With three 18-hole courses, arguably the best par-3 course in the country, a unique 12-hole offering, and access to a resuscitated Golden Age masterpiece across the street, the Sand Valley Golf Resort is a Midwestern golf mecca. The best part? It\u2019s just over a three-hour drive from Chicago and Minneapolis and a manageable flight from much of the country.<\/p>\n
Following the success of Bandon Dunes in Oregon and with the help of his sons Chris and Michael, Bandon Dunes developer Mike Keiser brought the Sand Valley Golf Resort to life in 2017 in Nekoosa, Wisconsin. It started with Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw\u2019s Sand Valley, expanded with the duo\u2019s Sandbox par-3 course and David McLay Kidd\u2019s Mammoth Dunes in 2018, and has since added Tom Doak\u2019s Sedge Valley and Jim Craig\u2019s Commons. In addition, the Keiser family brought the Lido back to life in the form of a private club on the north side of Archer Avenue. The course offers Sand Valley guests limited tee-time access Sunday through Thursday and makes for a total of six golf courses available to those visiting the area.<\/p>\n
It is clear that the Keiser family was focused on diversity in their development of the resort. From its golf courses to its food offerings and beverage scene, Sand Valley has something for everyone.<\/p>\n
Notes<\/p>\n
Walking Only \u2013 The courses at Sand Valley Resort and the Lido are walking-only. The resort does make rare medical exceptions for golf carts, but expect to be hoofing it on your trip.<\/p>\n
Plan Ahead \u2013 Tee times and lodges at Sand Valley book out far in advance. Staying on site at Sand Valley earns you early tee-time access, but you\u2019ll need to have your ducks in a row about 18 months ahead of a trip if you plan to visit with a large group of multiple foursomes. Get that group chat started early.<\/p>\n
Second-Round Discount \u2013 If you play multiple rounds at Sand Valley in the same day, the second one is half price. This does not apply to the Sandbox. If you can muster the strength to\u00a0play three courses in the same day, the third round is free.<\/p>\n
Shuttles \u2013 Once you park in the lot at Sand Valley, you do not have to get back in your car until you leave. Whether you need a ride to a course, lodge, or restaurant, the resort\u2019s shuttle system will help get you around.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Public Booking \u2013 Sand Valley began allowing online booking for single tee times in 2024. If you\u2019re someone who can\u2019t get a group together far enough ahead of time or just find yourself in the area on a road trip, check out what times are available and stop by the resort for a one-off round.<\/p>\n
Multi-Round Days<\/p>\n
The ever-important question for those looking to pack in as much golf as possible at a Dream Golf property: which courses do I pair together on the same day? It seems like the Keisers had this question in mind, as they offer a wide range of options for golf at Sand Valley that allow for combinations that won\u2019t completely ruin your legs. Some thoughts:<\/p>\n
The Big Day \u2013 Trying to do two of the Lido, Mammoth Dunes, and Sand Valley in the same day is a huge undertaking and will undoubtedly leave you dead tired at the end of the day. It\u2019s not impossible; it\u2019s just the most tiring way to tackle two courses in one day. If you take on the challenge, do it on the first full day of a trip. That will allow you to pair some less intensive walks toward the end of a trip and help you recover.<\/p>\n
Mammoth Dunes \/ Sedge Valley \u2013 A more manageable walk that still allows you to play two 18-hole courses is the biggest walk of them all (Mammoth Dunes), and a moderate walk (Sedge Valley). More importantly, this combination allows you to pair the most forgiving course on property with another course that has width but more demand in its approach. It\u2019s a fun look at two different styles of golf course architecture.<\/p>\n
\u200dSedge Valley \/ The Commons \/ Sandbox \u2013 Sand Valley prides itself on unique playing opportunities. With the addition of the Commons, there now exists a three-round experience with courses that all buck traditional American golf trends. Tom Doak\u2019s Sedge Valley, Jim Craig\u2019s Commons, and Coore & Crenshaw\u2019s Sandbox are all low-impact walks. Playing these three on the same day would allow your body to still feel fresh despite having visited three different golf courses.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"With three 18-hole courses, arguably the best par-3 course in the country, a unique 12-hole offering, and access…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":164568,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[71],"tags":[427,99],"class_list":["post-164567","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-golf","tag-golf","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/164567","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=164567"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/164567\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/164568"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=164567"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=164567"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=164567"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}