Arnold Palmer. Jack Nicklaus. Tom Doak. Gary Player. Tom Weiskopf. Jerry Matthews. Ray Hearn. Some of the finest golf course designers in the world. Can you imagine a place where you could play designs by each of them? Now put that place on the sandy shores of Lake Michigan, with shimmering sunsets, fine dining, eclectic shopping, and no shortage of fun for the kids, too. What an incredible golf destination that would be, wouldn’t it?

No, that’s not a figment of your imagination, friend. It’s called Michigan’s “Golf Coast,” the Grand Traverse area, and it boasts all of that and much more. It’s a place long known as a vacation haven, but until recent years, has been decidedly under-the-radar as a golf getaway. Even with lofty rankings by the national press (Golf Digest ranked Northern Michigan, including Gaylord, as the world’s 12th best golf destination, GOLF Magazine has the area sixth in the U.S.), the Traverse City area hasn’t truly been given its due by the general public yet. According the Traverse City Convention & Visitors Bureau, golf ranks a distant second with vacationers as their favorite recreational activity — to swimming.

“We have not been purposefully hiding our golf; however, it does become mixed with our other destination assets,” says Brad Van Dommelen, president of the Traverse City Convention & Visitors Bureau. “Unlike other golfing destinations in the state, our area offers so much in addition to golf that it’s a blended experience, versus hanging our hat on a single dimension.”

And what a beautiful blend it is.

Putting the ‘Grand’ in Grand Traverse

To find an appropriate “poster boy” of Traverse City golf, look no further than Grand Traverse Resort & Spa. Heck, you don’t even have to look that hard; at 17 stories, the resort’s tower was once the tallest structure in all of Northern Michigan. Even more iconic isn’t the 170 feet of tower climbing in the air, however; it’s the 7,078 emerald-green yards of The Bear golf course that truly makes the resort stand tall.

The Course that Nicklaus built in 1985 ushered in a new age in Traverse City, transforming it virtually overnight from a family getaway into something more: a golf destination. It was instantly considered the biggest, best (and toughest) public course in the state (some say, it still is), and proved that if you build it, they will indeed come.

In a 2004 interview with this magazine, Nicklaus said he doesn’t feel personally responsible for the building boom that followed The Bear, but acknowledged Traverse City’s bom nonetheless.

“Well, I wouldn’t say I necessarily feel responsible,” Nicklaus said. “I think we can safely say the landscape of golf changed in that region, but I don’t think I would go quite as far to say it happened with my own golf course. I think we certainly helped set the tone for some of the stronger golf courses in Northern Michigan.”

Since then, of course, there has been Doak (a local, no less), Player (also at Grand Traverse Resort, with The Wolverine), Palmer and Weiskopf, with many others adding to the mix. Today Grand Traverse Resort, owned by The Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, is home to three championship courses (including Spruce Run), and recently completed an $11 million renovation, remodeling the lobby and adding Wi-Fi throughout the resort, among other upgrades.

The Band also announced a planned $80 million renovation on the site of its current Turtle Creek Casino, just down the block from the resort. Construction has begun on the 347,000-square-foot casino resort, which will include a 120-room state-of-the-art hotel, 64,000-square-foot gaming floor, entertainment venues, restaurants, and shops.

Grand Traverse Resort is trying to corner the market on every type of visitor to the area, from the gamer, to the golfer, to increasingly, the people looking to make Traverse City more than a trip in a photo album. The resort also offers 14 different real estate options, everything from homesites on The Wolverine, to condominiums on The Bear, to even the ultimate of lakefront living, on East Grand Traverse Bay.

Carrying the ‘Torch’

Just across a small finger of land to the east of Traverse City, lies the exquisite natural beauty of Torch Lake. To those unacquainted, Torch Lake is an 18-mile-long carafe of it- can’t-be-true blue, the Midwest’s very own slice of Caribbean Sea. Rumor has it National Geographic once named it the world’s third most beautiful lake, which is why it’s first in the hearts of so many, who make annual treks to bask in its brilliant azure waters.

Overlooking that wide blue yonder is the region’s newest player: A-Ga-Ming Golf Resort in Kewadin, which now comes complete with 36 great golf holes, and 19 new condos resting on the sandy shores of the eponymous lake.

A-Ga-Ming was long known for its original 18-hole golf course, now known as The Torch, which was built in 1975 on 500 choice Northern Michigan acres — including of course, spectacular views of the lake. The Torch plays through hardwoods and pines, with winding creeks coming into play, as well. While not a brute by today’s standards, The Torch stretches to a demanding 6,693 yards from the tips, and has one heckuva distraction as its backdrop.

