A-Ga-Ming Golf Resort - Torch Course

The Torch Course at A-Ga-Ming Golf Resort sits majestically on ridges overlooking Torch Lake in Kewadin, Michigan, designed by Ryder Cup player and captain Chick Harbert and opened in 1974. The 6,693-yard, par-72 layout carries a rating of 73.2 and slope of 133, favoring accuracy over power from elevated tees that deliver panoramic views of the lake and surrounding northern Michigan landscape. Torch Lake — a remarkably beautiful inland lake in the United States — provides a spectacular backdrop for one of A-Ga-Ming's most memorable resort experiences.

The Torch Golf Course at A-Ga-Ming Golf Resort opened in 1974, designed by Melvin "Chick" Harbert — a Ryder Cup player who competed in multiple Cup matches in the 1940s and 1950s and later served as captain of the American team. Harbert, a Michigan native who grew up in Flint, brought to the Torch Course a design vision shaped by his experience competing on the world's great championship courses. Harbert's routing took full advantage of the ridge topography overlooking Torch Lake, a remarkably beautiful freshwater lake in the United States. Torch Lake is famous throughout Michigan for its Caribbean-turquoise color, produced by the particular light-scattering properties of its marl lake bed, and several holes on the Torch Course offer panoramic views across the lake and the surrounding northern Michigan landscape. The elevated tee positions on numerous holes deliver visual drama before players even strike the ball.

The design philosophy for the Torch Course emphasizes accuracy over power — a characteristic that reflected Harbert's own playing background, where precise shot-making was valued over raw distance. The elevated terrain creates natural risk-reward situations where aggressive lines off the tee can leave favorable approach angles, but wayward drives find the slopes and rough of the Michigan hillside. The course rewards the precise ball-striker who manages trajectory and direction rather than simply swinging hard. The course plays 6,693 yards from the championship Blue tees with a rating of 73.2 and slope of 133 — a genuine test of shot-making that positions it as the more demanding of A-Ga-Ming's two primary resort courses. From the shorter tee options, the yardage and difficulty reduce substantially, making the course enjoyable for golfers across a wide range of abilities while preserving the spectacular Torch Lake setting for everyone.

A-Ga-Ming Golf Resort — whose name derives from the Anishinaabe word meaning "on the shore of the lake" — developed the Torch Course as a complement to the Sundance Course already on the property, creating a two-course resort package that would grow further with the later addition of the Antrim Dells Course. The combination of Torch Lake views, Harbert's strategic design, and the bent-grass playing surfaces maintained at northern Michigan quality standards has made the Torch Course a perennial favorite among golfers who visit A-Ga-Ming each summer season. The short Michigan golf window — roughly May through October at these northern latitudes — creates a seasonal destination environment that makes each round feel like an event, and the Torch Course's spectacular setting delivers experiences that linger long in golfers' memories. Torch Course at A-Ga-Ming Golf Resort takes its name from Torch Lake — consistently cited among the most beautiful inland lakes in the United States — whose proximity to the Kewadin resort grounds gives the course its identity and the surrounding region its extraordinary character. The lake's clarity and the deep blue color produced by its glacially-formed marl bottom make Torch Lake a natural landmark that defines the quality-of-life appeal of Antrim County and draws visitors who seek both the lake's beauty and the resort golf experience that A-Ga-Ming provides.

The Torch Course plays from the championship tees on terrain whose glacially sculpted contours provide the elevation changes and forested corridors that characterize the best northern Michigan resort layouts. The Michigan Golf Association includes A-Ga-Ming among its member facilities, and the resort has hosted state and regional events appropriate to its standing as a destination property in northwestern Michigan's golf corridor. For resort guests staying at A-Ga-Ming, the Torch Course's proximity to its namesake lake creates an experience that combines championship golf with one of Michigan's most celebrated natural settings — a combination available at only a handful of resort properties in the American Midwest. The course's position within the A-Ga-Ming multi-course complex gives visiting golfers access to three distinct layouts on a single resort property.