Foreword

This article on Sam Weber and Sedge Valley was written for the Wisconsin Golf Course Superintendents Association and Grass Roots Magazine, which I have written features for over the past several years. It was published in the July/August/September 2025 issue that arrived in members’ mailboxes around September 10, 2025.

The Wisconsin Chapter of the GCSA is dedicated to serving its members, advocating on behalf of the golf course management industry, and supporting the future of golf.

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Growing Sedge Valley from Sand to Signature

In July 2024, Sand Valley Golf Resort unveiled Sedge Valley – a compact, links-inspired course unlike anything else on the property. With its easily walked routing, firm fescue tees, fairways and surrounds, bentgrass greens and a mix of traditional and “half-par” holes, it quickly earned its place among Wisconsin’s most distinctive golf experiences.

Since April 2022, Superintendent Sam Weber has overseen its transformation from bare, excavated sand to a fast-running, precisely tuned playing surface. Built on a pure sand base with fine fescue tees, fairways and surrounds, and bentgrass greens, the course demands a specialized approach to conditioning, traffic management and seasonal preparation. The role has called for problem-solving, adaptability and a willingness to rethink conventional practices – traits Weber has relied on throughout the grow-in and into its early seasons of play.

Sam’s Early Life & Journey in Golf

Weber grew up in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, where his grandmother first encouraged him to pick up a golf club. By high school, he was at Cherry Hills Golf Course nearly every day – playing with friends, picking the range and parking carts after his shift. The mix of outdoor work, physical activity and the strategy of the game hooked him early.

Cherry Hills Superintendent Kurt Klonsinski saw his potential and encouraged him toward turf management. “I enjoyed science and chemistry in school, so it seemed like a match made in heaven,” Weber says.

After earning his turfgrass degree from Michigan State University, Weber’s career was shaped by key mentors. At Horseshoe Bay Golf Club, Brian Ferrie and Mike Becker introduced him to the elevated standards of private golf. At The Legend Clubs, Ben LaBarre and Randy Van Fleet refined his post-college skills. Then at the Kingsley Club in Michigan, Superintendent Dan Lucas opened his eyes to fescue and firm-and-fast conditioning – lessons in surface preparation and design intent that still guide his work at Sedge Valley today.

The Arrival at Sand Valley

When Weber accepted the position at Sedge Valley, he expected to hit the ground running. Instead, the first two months were spent taking stock. “You think, here we go, we’re going to hit the ground running… and pretty quickly I realized there wasn’t anything ready,” he says. “Tom wasn’t there yet, it was too early to start seeding, they hadn’t really prepared anything.”

That extra time allowed him to settle in and get to know the expansive property – and its people. “It’s easy to get lost here – the place just keeps going,” Weber recalls. What stood out most was the instant camaraderie among the team. “We have our own mini Wisconsin Superintendents Section here,” he jokes. “And everybody’s buying into the same idea – we’re all just trying to put the best conditions we can out there. It’s a great place where you’ve basically got an immediate built-in friend group.”

Weber’s previous work at the Kingsley Club had taught him the value of a playability-first mindset. At Sand Valley, that philosophy remains, but with adjustments for a resort audience. “We’re obviously in a retail golf situation, so we’re not able to take it quite as far as we would at Kingsley,” he says.

The Grow-In

Construction was underway when Weber arrived, with seeding set for mid-June 2022. That summer, the crew seeded 12 holes, finishing the remaining six in 2023. On paper it looked simple; in practice it required precision timing and constant weather watch.

“I thought the hardest part would be getting seed established that first year,” Weber admits. “But it went really well – out of 18 holes we only had one significant washout. Every major thunderstorm came right after our latest seeding had germinated, holding the sand down.”

The bigger challenge came after the July 1, 2024 opening. In its first partial season, Sedge Valley saw roughly 16,000 rounds and high-traffic areas quickly showed wear. Then came a harsh winter – extreme cold, unseasonal warm-ups and a long, cool spring that slowed recovery.

Managing fescue on a deep sand base meant rethinking conventional wisdom. “You have to go into winter a little lush,” Weber says. “On sand there’s no nutrient-holding capacity, so the plant needs to be as healthy as possible to make it through. In Turf School they say you’ll get snow mold if you’re over-fertile, but here you just can’t be too fertile.”

