Get ready, golf world, because a new dynamo has appeared on the scene. From the same family – the Kaisers – that brought you Bandon Dunes and Streamsong comes more than a proper rejoinder from Wisconsin, but rather another magnum opus. Already rightly famous for twin public masterpieces Sand Valley by _____ and Mammoth Dunes by, the resort recently brought on line the semi-private Lido Club, a micron by micron faithful 3-D recreation of Charles Blair Macdonald’s Long Island sanctuary that sadly has “no longer existed” (NLE as we say in the industry) for over a century. From the press release:
“The United States Golf Association (USGA) today announced that Sand Valley Resort, in Nekoosa, Wis., will be the host site for four USGA championships, beginning with the U.S. Mid-Amateur in 2026. The 2029 U.S. Junior Amateur, 2030 U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur and 2034 U.S. Girls’ Junior will also be conducted at the resort.
‘The USGA is excited to begin this commitment with Sand Valley Resort, and we look forward to a long and fulfilling relationship,” said Mark Hill, USGA managing director, Championships. “The Keiser family has been committed to hosting national championships and promoting amateur competitions. We know that the resort’s courses will challenge and thoroughly impress the world’s best players.’
Sand Valley Resort is owned and operated by Michael and Chris Keiser, sons of Bandon Dunes founder Mike Keiser. The resort occupies more than 12,000 acres of wilderness in the Central Sands of Wisconsin, with dramatic dunes, sand barrens, native pine forest and restored timberland. The resort is located 100 miles north of Madison, 170 miles northwest from Milwaukee and 220 miles from the Chicago area.
Sand Valley Resort features five acclaimed golf courses. The Lido, the primary course for the 2026 U.S. Mid-Amateur and the 2029 U.S. Junior Amateur, is a private club that welcomes limited resort play. It is an exacting re-creation by Tom Doak and Brian Schneider, with the Renaissance Golf team, of the legendary links originally designed by inaugural U.S. Amateur champion Charles B. Macdonald on Long Island that opened for play in 1917. The new Lido course opened for play earlier this year. The original course on Long Island was repurposed by the U.S. Navy during World War II and closed in 1942. Doak and Schneider worked with golf historian and software designer Peter Flory, utilizing historical surveys, engineering records and photographs to guide the project.
The resort is also home to Sand Valley, designed in 2017 by Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw; Mammoth Dunes, designed in 2018 by David McLay Kidd; and Sedge Valley, another Doak design, which is scheduled to open in 2024. Coore and Crenshaw also designed The Sandbox, a 17-hole par-3 course that opened in 2018.”
