Sand Valley in 2026: You Don't Have to Stay on Property to Play

Here is the thing about Sand Valley that nobody tells you until you have already spent an hour on hold with reservations: the place is not sold out. The lodging is.

Those are two very different problems, and knowing the difference can save your group's trip -- or help you plan one that never falls apart in the first place.

I spoke with Brandon Carter, Sand Valley's marketing director, during the summer of last year. He was clear: on-property lodging was scarce, and the rumor floating around golf forums that the whole resort was booked solid simply was not accurate. Tee times were available across all four courses. That situation has not changed heading into 2026. If you want to sleep on property, you are essentially planning for 2027 right now, and even then your best move is to get on their email list and wait for an invitation to book 2028 before the general public gets access. That is the world Sand Valley now lives in.

But here is the good news: you do not need to sleep there to play there.

Stay Off-Property, Play the Best Golf in Wisconsin

The Lodges of the Lakes sits in the town of Rome, on the fifth fairway of Lake Arrowhead's Lakes course, about as close to Sand Valley as you are going to get without an on-property address. These are upscale, up-north-vibe condos -- the kind of place where your group actually wants to hang out after the round instead of disappearing into separate hotel rooms. The two-bedroom unit works perfectly for a foursome. If your group is bigger, they have three- and four-bedroom options worth inquiring about. Think fully equipped kitchen, room to spread out, and none of the resort markup that comes with a name-brand bed.

The Lodges also packages golf with two of the best budget options in the area. Lake Arrowhead stay-and-play rates run $65 weekdays and $89 on weekends, cart included. Bullseye Golf Club comes in at $69 any day of the week, also with a cart. These are not consolation rounds. Lake Arrowhead and Bullseye are solid, fun golf at prices that let you play five days without your credit card filing a restraining order. Mix those in with a round or two at Sand Valley and you have built a real golf trip with a real budget that does not require a second mortgage.

You can check out accommodations and stay-and-play packages at lodgesofthelakes.com.

The One Catch

Before you get too comfortable with the off-property strategy, know this: The Lido is reserved for resort guests only, Sunday through Thursday. The Lido is Tom Doak's reconstruction of the legendary Charles Blair Macdonald course that the Navy demolished on Long Island during World War II. If playing it is the whole reason you are going, and for some people it is, you will need to sort out on-property lodging, full stop. For everyone else, the remaining courses are very much open for public tee times.

Also worth knowing: Sand Valley is walking only. Every course, every round. That is not a complaint - it is part of what makes the place feel like a proper golf destination -- but four days of walking central Wisconsin sand hills is not a casual weekend. Pack accordingly and maybe stretch the morning of.

The Courses

On property at Sand Valley, you have five layouts worth knowing about heading into 2026, plus one brand-new addition making its official debut this season.

Sand Valley, the original Coore and Crenshaw design that opened in 2017, is still the crown jewel for most visitors. Golf Digest currently ranks it 21st among America's 100 Greatest Public Courses. Dual fairways, enormous sand waste areas, a hidden putting surface, and a back nine that will test your patience and your game equally. This is the course that put the resort on the map and it belongs on every serious golfer's list.

Mammoth Dunes by David McLay Kidd is the big, loud counterpart to Sand Valley's more strategic feel. Wide fairways, gargantuan greens, and elevation changes built around a massive V-shaped ridge running through the property. Where Sand Valley demands precision, Mammoth rewards aggression. Play them back to back and you will feel like you visited two entirely different golf destinations.

Sedge Valley, Tom Doak's heathland-inspired par 68, is the sleeper pick on property. Compact, classically styled, and a quicker walk than its neighbors. Doak took the layout in the opposite direction from Mammoth -- intimate scale, understated holes, and strategic nuance that reveals itself over multiple visits. High praise in a lineup this deep.

The Lido, also by Doak, is the one the golf world has been talking about since it opened in 2023. A precise recreation of C.B. Macdonald's lost masterpiece, it plays like a test of your shot-making vocabulary -- template holes, precise green complexes, and a course that punishes vague intentions. Again, resort guests only.

The Sandbox is the 17-hole par-3 short course that has been part of the lineup since 2018 and still earns its reputation as the best warmup or wind-down round at any American resort. Holes run from 40 to 150 yards across 25 acres of sandy soil with green complexes that will have your group arguing about reads long after you have moved on. Bring two wedges and a putter. Active military play free before noon. Veterans pay $15.

The Commons is the newest addition, officially opening spring 2026 after limited preview rounds last season. Twelve holes designed by Jim Craig -- the same shaper who built the Sandbox under the Coore and Crenshaw banner -- as his first solo design. It plays around 3,465 yards with one par 5, seven short par 4s, and four par 3s, influenced by the great old Scottish links at Prestwick and North Berwick. Plan on two and a half hours. The last three holes run out onto a peninsula jutting into Luna Lake, including what may be one of the better Redan holes built in years. This is the perfect second-round option or a day-of-arrival warmup before you tackle the bigger layouts the next morning.

Do Not Miss Craig's Porch

Halfway between the first tee and your second wind, Craig's Porch is the kind of place that only exists at golf destinations with the right priorities. The prices are retro in the best possible way -- $2 beers, $1 tacos. You will not find that on-property anywhere at any resort charging over $200 a round for a tee time, which is exactly what makes Craig's Porch feel like a gift. Eat two tacos. Drink a beer. Sit for a minute and look out at the sand. This is why people make the drive to central Wisconsin.

The Putting Course

Do not overlook the putting course. It sounds like a throwaway amenity. It is not. Sand Valley's putting course is a legitimate experience worth an hour of your afternoon, especially if someone in your group owes someone else money from the morning round.

Building the Trip

The play here is simple. Book the Lodges of the Lakes, lock in Lake Arrowhead and Bullseye for your budget days, and grab one or two Sand Valley tee times online through sandvalley.com for the rounds you drove/flew here to play. Reserve the Commons for day-of-arrival or late afternoon when legs are already loose. Hit the Sandbox at least once. Find Craig's Porch. Buy a round of $2 beers.

Sand Valley is not out of reach. It just requires a little flexibility and about twenty minutes of planning you were going to do anyway.