It was an “aha” moment that reshaped his winter prep. For Weber, grow-in was as much about adapting to Central Wisconsin’s extremes as it was about germination – learning how to bridge the gap between establishment and the daily demands of play.

Managing Fine Fescue

Sedge Valley’s fine fescue fairways, tees and surrounds are central to its identity – and its challenges. For Weber, success starts with one non-negotiable: drainage. “Fescue needs to drain – that’s the easy box for us to check,” he says. “It drains amazingly here, and that’s really the key.”

Traffic has been the bigger hurdle. With no alternate routes, high-wear areas require frequent re-sodding. “The turf hasn’t fully knitted in to hold that ground together yet,” Weber says. “Traffic management is very difficult, and we do a lot of resodding where there’s no way to move people around.”

Resort play brings its own set of expectations. At Kingsley Club, Weber could keep fairways tight for a lean, fast-running look, but at Sedge Valley the Keiser family prefers slightly higher mowing heights to help players launch the ball more easily and keep rounds moving. “It’s a little greener than we’d like,” Weber says, “but to manage traffic you have to keep the plant growing.”

Even so, the surfaces remain impressively quick. “It’s so fast for the height of cut that people don’t believe it,” Weber says. “On bentgrass, you’d have to cut much lower for the same quality, but here the plant stays healthier and resists wilting – a win for both conditioning and playability.”

Course Design & Personality

From the start, Weber knew Sedge Valley would stand apart. Compact, walkable and filled with atypical pars, it borrows more from British links traditions than American scorecard conventions. “Sedge has a number of ‘half-par’ holes,” Weber says. “That’s a hard idea for most retail golfers to grasp, but it ultimately makes the course more interesting.”

He points to holes 9 and 10 as examples of turning modest land into engaging golf. “That portion of the property was relatively uneventful compared to the topography of the previous holes,” he says. “Tom [Doak] and Eric [Iverson] did a fantastic job creating two great holes that fit beautifully with the rest of the course.”

Hole 8 delivers a different kind of drama – a par three that can stretch to driver distance for some players. “As soon as I hear somebody say it’s ‘unfair,’ I’m like – well, there’s nothing fair about golf,” Weber says. “It’s so much more rewarding when you hit that driver, it dribbles onto the front of the green and you make that birdie putt.”

Then there’s hole 18 – what I now consider the best finishing hole in Wisconsin. Originally planned as the 17th, it was renumbered to close the round. Modeled after the fourth at Doak’s Barnbougle Dunes in Tasmania, it plays slightly longer from the fairway bunker but otherwise mirrors the original. Just weeks after opening, a father-and-son duo etched their names into Sedge Valley lore when the son made the hole’s first ace.

Creative Problem-Solving

Sedge Valley’s grow-in demanded more than agronomic know-how – it required creative fixes. With much of the site still loose sand, even getting around was a challenge. “You can’t drive a normal cart around the sand or you’ll get stuck,” Weber says. Local UTVs were scarce thanks to a nearby solar project, so the solution came via Facebook Marketplace: a nice $2,200 2006 Ford F-250. “That was our grow-in golf cart for the first couple of years,” he laughs.

Its days as a “nice” truck ended when a mulcher hose burst with the windows down, coating the cab in mulch. “It always smelled like wet newspaper after that,” Weber says. From then on it was strictly a workhorse.

Some solutions were more polished. Because fine fescue doesn’t hold dew, mowing passes are hard to see, so every fescue mower at Sedge Valley is equipped with a marking foamer – a practice in place before Weber’s arrival, but one that remains essential. “Without foam you can’t see where you’ve been,” he explains. “This way, we can cut the whole course cleanly.”

For Weber, these adaptations reflect the course’s evolving nature. “Almost daily we change things up,” he says. “We’re still learning this golf course.”

Leadership Philosophy

Weber’s leadership approach can be summed up in a simple mantra: “Keep chopping wood.” For him, it means staying consistent, focusing on the present task and maintaining a healthy work-life balance to avoid burnout. “Prioritize tasks that impact golfers, stay consistent and keep persevering,” he says.

