Craig Haltom, a Wisconsin-based golf architect, discovered the site for Sand Valley while exploring the state with his wife in the early 2000s. Bandon Dunes developer Mike Keiser, with his sons Michael and Chris, bought the property in 2013. The following year, Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw began to route an 18-hole, par-72 course on hilly, sandy land just south of what is now the resort’s hub. They removed many trees, not only on the hole corridors but also on surrounding hillsides. This clearing exposed dramatic heathland adorned with grasses, shrubs, and flowers, as well as clusters of indigenous black oaks and jack pines. Sand Valley opened to acclaim in 2017.

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Take Note…

Craig’s Porch. This small building near the first and 10th tees has everything you need and nothing more. Not to be bossy, but here’s your meal plan for a morning round: bacon breakfast sandwich before, bratwurst at the turn, and ice-cream sandwich afterward (can of Spotted Cow optional). Every item is cheap. While the Sand Valley experience overall is pricey, the resort’s refusal to gouge guests on concessions is admirable.

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Five par 3s, five par 5s, and eight par 4s. This distribution, or something close to it, ought to be more common. The sameness of two-shot holes is an issue at many courses, though it’s worth noting that the Old Course at St. Andrews has 14 par 4s, almost all of which are quite enjoyable.

A model of forward-tee design. Sand Valley has tees ranging from 6,938 (Black) to 3,883 (Royal Blue) yards. If you play from the backs or somewhere in the middle, look at the positioning of the forward tees as you walk by. Most are cleverly blended into the terrain, and all are in locations that create sensible, strategic “holes within a hole.” More courses should put this degree of thought into the siting of tees.