Midwest charm

Maybe I just like cheese curds. Or perhaps it is the Spotted Cow. Could be the brats, or well-priced tacos. And certainly, it boasts the best ice cream sandwiches on the planet. And while this might sound like a restaurant review, let’s throw some truly remarkable golf into the mix. When you add that, you’ve got Sand Valley.

By tron carter

Having visited Dream Golf Resorts on either side of North America (Bandon Dunes twice and Cabot once), I wasn’t quite sure what to expect when preparing for a June trip to Wisconsin to visit Sand Valley. How do you recreate either of the first two Dream Golf resorts in a landlocked area far from any coast? Would the golf live up? Would the experience? What would make it distinctive?

Our first introduction to Sand Valley was at the food truck—a sensible place to start—and after a brat and a couple Spotted Cows, we teed off on The Sandbox. I damn near shanked my first tee shot of the trip and felt the effects of a couple flights. Then my colleague Ben flew his tee shot on the first hole directly into the cup. Didn’t hit the stick or the grass around it—just straight to the bottom. What a way to start the trip. And somehow, The Sandbox only got better from there. Ben hit the stick on the second hole, nearly acing two holes in a row, and then we saw the double plateau on the third hole and at that point I realized I liked Sandbox even more than The Preserve at Bandon. It is a short course that is packed with nuance despite big, bold greens. Based on an artful routing, the land feels so much more expansive and diverse than the 25 acres it sits on. After a couple of loops around the 17-hole course, Sand Valley had already answered the bell.

Then my colleague Ben flew his tee shot on the first hole directly into the cup.