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The days of summer are dwindling. Have you gotten enough golf?

Golf travel writer Brian Kendall was online earlier to take your questions on the best golf travel destination in Canada.

Your questions and Mr. Kendall's answers will appear at the bottom of this page once the discussion has begun.

Toronto-based writer Brian Kendall does most of the golf travel writing for The Globe and Mail and contributes to golf and lifestyle magazines around the world. Mr. Kendall is also the author of six books, including Northern Links: Canada From Tee to Tee (RandomHouse), which describes his adventures in Canadian golf.

Editor's Note: globeandmail.com editors will read and allow or reject each question/comment. Comments/questions may be edited for length or clarity. We will not publish questions/comments that include personal attacks on participants in these discussions, that make false or unsubstantiated allegations, that purport to quote people or reports where the purported quote or fact cannot be easily verified, or questions/comments that include vulgar language or libellous statements. Preference will be given to readers who submit questions/comments using their full name and home town, rather than a pseudonym.

Mike Reddick, Kingston: Hi Brian, If you had to suggest one hidden gem in Southern Ontario, somewhere really worthy of a weekend getaway, where would it be?

Brian Kendall: Hi Mike: Actually, I have two suggestions, both located in the popular Muskoka Lakes district, about a two-hour drive north of Toronto. The first is the South Muskoka Golf and Curling Club course, a Robbie Robinson valley design in the town of Bracebridge. Robinson began his career in 1929 as an assistant to the legendary Stanley Thompson, the greatest of all Canadian golf architects. He injected drama and challenge into South Muskoka with a series of sharp doglegs through mature forests. Distance off the tee is secondary to pinpoint accuracy throughout the 6,427-yard layout. My second suggestion is Windermere Golf and Country Club, about a half-hour drive from South Muskoka in the village of Windermere. This course also has a Stanley Thompson connection. The designer, George Cumming, a Canadian Open champion, was an early mentor to Thompson. Cumming's 6,443-yard layout features water hazards, snug, tree-lined fairways and postage stamp-sized greens. Both South Muskoka and Windermere are very reasonably priced. But if you want to splurge while you're in the area, book a tee time at Muskoka Bay, a gorgeous Doug Carrick design near the town of Gravenhurst that opened to considerable fanfare last summer.

Dave Rigby, Toronto: Hi Brian. My fiancee and I travel regularly each winter to the Caribbean and enjoy our golf while away. Could you advise on your favourite warm weather winter golf destinations and secondly, where a couple of your favourite European (mainland) golf destinations might be? Thanks kindly Dave

Brian Kendall: Hi Dave: Jamaica has long been considered the jewel of the Caribbean among knowledgeable golf travellers. Base yourself in the Montego Bay area, on the dramatic northwestern coast, and then treat yourself to rounds at White Witch Golf Club, Cinnamon Hill Golf Course, Half Moon Golf Club, and Tryall Golf Club. White Witch is especially memorable. It's a murderously difficult Robert von Hagge-Rick Baril design affording spectacular views of the Caribbean from almost every hole. White Witch, Half Moon and Cinnamon Hill are all attached to luxury resorts less than five minutes apart by car in rolling countryside east of the city. Tryall, the former home of the Johnnie Walker World Championship, is located about 20 kilometres west of Montego Bay, but is well worth the drive.

How big is your budget for a European golf vacation? For a real splurge, visit the French Riviera, where more than 30 courses are tucked between the Cote d'Azur and the hills of Provence. One standout: St. Donat Golf and Country Club, near Cannes, a Robert Trent Jones Jr. design where the hazards include a Roman bridge.

Rand Smith, Edmonton: I planning on retiring in a few years and would like to know where in Canada is the best year-round retirement location considering length of season, number of golf-able days in that season and availability of reasonably priced golf. Thanks

Brian Kendall: Hi Rand: On Aug. 1, I wrote an article in the travel section of The Globe and Mail describing the red-hot golf scene in the Thompson-Okanagion region of British Columbia. The area gets a whopping 2,000 hours of sunshine annually and the playing season, often stretching from late March to early November, is one of Canada's longest. Three new courses have opened this summer within an hour's drive of Kamloops: Tobiano, a Tom McBroom design that is being talked-up as a contender for Golf Digest's best new Canadian course award; Canoe Creek, which former Canadian PGA Tour player Dave Barr carved through farmland near the town of Salmon Arm; and Talking Rock Golf Course, a Wayne Carlton layout developed by the Little Shuswap First Nations. Another local gem is Salmon Arm Golf Club, a Les Furber design offering jaw-dropping views of the Shuswap Mountains. The green fee at Salmon Arm is an entirely reasonable $75. But hurry if you're planning to buy real estate. Prices are exploding throughout the Thompson-Okanagan.

paul summerville, Boston: In your view, where is the best place to play golf in north america ex-hawaii over december 24-january 2?

