What are the most soulful, cathartic golf rounds you’ve experienced?

For all the golf travel, top 100 courses visited, memorable performances and other golfing highlights I’ve been lucky enough to experience over the years, the two rounds I’ve played at The Sandbox at Sand Valley Golf Resort have produced some of my most cherished golf moments ever.

The first loop came three years ago, with my wife, Heidi, and our dog, Pepper, along for the walk. Yes, dogs are allowed at Sand Valley (just like they are at many places in Scotland, I’ve heard), and to this day it’s the only time Pepper has been by my side during a golf round. To her, it was just another hike (her favorite activity, though), but for me there was nothing cooler than striding the fairways with my pup.

This summer, I made a long-awaited return to Sand Valley for an epic buddies trip (destination post coming soon!). With our scheduled Sandbox round rained out the day before, I had but one last chance to play the course on the final morning of the trip.

As my buddies slept in after a late night, I decided to loop it solo and grabbed the first tee time of the day. I was exhausted, myself, but as a certified golf degenerate I wouldn’t let the opportunity to play one of the world’s best short courses slip away!

I enjoy solo golf on a semi-regular basis, finding it therapeutic and a great opportunity to practice under zero pressure. Looping The Sandbox at the crack of dawn with only the grounds crew to keep me company was a different type of solitary experience, though, and it was one I’ll never forget.

The four-bedroom residence we rented for the week was conveniently located just across Glacial Lake, only a couple hundred yards away from The Sandbox, allowing me to fly my bird over the course on three separate occasions without having to traverse across the entire resort.

While humidity-choked, mid-summer light dampened the first two photography sessions, the air cleared spectacularly on that last morning, setting me up for some great sunrise captures. Torrential rain the day before allowed the fairways and greens to shine even more as glistening strips of green contrasted aginst Sand Valley’s epic dunescape.

While the opening of The Lido in 2023 and Sedge Valley this season have garnered most of the resort’s headlines of late, Sand Valley‘s first three courses are nothing short of world-class, which is why the destination was so successful to begin with. And in the case of The Sandbox, she’s a stunner.

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“The Sandbox” is a fitting name for a course that started as a laboratory for reimagining what golf can be, following in the footsteps of its legendary Dream Golf sister course, Bandon Preserve.

While the resort’s first two courses were under construction about seven years ago, developer Michael Keiser Jr. (and son of Mike Keiser, Bandon Dunes founder) and acclaimed shaper Jim Craig set their eyes on a small plot of land just to the west of Mammoth Dunes and adjacent to what would become the main clubhouse.

Keiser and Craig tinkered with the property, moving dirt around here and there, pondering the possibilities for this prominently-located plot. Many ideas were considered, including a driving range, a putting course and even a “par-2 course.”

With Craig roughing in general features and shaping some of the greens, the idea that this spot could host a legit par three course eventually took hold. Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw, fresh off completing the original Sand Valley course, took the reins at that point, fully building out out what Craig and Keiser had started.

The result was what I would call a “par 2.5” course even though it’s a par three on paper. With a total yardage of just over 1,500 (averaging 90 yards per hole), golfers will only need a putter, perhaps a few wedges and a short iron to complete a loop, and will likely have a boatload of birdie opportunities along the way. And unlike a traditional par three course, many of the holes can be played from tee to green with only putter.

After three days of playing the big courses in oppressive heat, in my exhausted state I opted for putter on a handful of holes off the tee, and what a thrill it was to watch 40- to 70-yard putts tumble their way across dramatic contouring towards the green.

Coore and Crenshaw held no punches designing these greens, which are some of the wildest putting surfaces you’ll find anywhere.

Dramatically ranging in size, shape and contour, The Sandbox‘s 17 greens are a nonstop adventure that will test your putting and wedge play from start to finish.

Six of the greens are bold, modern takes on classic templates including the Maiden 3rd, Road Hole 5th, Biarritz 8th, Lion’s Mouth 13th, Alps 14th and the Redan 16th. The remaining 11 are original designs, every bit as ingenious and fun as the templates.

Course Overview

The Sandbox

Sand Valley Golf Resort

Rome, WI

Architects: Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw (2018)

Par 51, 1,531/1,508 Yards (17 Holes)

Course Highlights

While I’d consider the entire round at The Sandbox to be one continuous highlight reel, these are a few holes that particularly stood out to me in this summer’s loop.

The second hole introduces golfers to the primary source of challenge at The Sandbox – bunkers. Yes, as its name suggests, this course has a lot of sand, and it’s best to stay out of it.

The second green bends around a deep trap short and left, with a tier separating the front and back portions. To a back-left pin, this was a challenging full pitching wedge shot, which I dumped right into the sand. A skulled shot later, I limped to my first double bogey of the day.

At the fourth, the routing takes a turn into the property’s wooded corner, with majestic pines lining the playing surfaces. The fourth green is one of the deepest you’ll find anywhere, stretching more than 40 yards from front to back to create a multitude of possible pin positions.

I found this out the hard way after chunking a sand wedge that barely found the front edge of the green (to a back pin). As I stared down a dauntingly long birdie putt, I resolved to use putter off the tee wherever possible from that point forward.

The Sandbox uses semi-blind to blind shots to create visual deception. This is first prominently featured at the sixth, a short wedge shot over a central mound that conceals the green’s features. Too often in my round, I visually overestimated the distance and ended up over the green. That was the case here, as I struck what I thought was a birdie-caliber tee shot only to find myself in the sand long.

The tenth was the scene of my round’s only birdie. Yes, I struggled that day, but at least I managed to snag one highlight here. Playing to a wildly undulating green, I had to challenge two bunkers guarding the entrance to knock it next to a front pin. This was one of the tamer sections of the green, and I can imagine the tenth would play significantly tougher to a back hole location.

At the 13th, the Lion’s Mouth template features a tiny, deep bunker splitting the green into two principal sections. I vividly remember my 2021 round falling apart here, as I found the wretched sand trap and could not for the life of me escape it, ultimately leading to a 9!

That’s the beauty of this course – you can make plenty of birdies, but disaster is always lurking. Thankfully, this time around my putted tee shot narrowly avoided the bunker and I managed a par save.

I love the closing stretch at The Sandbox, where the routing emerges from pine forest into a vast sandscape that is also home to Mammoth Dunes. With the main clubhouse looming in sight, the final three holes are a fitting conclusion to bring golfers back to the iconic setting of Sand Valley‘s home base.

The 15th features a beautifully crafted green site with a massive sandhill in the background adding to the visual drama. It’s important to find the correct section of this large, undulating green to take a potential three-putt out of play.

Closing Thoughts

It’s easy to overlook a par three course, but The Sandbox is an essential part of the Sand Valley experience and you’d be doing yourself a disservice by skipping it on a golf trip. It’s a truly innovative take on a short course, an experience that is quite different from any other par three layout I’ve seen.

With a total yardage of just 1,500 yards, it can be looped in under two hours, making it the perfect place to just relax and have fun, whether that’s solo or with your whole gang.

A round at The Sandbox can easily fit into a tight itinerary, whether that’s upon arrival, just before departure or in the evening. You’ll get plenty of practice with the wedge and putter while taking in some of the craziest greens you’ll ever see.

My advice – do yourself a favor and carve out the time to include this little gem in your next visit to Sand Valley.

Sand Valley Golf Resort Website