“It’s like the Keisers don’t want you to have fun.”

That was Bally Sports’ Stephen Watson as we lamented on a recent Milwaukee Uncut podcast about Sand Valley Golf Resort and the brilliant fun factor that embodies Dream Golf’s playing experiences.

And, now, maybe at the top of that list of fun Dream Golf courses is the newest at Sand Valley: Sedge Valley.

Initially announced in 2018, it took a while for Sedge to come to fruition as Renaissance Golf Design’s Tom Doak and Brian Schneider focused first on finishing The Lido, last year’s newly unveiled course at the world-renowned property that found itself immediately in the top 100 courses in the world according to GOLF (debuting at #68).

For years golf enthusiasts have been clamoring for Sedge Valley, and why not? While a lot of information was not available for some time, what was out there was intriguing: it was touted as a short-but-not-executive layout under 6,000 yards with a par under 70 on a tract of the resort’s potentially most dramatic land.

Questions about whether a “short” layout would fit into such a well-established property surfaced (“if I’m paying over $200/round I want a ‘full’ course!”), and some surmised a course under 6,000 yards could not possibly be enough of a challenge, or that it would feel in some way inferior to its sibling championship tracks.

Having played it for the first time at the course’s initial media day in June I can say it is not.

In fact, Sedge Valley may be my favorite course at my favorite golf resort.

Dream Golf

For two decades Dream Golf Founder and Developer Mike Keiser and his sons, Michael and Chris, have created an incredible niche in the golf industry, building sprawling world-class resorts in remote locations centered around the playing experience.

“A comfortable bed, oversized bar of soap and great water pressure” are all players need in lodging when at a great golf resort, Michael told us at one of the initial Sand Valley media days in 2015. The rest – the magic – happens outdoors.

Like at Bandon Dunes on the Pacific Coast of Oregon (Keiser’s first resort project), the magic at Sand Valley centers on fun golf.

“When I walk off the 18th, I want to go straight to the first tee and do it again,” was their goal, and they’ve achieved that on all five courses now open in Nekoosa.

The Coore/Crenshaw designed Sand Valley Golf Course is a fun, technically sound layout, and their par three Sandbox never fails to deliver an incredible time.

The Lido will beat you over the head and have you grinning ear-to-ear the entire four-plus hours and many players will shoot the lowest score of their lives on David McLay Kidd’s Mammoth Dunes (even with a par of 73), coming away saying it’s the best course they’ve ever played.

Sedge Valley, though, is a whole new breed.

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Unconventional

I love golf that’s a little unconventional.

I enjoy the 13-hole routing at Bandon Preserve and the 17-hole Sandbox. I love the concept of a reversible course like at Forest Dunes and salivate over carnival greens like at Tobacco Road, The Club at Lac La Belle, West Bend Country Club or even Pine Hills.

When done right, give me out of the ordinary all day long.

I’d never played anything as unconventional and out of the ordinary, though, as the new Sedge Valley.

Let’s start with the routing.

Similar to his work at Dismal River in the Sand Hills of Nebraska (which we just visited, as well – check out Dario Melendez’s recent post here), Doak designed Sedge Valley around the property’s best greens sites, designing the holes and scorecard without care for traditional par three, four and five cadence.

There is just one par five (the 542-yard 11th) and the fifth through eighth go 3, 4, 3, 3… Not normal.

The only other non-executive course I can recall back-to-back par threes on is my all-time number one (link to my top 100 course rankings), Pacific Dunes at Bandon – also designed by Tom Doak and part of the Dream Golf portfolio.

Tipping out at 5,829 yards does not make Sedge Valley a pushover, either. While you may notice your score seems lower than it felt, the course will challenge you continuously.

There are no easy holes and the lowered total yardage happens naturally with:

• Four (4) thrilling short par fours
• Five (5) par threes that vary wonderfully in look and length
• One (1) challenging par five
• Four (4) par fours over 400 yards
• Four (4) par fours between 350-399 yards

All of the short fours are fantastic, but two stand out most to me: the 12th and 18th.

Coming off the course’s only par five, the 12th is a driver’s distance for many players at 278 from the back tees. It has one of the widest, most undulating fairways I’ve ever seen (at a resort known for wide fairways, of course) with distinct upper and lower sections.

Hit mid-iron off the tee and you’ll likely be in great position, but who goes to Sand Valley to lay up?

Doak designed all the trouble on these drivable fours where it should be: in the greens surrounds. On 12, that trouble is in the form of deep blowout bunkers, long native grasses (dead zones) and one of the narrowest left-to-right greens complexes on the property.

This narrow, lowered green that extends substantially from front-to-back has kicker slopes front and left to run small misses on but propel errant shots toward the right-side bunkering.

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It’s All About the Greens

Doak’s greens at Sedge Valley are wonderfully designed.

So much of what’s been developed in the past 30 years has been elevated-green-heavy and it’s exciting to me to see and play putting surfaces that are not.

12 at Erin Hills comes to mind, as does the 15th on the Karoo Course at Cabot Citrus Farms in Florida (another contender for top new course of 2024) and 13th on the Straits course at Whistling Straits.

All of these are many players’ favorite holes on world-class courses, and none of them force long carries at high trajectory in order to hit and hold the putting surface (although the 15th at Karoo does require a long carry if going for the green off the tee). They are all lowered and allow players to get creative when approaching them.

My friend and sometimes business partner, Cody Retlich of Midwest Aerial Productions (MAP), who I played with at the Sedge Valley media day, spent several years as a caddie on the Straits course while setting up MAP.

