Mammoth Dunes

Mammoth Dunes at Sand Valley is David McLay Kidd's 2018 design, drawing on what he learned at Bandon Dunes in Oregon to build something different in Wisconsin. Where Bandon punishes wayward shots with thick coastal rough, Mammoth Dunes forgives them with fairways that on several holes stretch wider than 100 yards. The width isn't a concession; it's the architecture.

Kidd routed the course around a massive V-shaped sand ridge that runs through the property, and the fairways spread across the terrain in a way that creates multiple angles of approach to every green. A tee shot to the left side of a 120-yard-wide fairway produces a fundamentally different second shot than one to the right side. The course doesn't narrow your options; it multiplies them. Understand that and you'll play Mammoth Dunes as a strategic puzzle. Miss the point and you'll simply enjoy hitting the fairway more often than usual and wonder why the greens still feel hard to hit.

The greens are oversized too. Several exceed 10,000 square feet, and internal contours create pin positions that play as different holes depending on where the flag sits. Reaching the putting surface is only the first challenge. Getting to the correct sector is often the harder one.

The par of 73, unusual for an American course, comes from five par 5s and four par 3s. The extra par 5 adds a scoring opportunity most courses don't provide and contributes to the sense that the course wants you to enjoy yourself.

The sand dunes that name the course and the resort are the defining physical feature. Central Wisconsin sits on glacial deposits that left behind sandy soil similar to the coastal dunes of Scotland and Ireland. The turf grows tight and firm, and the ball bounces and rolls in ways golfers used to irrigated parkland may not expect. The ground game is central, and rewards thinking about trajectory and landing zones rather than just carry distances.

The walking-only policy applies, as it does across all Sand Valley courses. The terrain is rolling rather than steep. Caddies add real value, particularly on a first visit when the width can make club and line selection feel unfamiliar.