Thoughts on The Commons, the Sixth Course at Sand Valley

Sand Valley has announced The Commons as the sixth course at the resort in Nekoosa, Wisconsin. The Commons was under construction during the entire 2024 season, and its location between Sedge Valley, The Sandbox, and the popular Gallery restaurant made the idea of a new course a bit of a foregone conclusion. As Dream Golf remarked in their magazine, “you can’t hide a golf course.” The Commons, a 12-hole course filled with short par 4s and par 3s, will open in 2026.

The course is a collaboration between long-time Coore & Crenshaw shaper, Jim Craig, and Sand Valley Resort Co-Founder Michael Keiser Jr. The inspiration for the course came from Michael’s trips abroad to Scotland, where courses such as North Berwick have a “kids” course. The 12-hole concept is a clear ode to Prestwick, whose original design famously had 12 holes.

The premise is that The Commons will serve as an additional “afternoon” option for guests along with The Sandbox. One of the many good problems that the resort has faced is the Sandbox, a 17-hole short course, tends to be jammed with people in the afternoons. The Commons should help relieve some of that demand while providing a distinctly different experience. While it’s billed as an afternoon course, I could foresee The Commons becoming a quick morning option for golfers, thanks to the diversity of its holes and the ability to hit drivers. Guests could almost view it as a range visit.

I walked this design in the fall and was impressed by its aggressive feature set. A fascinating undercurrent in golf design is the idea of fairness with non-traditional designs such as The Commons or short courses that seem to be exempt from the concept that often plagues aggressively designed holes at regulation courses. Because of the idea that a short course or a 12-hole course isn’t “real golf,” features can be pushed in modern architecture, despite the fact that these courses are real golf courses, just in different formats. The Commons clearly represents a more aggressive set of greens than the regulation courses at Sand Valley.

One of my other takeaways is the influence that the Lido has had and will continue to have on Dream Golf Projects going forward. The typical Dream Golf playbook before the Lido was to find a great golf property with dramatic features and build a course around it. That will continue to be the guiding force of the business, but I believe now they have another card to play. They also feel comfortable creating features, like fairway contours. The Commons, as an example, traverses relatively subtle ground, but the property was juiced up with some smart earth moves, such as rolling fairways and ridges using the plentiful sand on property.

The Commons will feature two holes that play along a lake, a rarity for a Keiser property. Outside of the Pacific Ocean, No. 11 at Bandon Trails, and No. 5 at the Dunes Club, I don’t know of any water hazard on a Keiser property at Bandon Dunes or Sand Valley.

Members of the Club TFE trip to Sand Valley will likely get a crack at The Commons during their visit. I am excited the “short course” model is evolving to also include holes where driver is a consideration.