With nationally-acclaimed Torch Lake’s shimmering aqua-blue waters surrounding the A-Ga-Ming Resort, golfers are in for a great challenge combined with a treat for the eyes – especially with the fast-approaching fall colors soon to pop in Northen Michigan.
The Sundance course, one of four in the A-Ga-Ming portfolio, was named 2023 Michigan Golf Course of the Year. This season is the 20th anniversary of the Sundance course, created by the esteemed late Jerry Matthews, the ‘Johnny Appleseed’ of Michigan golf architecture. The Torch course, named for Torch Lake and its vista views, is the original layout on the property first developed in the mid 1970s. A-Ga-Ming co-owners Mike Brown and Larry Lavely also own and operate nearby to the north Antrim Dells and the Charlevoix Country Club, both being Matthew’s designs as well.
“The main thing for me is the scenery, and it’s got a nice layout,” Brian Mittelstaedt of Royal Oak said about Sundance after playing an early-morning round alongside his dad, Oscar, with me tagging along. “It’s playable for all skill levels but there’s also some challenging holes for the better players out there – the kind that make you come back. My dad and I played here last year, and when we were making tee times, I said we need to go back so I can give it another go.
“I feel that other resorts in the area maybe get more accolades, and I’d pick Sundance over those. I really would. For the value, and the number one thing I appreciate on golf courses are the greens, how do they roll? And the under-appreciated thing (by others) is the tee boxes. Are they level and set up nicely for you? And they give that for us here.”
Being the 2023 Michigan Golf Course of the Year gives Brown and Lavely a sense of pride, but it also brings with it the responsibility to live up to the title.
“There’s a lot of satisfaction in being recognized for all the work that we do,” he said. “There’s a lot of behind-the-scenes stuff that most golfers don’t know about. We host the local high school boys’ and girls’ teams. We host the college tournament (Central Michigan), we host the First Tee (Northern Michigan) program. We want to do our part, and you have to build golf for the future. We employe a ton of high school and college kids, too.
“When people are looking at golf and maybe comparing us to another resort, I think the award gets us in the door with some of them. Then it’s about how you take care of them, and the course conditions. People comment about our good customer service over and over and over again. Everyone is here to have a good time, and you should have a smile on your face 99.99 percent of the time when you’re golfing,” Brown added.
When it comes to customer service, I give the nod to Brown and Lavely. As owners they could hide in a back room and delegate. But at A-Ga-Ming, Brown is regularly at the lodging desk checking in guests, and Lavely runs the day-to-day show for golfers out of the pro shop. Both are front and center much of the time.
Brown told me that ongoing improvements are always in order at A-Ga-Ming. There is plenty of focus right now on giving the Torch course “a haircut” as well as an irrigation project that was completed on the back nine in the spring to replace the original watering system.
“It just makes a world of difference,” Brown said. “The old single row system verses a new modern, double row irrigation system; it just makes the turf so much better.”
There’s also a new two-story condominium being built on the front nine of Sundance to add more lodging. When the partners took over, having only recently graduated from Central Michigan at the age of 27, there were 20 beds on the property. Now they have over 200. The week I visited in early August, there was a group of 48 and a couple of groups of 12 and 16.
“We get a ton of groups and that’s really our bread and butter, the stay and play packages,” Brown said. “Our lodging is set up perfectly for those kinds of groups, the golfers who get together once a year, and they travel. Sometimes they bounce around (to different resorts each year), but a lot of times they’ll come here and end up staying here. We’ve got groups who have been coming for more than 30 years.”
A-Ga-Ming Golf:
I really enjoyed Sundance. The links layout weaves across a flowing landscape with surprising vistas and drop-down elevated tees spread throughout. The layout has some tree-lined fairways, but for the most part, it’s wide open. However, beware of the 115 sand bunkers to avoid. Depending on the time of year, the heather that separates holes has a beautiful golden glow.
Sweeping fairways meet sparkling lake views at A-Ga-Ming Resort, where Michigan golf is pure magic.
The Torch course is a classic northern course with lots of trees and a few water features to avoid. But with only 15 sand bunkers, Brown said women tend to play the Torch more than they do Sundance.
I really enjoyed the Torch course – and bonus – I shot my low round of the summer on the front nine – yet unfortunately the back nine was a different matter … Don’t ask.
“No. 7 (at Torch) was my favorite view,” said Paul Gross, former long-time meteorologist at Chan. 4 TV in Detroit, who joined me that day. “Just standing there and looking at Torch Lake off in the distance. It’s just such a beautiful hole and you can just really appreciate the vista that comes into view as you approach that tee box. As well as the view from the clubhouse right there.”
Holes 7-9 was the favorite stretch of three consecutive holes on Torch for both me and Paul. No. 7 is the signature par 3 with Torch Lake as a prominent backdrop, followed by a short par four off an elevated tee with a pond to avoid guarding the approach left of the green. No. 9 goes right to left and climbs a little to an elevated green.
“I have truly enjoyed the rounds I have played at Torch Course and at Antrim Dells, because some of the holes have such beautiful views it truly is Up North golf at its finest and really is a great experience,” Gross added.
Antrim Dells, about 15 minutes to the north, joined the A-Ga-Ming family in 2010. The property is run day-to-day by PGA member Dave Hill, who has spent most of his life working at northern Michigan resorts. Antrin Dells’ main feature is a tall ridge running the length of the property with the front nine on one side and the back nine on the other. The clubhouse is perched on top of the ridge and provides a nice view of Grand Traverse Bay sunsets to the west. Both the 1 st and 10th tee shots are highly elevated to a fairway below.
“We’ve got the natural beauty, the wildlife, the view of the bay from the clubhouse,” Hill said. “There’s nothing phony. We didn’t create anything or build anything. It was all just here, and the Mathews brought the course to life.
“I always love the sunsets, and it’s a course you can grow old on (he’s 64). It’s plenty challenging. We used to co-host the Michigan Amateur here for the stoke play portion in the 1980s (when match play concluded at Belvedere). The course record was set at 66 by Steve Jones, the U.S. Open champ.
“We get a lot of people just getting into the game, because it doesn’t crush you, but I can make it tough for anyone who is a scratch handicap and they would have a hard time shooting 75. But we don’t do that here,” Hill concluded.
The Charlevoix Country Club is the final course in the A-Ga-Ming portfolio and it’s a treat. I was expecting a flat and boring piece of ground. It is generally flat, but certainly not boring. What I found was a lush, country club setting but for a public fee course – making for a nice combination favoring golfers.
The front nine is pretty wide open with some water features you can avoid. While it’s generally more flat it features attractive man-made mounding. The back nine is wooded, but most holes have the trees pushed back to the sides to act as a visual framework, not a penalty. The exception is hole 10 which is a shocking change from the front nine.
The property is close enough to Lake Michigan that a nice breeze is a regular feature, improving play on hot days. The back nine features very little housing with just a smattering of structures here and there.
However, the historic and very large barn near the 16th tee is a phenomenal venue for weddings and parties.
All in all, very good play on a course that feels like a hybrid of the Torch course and Sundance, where a little bit of both can be found at Charlevoix Country Club.
For golfers looking for a great male or female buddies’ golf trip, A-Ga-Ming will deliver what you need.
