The Sandbox at Sand Valley

Nekoosa, WI · 0.1 mi away

The Lido at Sand Valley Golf Resort in Wisconsin opened in 2023 and is unlike anything else in American golf: it is a reconstruction of a course that no longer exists. C.B. Macdonald's original Lido Club, built on Long Island in 1917 on sand pumped from a bay, was lost during the Second World War. The rebuild was made possible by Peter Flory, who spent years assembling a digital model of the original from aerial photographs, Macdonald's written plans and period accounts. Tom Doak, with Brian Schneider and Brian Slawnik, then built that model into the sand barrens at Nekoosa, hole for hole and contour for contour. The result includes Macdonald's template holes and several concepts that had disappeared from golf entirely, among them the Channel hole, where golfers choose how much of a diagonal carry to take on off the tee. It is walking only, and the scale of the greens and bunkers reflects 1917 design rather than modern practice.

Nekoosa, WI · 0.1 mi away

Mammoth Dunes at Sand Valley Golf Resort in Nekoosa, Wisconsin, was designed by David McLay Kidd and opened in 2018 as the resort's second course. The site is an inland sand barren left by a glacial lake, and Kidd built the course to be enjoyable rather than punishing. Fairways are among the widest in American golf, some more than 100 yards across, and the greens are large with open fronts, so most approach shots can be run in along the ground. Sand blowouts and native scrub line the holes, and the elevation change through the dunes is substantial. The short par-4 14th, drivable for many golfers, is one of the most discussed holes at the resort. Sand Valley is a walking resort with caddies. Mammoth Dunes sits alongside the original Sand Valley course by Coore and Crenshaw, the Lido, the Sandbox short course and Sedge Valley.

Nekoosa, WI · 0.4 mi away

Sedge Valley opened in 2024 at Sand Valley in Nekoosa, Wisconsin, and was designed by Tom Doak. It was built deliberately short, playing to a par 68 at well under 6,000 yards, as a counterweight to the longer courses at the resort. The model was British heathland golf. Corridors are tighter than elsewhere on the property, the ground is covered in low sedge and scrub, and the emphasis is on shot placement and iron play rather than driving distance. There are more short par 4s and par 3s than a standard rotation. It is walking only, open to resort guests, and shares the same sandy soil as the resort's other courses.