Club de Golf du Manoir Richelieu

Few golf courses in Canada carry the historical weight of the Manoir Richelieu course. Carved into the dramatic clifftops above the St. Lawrence River in the late 19th century and closely tied to the grand Fairmont Le Manoir Richelieu hotel, the course has been a destination for generations of Montreal and Quebec City society. It was redesigned by the renowned architect Graham Cooke in the 1990s, restoring and elevating it into one of the finest resort courses in the country. Golf Digest and Score Golf have consistently ranked it among Canada's best, and the views — sweeping down the cliffs to the broad St. Lawrence below — are among the most dramatic of any course on the continent.

La Malbaie sits in the Charlevoix region, a UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve where the Laurentian Mountains meet the river in a landscape of particular grandeur. The terrain gives the course serious elevation change and some genuinely exposed, wind-affected holes.

This is resort golf at its most atmospheric — formal in its heritage but thrilling to play, rewarding players who manage the hills, the wind off the water, and the sheer distraction of scenery that has few equals in Canadian golf.