A-Ga-Ming Golf Resort - Antrim Dells Course

The Antrim Dells Course at A-Ga-Ming Golf Resort is a Jerry Matthews design from 1973 that transitions from open parkland on the front nine to wooded creek corridors on the back, situated in the scenic hills of Antrim County near Ellsworth in northern Michigan. The 6,606-yard, par-72 layout carries a rating of 72.2 and slope of 133, combining natural beauty with the tactical demands of Matthews's classic Michigan design style. The course is one of two layouts in A-Ga-Ming's portfolio, complementing the resort's Sundance and Torch courses as part of Northern Michigan's premier golf destination.

The Antrim Dells Golf Course opened in 1973 in Ellsworth, Michigan — in the scenic hills of Antrim County near Little Traverse Bay — designed by Jerry Matthews, one of Michigan's most prolific golf course architects of the 20th century. Matthews, working alongside his father W. Bruce Matthews, created a course that captured the natural character of northern Michigan's wooded, hilly countryside while providing an enjoyable challenge for golfers of all abilities. The course's design philosophy reflects Matthews's understanding of the land: the front nine plays through a more open parkland setting with acres of mowed grass that ease golfers into the round, while the back nine moves into tighter wooded corridors and creek-influenced holes that introduce more strategic complexity. This transition from open to wooded creates a natural two-act structure to the round, with the back nine providing a more demanding finish.

The beautiful setting in Antrim County — one of northern Michigan's most picturesque regions, characterized by rolling hills, hardwood forests, and proximity to multiple lakes — provides a backdrop that distinguishes Antrim Dells from courses in less dramatically sited locations. The course is separated from the main A-Ga-Ming resort campus in Kewadin, operating as a distinct facility within the resort's portfolio that requires a short drive from the main property. In later years, A-Ga-Ming acquired Antrim Dells as part of an expansion of its golf offerings, incorporating it into the resort's multi-course program alongside the Sundance and Torch courses. The acquisition gave A-Ga-Ming a three-course portfolio that provides guests with genuine variety across different course characters and difficulty levels. The 6,606-yard, par-72 layout plays from a course rating of 72.2 and slope of 133 from the Blue championship tees — ratings that confirm a genuine challenge for accomplished players.

Four tee options from 4,891 to 6,606 yards make the course accessible across the ability range, consistent with A-Ga-Ming's resort positioning as a destination for golfers of all skill levels. Antrim Dells has maintained a reputation as one of northern Michigan's well-regarded public-access courses, valued for its scenic character, the quality of its bentgrass playing surfaces, and its integration with A-Ga-Ming's broader resort experience. Together with the Sundance and Torch courses, it contributes to A-Ga-Ming's identity as Northern Michigan's premier golf destination, offering guests exceptional variety within a single resort package. Antrim Dells Golf Course at A-Ga-Ming Golf Resort plays approximately 6,700 yards from the championship tees on a layout in Ellsworth, Michigan whose position in the rolling hills of Antrim County provides the dramatic elevation changes and forested character that distinguish northern Michigan resort golf from the courses of the lower peninsula. The Antrim County terrain — formed by glacial activity that left behind the chain of lakes for which this corner of Michigan is celebrated — gives the Antrim Dells course its name and its essential character: dells, or small wooded valleys, that create dramatic shot corridors and elevation transitions throughout the routing.

The Michigan Golf Association includes A-Ga-Ming among its member facilities, and the resort's multi-course offering positions it as one of the destination golf properties that draws players from throughout the Great Lakes region to northern Michigan's summer golf season. The resort operation model makes the Antrim Dells course accessible to resort guests and visiting golfers who travel specifically for the northern Michigan golf experience — an experience defined by the combination of cooler summer temperatures, heavily forested terrain, and the proximity to the Elk Lakes chain that gives the region its distinctive quality of life. For resort guests and destination golfers exploring the northwestern Lower Peninsula, the Antrim Dells Course at A-Ga-Ming represents one component of a multi-course resort experience whose combination of layouts, settings, and northern Michigan character makes the resort one of the region's most comprehensive golf destinations.