Sand Valley Revisited - New First Impressions

My Return to Sand Valley

Sand Valley is the latest “epic golf property” in the great Midwest located in just about dead-center Wisconsin. Specifically about an hour and change north of Madison. I’ll save the in-depth interesting details for Jon to dive into in a ~~better~~ later post, but for now I’ll just say it’s owned by the same people as Bandon Dunes who uncovered prehistoric sand dunes that were left behind from a massive glacial lake. The first course on the property is a Coore & Crenshaw original that first opened a couple of years ago. Tommy and I first ventured up with our old site when all 18 holes had just opened for media play, and Jon had taken about 2000 early trips playing selections of holes as they became available to play. Since those trips, a LOT has changed at Sand Valley and it’s certainly become quite the spectacle.

There are currently three courses at Sand Valley, with a fourth on the way, but this post will cover the original Sand Valley course and how it has grown. If you’re just here for the pictures and don’t want to read, head to the slideshow at the bottom. It’s PACKED.

The First Trips

The early days/years of Sand Valley were very interesting to watch come together. I mean, the place didn’t even exist on the map. GPS would get you on the right road, but it was basically up to you to find the entrance – which changed about three times before they officially opened. These early entrances weren’t even paved. Jon has a classic story of following a dirt road that became so muddy his car got really stuck and the maintenance team had to bring heavy machinery down to yank him out.

Eventually they put in a stone “road” on the other end of the property (this later became the official entrance). As you wound your way into the property, you eventually stumbled upon a bunch of mounds of sand, some cars parked on gravel, and a bunch of truck trailers.

One of those trailers was the pro shop for about two years while the buildings were being constructed. You’d enter the trailer on one end and make your way past the plastic bins of merchandise (which was super sweet by the way) and check in at the little desk with a laptop at the end. The priority was to get the first course up and running, Craig’s porch at the start/turn/end of the course, and the first of the lodging built. Don’t worry though, the grass tennis courts were quickly completed and operational well before there was an actual driving range. There was a reason, but unfortunately I can’t remember.

The original Sand Valley course was just about as impressive as everything you’ve heard. It was very strange to see Wild West tumbleweeds blowing through and real cacti in the waste areas. As impressive as the course was, it was still very young and definitely needed to mature. You’ll see in many of Jon’s early pictures that many of the sand areas had significant grass overgrowth that bled into them. The fairways almost reminded me of a super fuzzy tennis ball. Mind you, this was really exciting to see. It’s not often you get to be this close to such a premier golf course in its infancy. I’m glad I got to see Sand Valley at this stage.

One of the key features that jumped out to me on that first trip was one of the only real buildings on the course. That building was Craig’s Porch. Craig’s Porch serves as the food stop for the Sand Valley course. Even in those early days, the food was absolutely amazing and the prices were absurdly low. They used to offer this Italian beef for like $4 that was delicious. It’s sadly been dropped from the menu, but everything that’s there is great. Do yourself a favor and make sure you get one of the ice cream sandwiches.

The Return Trip

My return trip was a much different experience. I made my way back with my father in law on a cold morning with heavy rain. That previously mentioned rock road is now freshly paved (thankfully…we would have gotten stuck) and weaves you up to the main “clubhouse.” This building is huge. Inside you’ll find the pro shop, a bar, essentially two restaurants, and bag storage for overnight guests. Some of the Sand Valley guest lodging is also in this building. After being nothing but sand and trees, this area is now how home to multiple buildings and the new Mammoth Dunes course.

From the main clubhouse, you can hop on a shuttle over to the now-finished practice area. Given the rain and our early tee time, we just grabbed the shuttle over to the Sand Valley course. Craig’s porch is still going strong and this is where you check in before teeing off. Though the Sand Valley course layout is the same as my first visit, the views seemed better this time around. The course still looked young, but the terrain looked more natural and more settled than my first visit. While I thought this landscape was impressive the first time I saw it, this visit impressed me much more. It was cool to see Sand Valley realizing the potential we saw when it just opened.

As far as on the course itself, man, what a difference two years has made. The fairways, again, are still young, but so much more settled. Sand Valley no longer has to leave them so long to keep them healthy, and the waste/sand areas no longer have the unintentional overgrowth from the fairways.

The greens are smoother and truer, but have maintained my favorite signature characteristic – the sound. When I first played here, I chalked this sound up to being so young. I’ve since been told its because of the unique sand/soil composition underneath. The best way I can describe it is that a high shot coming straight down onto the green sounds like it’s landing on a bongo. No matter how many times you hear it throughout your round, it never gets old. More impressive was that we were getting soaked, wearing full rain gear, burning through the rain gloves, and the greens still stayed firm and had some speed. The rain didn’t even make a dent on the course!

Highlights

The Views

Sand Valley Golf Resort is basically in the middle of nowhere in Wisconsin. To be fair, it’s not as “middle of nowhere” as it seems, but it certainly feels like it when you’re there. At the highest elevations on the property, there’s nothing in sight but woods, sand, and some of the resort buildings. Some of the vistas are about as beautiful as it gets if you’re into that rolling, rustic, sandy look. Every turn is a photo that could be blown up and put on your wall in your office.

The Food

The food and beverage selection has impressed me thus far, and feedback from peers tells me I’m not alone. Now there are multiple restaurants and bars in addition to Craig’s Porch and they all deliver the same quality. On this last trip, I enjoyed Wisconsin River Meats (a favorite local butcher of the area) beef brisket sliders and a New Glarus Spotted Cow*. I think it was a whopping $6 total. While the Italian Beef is dearly missed, the food is still plenty noteworthy. Come for the golf, stay for the food.

*Spotted Cow is a highly-acclaimed Farmhouse Ale that you can only get in Wisconsin. It’s a signature beer that Chicagoans regularly stock up on before they cross the border to head home.

The Pro Shop

First, let me say that the pro shop at Sand Valley is a quintessential golf resort pro shop. Nothing is cheap, all of the standard brands are on hand, and there are millions of options. That said, you’ll be hard pressed to not find a few cool things to buy if that’s your “thing.” I think the highlight of the shop is Wooly Mammoth headcover for the Mammoth Dunes course.

I mentioned Spotted Cow beer before. If you’re of age, the pro shop always has Spotted Cow on tap and is happy to serve you a pour or two while you shop.

Final Thoughts

It’s amazing how far Sand Valley has come in two years. There are a bunch of new cottages, new restaurants, a practice facility, three courses, and tons of different amenities. The original Sand Valley course is much more settled in, but it’s still very much an active construction site and very young. There was a constant buzz of circular saws or beeping of trucks backing up. That’s not to say they were overly distracting. There are so many big plans in Sand Valley’s future that they have to keep grinding to create the infrastructure. With the addition of the fourth course in the next few years, the demand is only going to go up and this place needs to be able to support it. So far, it feels like Sand Valley Golf Resort is on the right track and I look forward to seeing it years down the road when it’s firmly established.