His calm demeanor is intentional – a lesson learned from mentors throughout his career. “I try to drill into these young guys to stay calm,” Weber explains. “There are so many things in a day that can fluster you, and you just have to look at the big picture. Most of it’s not worth getting upset about.”

Weber believes the tone set by a superintendent directly shapes crew morale. “If you’re stressed and exuding that stress onto them, it’s not a positive workplace,” he says. “We want people to enjoy being out on the golf course. Come in every morning enjoying where you’re at – that’s what we’re looking for.”

For those leading their first grow-in, Weber’s advice is straightforward: lean on your network. “Don’t be afraid to get on the phone and ask questions,” he says. “It’s an exceptionally rewarding process going from bare ground to a golf course that 170 people are going to play today.”

Life Away from the Course

Away from the golf course, Weber’s life revolves around family and the outdoors. He and his wife are raising two young children – an eight-month-old and a three-year-old – which means there’s rarely a quiet moment. “Being at the golf course is sometimes easier than being at home,” he jokes.

When time allows, the couple enjoys mountain biking in summer and fat biking in winter. “We just did a race up in Marquette this past weekend,” Weber says. Family rides, hikes and walks help him decompress after long days at Sedge Valley.

His golf game has taken a back seat, though, as the former everyday player now averages five or six rounds a year – though often on world-class courses. “When you work at and play Kingsley and Sand Valley, you tend to become a bit of a golf snob,” he admits. “Being at the course doesn’t quite scratch that itch, but it definitely makes you happy.”

Perspective on Guests & the Game

Weber has quickly learned that Sedge Valley attracts a certain type of player. “Most of the people coming are golf nuts,” he says. “A couple months ago somebody said on Twitter, ‘An uneducated golfer would look at this place and think it’s an unkept muni, but anybody that knows golf appreciates it for exactly what it is.’ That guy gets it. He knows we’re not manicuring every inch of turf – that’s not our goal and it’s not even on our radar.”

That mindset matches Weber’s philosophy and experience with fescue surfaces. He points to the U.S. Open at Chambers Bay as an example of how firm, brown conditions are often misunderstood in the U.S. “The ball plays so nicely off that browned-out ground,” Weber says. “Golf isn’t fair. Every year they go over to The Open and embrace it, but here people expect perfection – and that’s not the case.”

For Weber, the joy of Sedge Valley lies in its honest presentation: tight turf that rewards shotmaking, strategic design with multiple options and conditions that challenge conventional expectations while staying fun and playable.

Looking Ahead

As Sedge Valley settles into regular play, Weber sees it only improving with age. “As the course grows in, it’s a fantastic complement to the other courses here,” he says. “The setting is different and the style is unique.”

Agronomically, his plan is to gradually reduce fertility and push conditions toward firm and fast. “That’s going to help a lot,” he says. “A young golf course can be a little slow with spots that need to fill in, but it’s only going to get better from here.”

One near-term addition is the opening of Sedge Valley’s putting green, designed to match the character and challenge of the course. Looking more broadly, Weber is excited for Sand Valley’s next project, The Commons. “It’s like The Sandbox on a larger scale,” he says. “You’ll see some unbelievable holes next to the big lake – they look challenging, that’s for sure.”

For Weber, the path forward is about refinement: fine-tuning conditioning, protecting high-traffic areas and maintaining Sedge’s distinct identity within one of the most innovative golf destinations in the country.

Reflecting on the Journey

In just a few seasons, Sam Weber has helped take Sedge Valley from an open stretch of sand to one of the most distinctive golf experiences in Wisconsin. Along the way, he’s navigated the complexities of a fine fescue grow-in, balanced agronomic ideals with resort playability and led his team with a steady, even-handed approach.

The course he tends is as unique as the journey that built it – a par-68 strategy-rich design where par is just a number and firm turf rewards imagination. Watching guests embrace its quirks, creativity and challenge has been the clearest sign of success. Sedge Valley now stands not just as a testament to vision and craftsmanship, but as a course destined to become even more compelling with time.

Interested in more Sedge Valley content? Check out WiscoGolfAddict’s course preview from August 2024 entitled “Sedge Valley: Out of the Ordinary, Pure Sand Valley”: