice their polite golf clap. Myth’s younger sibling, The Little Myth Par 3 is a nine-hole affair perfect for experienced clubsmiths looking to work on their short game or short clubsmiths looking to first develop one. The hilly obstacles and generous fairways of the 18-hole Rouge Park Golf Course, founded in 1923, boasts one of the area’s most challenging holes (the famed hole 11). Groupon holders can also dream up creative mulligan excuses at the 18-hole Bruce Hills Golf Club, the 9-hole executive Hampton Golf Club, the 18-hole Rackham Golf Course, the 18-hole Chandler Park Golf Course, and the-18 hole Palmer Park Golf Course.