The par 72 River Course at Humber Valley Resort measures 7,247 yards and gives commanding views over Deer Lake and the Humber River. The course has been designed by Doug Carrick, one of Canada’s leading golf architects, who is renowned for letting the natural topography dictate the routing of the course and the layout of individual holes. The setting has certainly given plenty of scope for him to work with, and the course weaves its way through the forest while permitting breathtaking mountain and lake views.

The course offers gently rolling terrain, wide fairways and undulating greens. Tees and greens use creeping bent grass while fairways are bedded with dwarf Kentucky blue grass. Most challenging hole is the par four 10th (stroke index 1), which plays 439 yards off the yellow tee, but the course can be enjoyed as a fair challenge to all levels of handicap.

The golf season in Newfoundland typically runs from late May to the end of October, and possibly into November. A second course at the Humber Valley resort is due to open in 2007.

Away from the golf course, the provision at this development is simply stunning. The timber frame houses (“chalets”) are discretely sited on 615 acres. Each (on a minimum lot of 1 acre) is strategically hidden in the forest, either abutting the River Course and/or taking advantage of magnificent views. Apart from the golf, other outdoor activities include salmon fishing, sailing, sea kayaking and windsurfing. The entrance to Gros Morne National Park (a UNESCO World Heritage Site) is about a one hour drive away.

Aphrodite Hills is a £170million development with a Cabell Robinson designed 6,856 yard championship standard 18-hole course at its centre. It is a testing, but enjoyable, course with its wide fairways and interesting bunker arrangements. The views of both mountains and the Mediterranean are stunning and contribute to the pleasure of the round of golf. The facilities are good, the staff professional and the clubhouse large and smart.

For those interested in investing in property here, the low-rise apartment blocks and town houses are grouped overlooking the course, and detached villas are scattered alongside the fairways and greens.