Golf La Bete

Great view of the ski mountain from
the first fairway

We drove by Golf La Bete many times as we raced up the Montee Ryan towards Mont Tremblant.  It always looked like a picturesque course from the road, bisected by the Diable river with dramatic mountains as a backdrop.  We also cycled through it, catching a glimpse of the occasional green or fairway from the Petit Train du Nord, which runs right through La Bete.  We have now played La Bete a few times and it has become one of our favourites.  Of the higher-end courses like Le Geant and La Diable, La Bete is the least expensive but offers just as much challenge.  It is also well manicured and offers great vistas and facilities.  At current prices, peak times at La Bete run about $100 for 18 holes versus $150 for Geant and Diable.

One word of caution...if you book this online, it's very easy to accidentally book yourself onto their sister course, La Belle, because the tee times are shown side by side.  Be sure you are reserving a tee time for La Bete.  Not that there's anything wrong with La Belle, but it's not the same calibre and often quite busy and slow.

Great view of Mont Leonard from an elevated tee.  If you
squint you can see our house!

Anyway, back to our commentary on La Bete.  As mentioned before, it really has become our favourite course when we are looking for something a bit more challenging in the region.  Overall the layout is good, although there are a couple of wacky holes where you know the course architect had to try his best to do something with an awkward piece of land.  One par four demands a soft iron to a landing area, and then takes are hard right with a wedge in to the green.  Another gives you a completely blind tee shot from an elevated tee box where you aim for post, and hopefully your ball lads safely on one of several terraced areas with the green about a mile below.  Even the eighteenth is a bit odd as a finishing hole, running up to an elevated green right outside a couple condo buildings and then it's a 2 minute drive back to the parking lot.  But still an awesome course to play.

When your round is finished, the clubhouse bar has a great view over a steep cliff and so is worth a stop.  The other redeeming feature...they have a beer and sandwich cart!  This course is a short drive from the Tremblant resort and definitely worth a visit!