Sand Valley Golf Resort: Sand Valley
Nekoosa, WI • Public
Courtesy of Jeffrey R. Bertch
Courtesy of Jeffrey R. Bertch
Courtesy of Jeffrey R. Bertch
Courtesy of Jeffrey R. Bertch
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Overview
Sand Valley is the fifth course that the firm of Coore and Crenshaw has designed for resort maven Mike Keiser, and the first not located close to an ocean. No matter. It’s still on a thousand acres of rolling sand hills in Central Wisconsin, and Coore and Crenshaw were given carte blanche to route their course. (Rumor has it Coore routed a hole outside the property line and Keiser reluctantly bought that additional parcel.) Given the name, many conclude Sand Valley is a combination of Nebraska’s Sand Hills Golf Club and New Jersey’s Pine Valley. But Sand Valley has its own personality, with some dual fairways, gigantic sand spits, enormous greens and even a hidden putting surface. Sand Valley was Golf Digest’s Best New Course of 2017.
About
Awards
Ranking history:
Second 100 Greatest: Ranked since 2019.
2023-'24 ranking: 116th.
Previous ranking: 112th.
Highest ranking: 110th, 2019-2020.
100 Greatest Public: Ranked since its debut in 2017.
2023-'24 ranking: 17th.
Previous ranking: 18th.
Highest ranking: Current.
Best in State: Ranked fifth, 2019 to previous.
2023-'24 ranking: 4th.
Panelists
Ratings from our panel of 1,900 course-ranking panelists
100 GREATEST/BEST IN STATE SCORES
Shot Options
Character
Challenge
Layout Variety
Fun
Aesthetics
Conditioning
Reviews
Review
“great course to play, A Sand Hills experience, fast and firm fairways, greens roll true, Variety of shot options, making you thinks before executing your play. Very enjoyable."
Read More2024
Review
“a great Sand Hills type of course, it was in great conditions when played, fairways fast and firm, greens were true. Holes had a good variety of layout and offered an array of options, making the golfer think before executing shots."
Read More2024
Review
“Probably the most “championship” quality course on the property due to its length and high score in shot options compared with Lido, which is short by today’s standards. Very much in character with modern courses built on ideal sandy soils."
Read More2024
Review
“Sand Valley lives up to all the hype. This a golf course you could play every day and never get tired of. It presents enough mix of challenge and fairness to keep the round interesting while providing opportunities to post a number."
Read More2024
Review
“Very unique place to play. Recommend making a trip out to Sand Valley."
Read More2024
Review
“A bigger, more challenging design than its sister course Mammoth Dunes, Sand Valley is another excellent design from the duo of Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw with Mike Keiser. While the playing contours are generous here, the course more than lives up to its name with extreme wastebunkers on nearly every hole that are very penal should you find them. The course features impressive land movement for the area as well, with two notable par fives (4 and 18) playing up the sides of steep hills and playing much longer than the distance. I really enjoyed the set of par threes, which offers significant variety in terms of length and challenge with the short 8th reminiscent of Shinnecock's famous 11th and semi-blind punchbowl 17th sticking out. The conditioning here was firm and fast, more akin to Lido's conditioning than Mammoth's. I think several courses at Sand Valley Resort can claim best course, and while I personally preferred the visuals and variety at Mammoth Dunes, there's no doubt Sand Valley is an elite public golf course and well-worth a play."
Read More2024
Review
“Great golf course and amazing setting through the rolling dunes. Turf allows for great movement of the golf ball and compliments the slopes throughout the golf course. Really a pleasure to see shots use the ground. I like how better shots are rewarded at this course."
Read More2023
Review
“Plays fast and hard so do the greens which made the public player struggle with keeping their balls on many greens and thus creating slow play."
Read More2023
Review
“Sand Valley is a better test and not your average resort style course. It can be penal if you miss in the wrong spot but there are always so many shot options to choose from"
Read More2023
Review
“A fantastic course with great strategic value. Beautiful variety of holes that demand good shots. A slight miss and short game choices will be the difference in scoring."
Read More2022
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