Avoid the sand on Le Diable golf course in Mont-Tremblant, Quebec

MONT-TREMBLANT, Quebec, Canada -- No golf course in the Laurentian Mountains brings out more polarizing opinions than Le Diable at Mont Tremblant Resort, which is ranked no. 71 among ScoreGolf's top 100 golf courses in Canada in 2012.

Some people consider Le Diable (which translates to "the devil" in English) the best public course in the region 75 miles northwest of Montreal, while others believe too many penal bunkers and waste areas too often ruin the opportunity for a decent score.

The 7,056-yard, par-71 track opened in 1998, three years after its nearby sister course, the 6,836-yard Le Geant, which is also managed by Intrawest. Ohio architects Michael Hurdzan and Dana Fry peeled back the grass on seven holes, digging out deep sandy waste areas. These hazards tend to induce timid swings off the tee, making long par 4s and par 5s even tougher.

The more mountainous back nine provides relief from all that sand. There are no fairway bunkers on holes 13-15. Views from the elevated 15th tee stretch for miles, soaring across Lake Tremblant to the mountains in the distance. This 535-yard par 5 drops so dramatically downhill that it plays like a long par 4.

Water makes brief, albeit memorable, appearances on the front nine. Misses on the first two par 3s -- the 199-yard third hole and the spectacular 221-yard sixth hole -- could end up wet.

Le Diable's combination of beauty and brutality mix a little bit of heaven and you-know-what all in one round.