A-Ga-Ming’s newest attraction is the Sundance course, which earned the resort some well-deserved critical acclaim. Designed by Michigan’s own Jerry Matthews, the links-style course opened to rave reviews in 2005, and was named the No. 3 Best New Public Course (under $75) in the nation by Golf Digest in 2006. The course some are calling Matthews’ finest work features 118 bunkers dotted throughout the rolling property, as well as limited lake views, and tips the scales at 6,935.

Putting the “resort” in A-Ga-Ming Golf Resort are the 19 new Maplewood Condominium units. The units come in one-, two-, or three-bedroom options, all of which are sitting pretty right on Torch Lake. With full kitchens, Jacuzzi suites, and patios spilling out into a sea of blue, theres not too many better ways to unwind.

For more information, visit www.a-ga-ming.com, or call 800-678-0122.

More that a Vacation Haven’

Not as well known at Grand Traverse, but just as important to the Traverse City golf scene, is the Traverse City Golf & Country Club. In many ways, a city’s country club is a barometer for its success, and Traverse is certainly no exception. While the city itself continues to grow, the country club is better than ever. The club is putting the finishing touches on a $3.5 million renovation, including a brand-new, state-of-the-art irrigation system and a revamped practice facility, courtesy of Ray Hearn.

The improvements were 100 percent member-funded, another testament to the club’s strength, said the TCGCC head professional, Roger Bliss.

“We’re very much a member-driven club,” Bliss says. “Most of our members are from the Traverse City area, but some have seasonal homes here, and live downstate the rest of the year. We have a few from Florida and Arizona, too.”

The course itself is a Tom Bendelow design, circa 1928, and is everything you’d expect from classical architecture. The course plays sneaky long at 6,324 yards and par-71, but people don’t join the club to get their brains beat in, Bliss said. They’re members to have fun.

“We have about 320 members, and are actively seeking more,” says Bliss. “We’ve got a great restaurant here, an active juniors and ladies program, and a number of events, too. Every club kind of takes on the personality of its city, and this club has especially taken on the personality of Traverse City. People come up here to relax, and that’s true here, too.”

The club has had its share of luminaries come unwind there, too, most notably Walter Hagen, who once lived on a 20-acre estate near Traverse City. “The Haig” was a regular at the club, which once hosted a gala testimonial dinner for Hagen attended by Arnold Palmer, The Haig’s biggest fan.

For more information on membership, call 231-947-9140 or visit www.tcgcc.com.

CVB at your Service

The Traverse City Convention & Visitors Bureau — together with all the players in the “Michigan Golf Coast” marquee — is starting to get serious about shouting the area’s great golf virtues. What they’ve put together is an offer golfers can’t refuse.

With their “Build Your Own Package” plan, players can choose from 19 different courses and 20 different hotels, motels and resorts in the area, for as little as $52 per person ($96.10 peak season midweek). If that’s not enticing enough, they’ve even taken all the work out of planning it, with just a single CVB number to call.

“It became apparent to us early on (last year) that we needed to simplify the pricing options of the package,” Van Dommelen explains. “So for 2007, we retooled our golf package and greatly simplified the pricing elements, to make it easy for the consumer to build a golf package and easily understand the pricing.”

The “Build Your Own” plan lets golfers choose from some of the region’s best courses, including The Legend (a Palmer design), The Wolverine (a Player), King’s Challenge (another Palmer), Hawk’s Eye (by John Robinson), High Pointe (Doak’s first-ever creation), Sundance and more.

Sweetening the pot is the list of accommodations, which include everywhere you’d want to stay. You can choose from golf resorts like A-Ga-Ming, Shanty Creek and Grand Traverse Resort, to the major hotels watching over Grand Traverse Bay, like Bayshore Resort, Grand Beach Rsort Hotel, and Holiday Inn West Bay, in the heart of the action.

“We believe that what we offer is the ‘complete golf destination’ experience,” Van Dommelen states. “World class golf combined with a fantastic destination. Even the guy that plays 36 holes a day wants to have a great dining experience when he’s done. And for the mixed group of serious golfers and ‘drag-alongs,’ everyone can be happy with all of the various destination options we offer.”

The result makes for one formidable golf package, in a so-simple-it’s-brilliant kind of way. The CVB is simply betting on what Nicklaus predicted so long ago: If you build it, they will come.

When it comes to Midwest golf destinations, you can’t ask for a safer bet.

For the Traverse City Convention & Visitors Bureau’s golf concierge, call 888-499-4503 or visit www.visittraversecity.com.