Sand Valley

Few courses in recent American golf history have arrived with as much anticipation as Sand Valley, the centerpiece of the growing resort complex developed by the Keiser family — the same minds behind Bandon Dunes — in the central Wisconsin sand barrens. Designed by Coore & Crenshaw and opened in 2017, the course was carved through a remarkable landscape of ridges, ancient dunes, and native fescue that had lain largely dormant for decades. The sandy, fast-draining soil allowed for firm, running conditions that feel genuinely unusual in the Midwest — more linkslike in spirit than anything the region typically produces.