Brian Kendall: Hi Paul: You can't go wrong with a visit to Scottsdale, Arizona, where wintertime temperatures average 24 C. More than 200 of Arizona's 300 courses are within an easy drive. Three of my favourites: Tournament Players Club of Scottsdale, home to the PGA Tour's FBR Open, a superb Tom Weiskopf-Jay Morrish design next door to the Fairmont Scottsdale hotel; Grayhawk Golf Club, a 36-hole facility in north Scottsdale, where the headline attraction is Tom Fazio's Raptor course, which will host a new PGA Tour event, the Fry's Electonics Open, Oct. 18-21; and the Saguaro course at We-Ko-Pa Golf Club, a terrific new Bill Coore-Ben Crenshaw design.

Harry Gousopoulos, Leiden, Netherlands: Hi Brian. I'm a Canadian who has recently moved to the Netherlands. I'm looking to book myself a weekend golfing excursion. Cheap flights are available from Amsterdam to any number of golfing meccas. Would you have any advice on which direction I should head? West to Ireland? South to Spain? Any European package operators you know of that I should check out?

Brian Kendall: Hi Harry: I would definitely look into visiting Northern Ireland. Prices are cheaper than in Scotland or the Republic of Ireland and tee times at the best clubs generally don't have to be booked as far in advance. Several Northern Ireland courses rank among the very best in the world. Do not miss Royal County Down, an Old Tom Morris masterpiece dating from 1889 that is set on an impressive sweep of Dundrum Bay on the Irish Sea. Other must-plays include Ballyliffin Golf Club, Portstewart Golf Club, Ardglass Golf Club and Royal Portrush Golf Club. Establish a base and you can reach almost any of Northern Ireland's more than 90 golf courses or other points of interest within a couple of hours.

Chris Brigger, Toronto: Hi, Can you recommend some great golf courses, within a couple hours drive of Toronto, for a golfer on a bit of a budget? Does such a thing exist? Are there any great deals at some really nice courses? Thanks

Brian Kendall: Hi Chris, Consider a weekend spent golfing the courses of the Niagara Peninsula. There are high-end facilities such as the Rees Jones Course at Grand Niagara, Thundering Waters Golf Club and Legends on the Niagara, but the region also offers a dozen or more excellent courses at affordable prices. Three of the best are Beechwood Golf and Country Club, Hunters Pointe Golf Course and Whirlpool Golf Course, a Stanley Thompson gem opened in 1951 and owned and operated by the Niagara Parks Commission. In fact, Whirlpool was the last work of Thompson and has long been a place of pilgrimage for his fans. Best of all, the primetime green fee is just $64 to $74.

Gary Reid, Ottawa: Hi Brian. I am just a duffer, happy to break 100. But that does not diminish my enthusiasm for the game. Every summer I promise myself that I am going to play 3 rounds a week. And every summer I get busy with work and manage only 1 round a week. Things slow down for me in the fall and winter. So here is my question. I want to improve my game. So if I wanted to take a two week winter golf holiday in a warm place at a golf school, what reasonably priced golf schools/destinations would you recommend? Money is not really an object, although it is not in my nature to be extravagant.

Brian Kendall: Hi Gary: I was really impressed by a playing lesson I had at the PGA Tour Golf Academy at the World Golf Village in Florida. Located just off the I-95 between Jacksonville and St. Augustine, it's the only teaching facility that carries the PGA Tour name. The academy is next door to the World Golf Hall of Fame and on the same grounds as the Slammer and Squire course, which was designed by Bobby Weed with input from Sam Snead (the Slammer) and Gene Sarazen (the Squire); and the King and Bear course, the only design collaboration between Arnold Palmer (the King) and Jack Nicklaus (the Bear).

JA M ,Our Town, Canada: Hello ... what courses do you like in Ireland that are not too difficult to play ... thanks

Brian Kendall: Hi JA M from Our Town Canada: I can certainly understand your trepidation about taking on such famous Irish links as Ballybunion and Portmarnock, where navigating through gale-force winds off the icy Atlantic can make even good players want to give up the game. Many high-handicappers prefer Ireland's inland courses, where weather and playing conditions are frequently more benign than at seaside links. Druids Glen Golf Resort, about 40 kilometres south of Dublin in County Wicklow, offers two superb inland courses that are more North American in style. Architects Pat Ruddy and Tom Craddock combined their talents on the Druids Glen course, which they masterfully carved through a mature forest. Druids Heath, a combination heathlands and links-style solo design by Ruddy, affords panoramic views of mountains and the Irish Sea as it skirts old farm ponds and descends into an abandoned rock quarry. Also found on the property is the Druids Glen Marriott Hotel and Country Club, a comfortable North American-style complex with 148 rooms.