His favorite story from that experience is a day with a player who hit his driver well but couldn’t hit a wedge if his life depended on it. On the 13th, from 104 out, he gave him his putter and told him to aim left of the green, down the hill. His player was offended at first, then told he hasn’t hit a good wedge shot all day; rather than blade one into Lake Michigan, why not get creative? He rolled it to the general area Cody suggested, watched the ball trickle onto the green and into the cup for eagle. He gave him $1,000 on the spot and the same tip each day of his visit!

It sounds obvious, but having the opportunity to create and strategically decide where to enter a green is a ton of fun… more fun than watching slightly mishit approach shots roll down false fronts on every single hole.

Mix things up, get creative and have fun. That’s what great golf architecture is all about, and Tom Doak is probably the best current architect in the world at achieving it.

Speaking of Cody, who does a lot of great video work for courses like Erin Hills and Whistling Straits, he put together this awesome video from our time spent at Sedge Valley – enjoy!

My New Favorite Hole in Wisconsin?

Another punchbowl on another drivable par four, the finishing 18th might have immediately become my favorite golf hole in the entire state – and it’s certainly my favorite closer!

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Coming off a tough, 393-yard par four 17th, players stand on the tee box of 18 and face a decision: Go for the upper, right-side fairway or play safely to the wide, lowered section on the left?

A long drive when carrying the bunkers built into the hillside that separates the split fairways, successfully hitting the high, right-side fairway long can propel tee shots toward the green. If you don’t quite catch it, though, you risk facing an approach from a 10-foot deep bunker with a vertical sand wall and no view of the target.

Again, you didn’t drive to Sand Valley to lay up, right?!

Doak challenges players’ decision- and shot-making abilities over and over on Sedge, begging them to take risks and chance carding high numbers for the opportunities at greatness.

Smart golf is not my forte (nor is hitting my driver straight), but I will always love a good risk/reward opportunity. That said, I’d already hit long-irons on six and 12 – there was no way I was pulling that again on 18!

Doak’s Mastery of Par 3 Design

As I mentioned earlier, the par threes at Sedge are beautifully varied. They all set up from well-differed yardages, look unique from one another aesthetically and play differently from a strategic perspective.

The first par three on the course, the fifth is my favorite of them all. The tee shot on five plays over native grasses to a narrow, elevated green positioned at an angle to the tees with seven craggy bunkers flanking its putting surface.

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Following a short, drivable par four sixth, the seventh is then Sedge’s next par three. The shortest of the bunch during our round (around 105 yards), it demands a tight wedge played over a ravine.

Our group was dialed in at this point as Cody, Brian Weis (from GolfTrips and GolfWisconsin) and I all walked away with easy birdies.

Don’t get used to easy par threes, though, as the next hole will slap players in the face!

The longest par three on the course, the seventh plays downhill to a wide green that can be run on. At 227 yards, this hole is a monster with a left-side kicker slope and sand short-right and on both sides long.

The back nine’s par threes come in close succession, as well, with the first being on 13. Following the glorious short par four 12th, 13 has nothing in the form of sand hazards, but runoffs and hummocks abound its large putting surface.

The last of the par threes on the Sedge Valley course, the 15th has another downhill tee shot with a little slope left and long that can be used to propel balls onward. A deep bunker right of the green must be avoided, and the massive swale running through the front-left side can make getting close to a front pin easier or a back one next to impossible.

Other Favorite Holes

Drivable par fours take center stage at Sedge Valley, and the sixth is another beauty.

From raised tee boxes, a sea of thick native grasses encompasses a good 175+ yards of the area leading up to the fairway. Why do I mention this? Because, even though it’s a 294-yard hole from the tips, you can’t just hit 8-iron / 8-iron to get home in two.

I tried hitting 6-iron off the tee, for example, and came up short with an almost completely unplayable lie in the shwag following thin contact. I was able to get it out to the fairway using a 60-degree wedge, but my “smart play” proved far from smart.

Like on the 12th and 18th, the beauty of the sixth is on full display on and around its greens complex. Raised and with a wooded backdrop, approach shots should be hit toward the left side of the putting surface to stay clear of the sunken bunkers that surround the opposite side.

The last of the short par fours, the ninth may be drivable to some but at 343 yards from the tips is a little more than I can get to.

Cody hit a monster drive on nine, carrying the corner of the fairway and got to about 10 yards from the green. With a front-right pin location on an elevated green, it was tough to see that there is a lot of room to work with, and a high knob in the front-middle section repelled him back down the false front in his quest for birdie.

Word to the wise: If you encounter that front-right pin, just play to the middle of the green – it’s a doozy!

Is Sedge Valley the Best Course at Sand Valley?

As with all golf courses, “best” is in the eye of the beholder.

Especially on a property like Sand Valley, it’s almost impossible to say “this is the best course.”

If I had to pick one that’s the most fun, though, I think I’d now go with Sedge Valley (barely nudging out Mammoth Dunes).

Don’t be dissuaded by the short length of Sedge; there’s so much packed into its “little” layout that it provides every bit of the golf experience the rest of the resort’s great courses do.

And don’t be dissuaded, like I was, from going after all of its drivable par fours. You can always shoot a low round, but the chance for glory and that elusive eagle putt only comes around three times on this wonderful new Tom Doak masterpiece.

For more photos of Sedge Valley, check out the Sedge Valley photo gallery in the WiscoGolfAddict Photo Shoot Galleries page, linked below: