Sand Valley shouldn't exist. Building a destination golf resort in central Wisconsin — far from any major city, on terrain that resembles the Scottish coast more than the American Midwest — sounds like a fever dream. And yet Mike Keiser, the visionary behind Bandon Dunes, has done it again. Sand Valley is one of the most exciting golf destinations to open in America in the past decade, and word is getting out fast.
The property sits on an ancient glacial formation called the Central Sand Plains, leaving behind a landscape of rolling dunes, native grasses, and scrubby oaks eerily reminiscent of linksland. Both Sand Valley (Coore & Crenshaw) and Mammoth Dunes (David McLay Kidd) are walking-only — carts aren't even an option — and that mandate transforms the experience completely. You'll cover five miles on foot, bag on your back or in a caddie's hands, connected to every contour and nuance of the terrain in a way riding never allows.
The Sandbox, a 17-hole par-3 course, provides the perfect warm-up or cool-down. Pair it with a round on each championship course and your group has the ideal three-day itinerary. The clubhouse and lodging are understated but excellent — everything here is in service of the golf.
Coore & Crenshaw design through rolling sand barrens — strategic and endlessly replayable
David McLay Kidd's bold, wide-open layout with massive fairways and heroic elevation changes
A 17-hole par-3 for casual rounds and putting competitions — the perfect warmup
Modern lodge rooms and cabins centered around a great bar and dining room. Unpretentious, comfortable, and perfectly calibrated to a group that is here purely for the golf.