Mike Keiser and Sand Valley Golf Club
Following his highly successful destination golf resort Bandon Dunes, Chicago businessman Mike Keiser developed Sand Valley, in central Wisconsin. Formally opening in the spring of 2017, I had been anxious to see what it is all about. With two friends just as excited as me, on an early October morning, we were on our way.
Sand Valley is located near Wisconsin Rapids, easily accessible from Chicago, Milwaukee, and Minneapolis. Leaving at 9:30 we headed down I-90 for the three and a half hour drive. Leaves were a muted yellow while the last of the barn red maple leaves clung to their branches. Forests in the distance were varieties of orange, red and green. It was a beautiful fall setting as we made our way.
Keiser has developed a formula for his projects. He works in sand with great topography, hiring the top architects of the day. David McLay Kidd, Tom Doak, along with Jim Urbina and Coore-Crenshaw are the architects on the Bandon Dunes courses. With good topography and top architects, the chances of a great course are high, as proven by the fact all four Bandon Dunes courses are in the "Golf Digest" top 100 courses. He has repeated with David McLay Kidd and Coore-Crenshaw on the two courses open at Sand Valley. He enhances the experience with "pretty good lodging and pretty good food". "If you do that you don't need a spa," he told PGA Magazine.
We arrived, checked in and headed to the first tee of the newest course, Mammoth. I immediately realized another part of the formula is a friendly, helpful staff. Everybody we interacted with could not have been more accommodating. Located in an economically depressed area, golf is a big boon to the surrounding community. The staff is genuinely happy you are there and thank you for coming. It's the same way at Sand Hills in Nebraska, Bandon Dunes in Oregon, and Bally Neal in eastern Colorado. Sand is not conducive to rich agriculture but it does lend itself to growing grass, thus with this new golf facility people appreciate their jobs.
Sand Valley was created following a glacier moving through the area, causing a lake to drain in 16,000 BC. Left behind was sand 40-250 feet deep. Hills, now 60-80 feet high, surround the 1700 acre project. When Keiser purchased the property it was covered in Red Pine which was used for pulp, one of the few varieties of trees that will grow in the sand.
The Mammoth course is barren of trees, however, scrub oak cover the nearby hills giving it a certain beauty. We work our way around the 16 holes that are open at this time. A steady one club wind, probably not unusual for this open country, is present. The entire course is scheduled to open in June of 2018.
Mammoth is the correct name for the course, as the fairways are the most generous I have ever seen, matched only by the size of the greens. With fairways well over 100 yards wide, losing a ball is a rarity. "I finally found a golf course where I can play four rounds and never lose a ball," said the sometimes less than accurate driver, Bill Kelly. A typical golf course has greens 5,000-7,500 square feet in size. The average at Mammoth is 23,000 square feet in size, with the largest 26,000!
There are few greenside bunkers and no forced carries. Players of all abilities can play and have fun on Mammoth. In addition, on the fescue fairway grass, putting from off the green is always an option.
Mammoth is the furtherance of modern golf architecture. New courses have moved away from punitive, narrow drive zones toward big, wide fairways. It translates into fewer lost balls and more fun. In addition, large greens that are four or more clubs deep, mean less chipping, more long putts, which is something nearly everybody celebrates. "Architecture is into restoring the old classic courses while building big wide fairways and greens on new courses," nationally renown golf course architect Brian Silva told me.
Back at the modest clubhouse, we enjoyed an evening meal in the somewhat contemporary designed sports bar restaurant. With an adequate menu, I decided on the walleye while the beer tasted great after an easy 16 hole walk. No carts at Sand Valley.
The lodging was nice but not luxurious. Rooms were large and comfortable. One of the highlights of the trip was pulling back the drapes in the morning to look out over the courses. The dark green ribbons of fairway were surrounded by sandy waste areas and blow out bunkers sprinkled here and there. Trees on the hills in the distance define the area. A light fog hangs briefly, then dissipates. Was it real or was it a picture?
We had an early starting time at the other course, Sand Valley. Playing up, down and around gentle slopes, this was another fun course. With wide fairways and large greens, the Coore Crenshaw course again reflected modern architecture. Infrequently coming into play were jack pine trees that tended to define the area of the green site. As with Sand Hills Golf Course, we surmised Crenshaw and Coore struggled to pick 18 holes from the many possibilities the land provided.
Several holes had fairways somewhat diagonal to the tee, forcing the player to decide what line to take. An aggressive play could find the ball in the sandy waste area, playable but challenged. Strategically placed fairway bunkers were located on nearly every fairway. However, there was always plenty of room around them.
As on Mammoth, the Sand Valley golf course had free-flowing teeing grounds. Most holes had undefined areas over 100 yards in length where tee markers could be set. It was creative, functional and interesting.
The fescue fairway grass was well established while the bent grass greens were firm on the sandy soil. Greens were a comfortable speed and in great condition. Fescue is a low maintenance, low water grass. The only negative is the slow repair divot growth. This became obvious on a couple of the fairways where balls gather.
The course was somewhat tighter than Mammoth but still had fairways nearly 75 yards wide. Green sites appropriately bunkered the sloping, rolling greens as with other Coore Crenshaw courses. With the design, green speeds can be kept slower, helping the health of the bentgrass.
Following a bite of lunch, we headed to the par three course, still under construction with just six holes in play. It is a Coore-Crenshaw design, as at Bandon Dunes. "I think the greens on the par three are my favorite on the property," said Glen Murray, general manager of Sand Valley. It would be a perfect way to finish the day after 18 or 36 holes on the big courses. It was a fun trip around the six holes with the longest at 150 yards. We finished, went to the car, and were home by dinner. Perfect!
It was wonderful to have another option for a golf getaway in the Midwest. Sand Valley with its aesthetically interesting visuals along with the great topography and golf architecture made for a perfect escape in a Life in Golf.
