Just had my first visit to Sand Valley this past weekend. It's only 2 hours away from home and boy I'm disappointed in myself for not going sooner.
Iβve been to Bandon a couple times now, so it was weird feeling like you were there, but in the middle of Wisconsin.
It has all the same vibes.
Played Sand Valley with a friend and took the whole family out to the Sandbox so we could experience it as a family! β
Few Sand Valley takes:
β β‘οΈ Plenty of interesting tee shots. Forcing you to choose to lay back into wide parts of fairway or trying to push it up and risk hitting into bunkers. At the same time you weren't ever really going to lose a golf ball which always makes it feel relaxed and not super stressful.
β β‘οΈ Oh the greens. Might have had more 3 putts than 2 putts (I did) and I wasnβt alone in the group. Fast and majorly sloped. Ball kept wanting to funnel away from the hole. β β β‘οΈ Sand was so soft and fine. Like powdered sugar. Obviously chunked the bunker shots I attempted π€·ββοΈ. Very different than I would have guessed.
β
β β‘οΈ It has βthe soundβ when you drop your iron on the fairway. You know the one. β
β‘οΈ The uphill par 3 8th was pretty cool.
β
β β‘οΈ The Sandbox was legit awesome.
Now before you think about bringing your 3 boys under the age of 7 along... Consider you'll spend most of your time caddying, raking bunkers, and convincing everyone they're doing a great job and keep going π
It's totally worth it though!
β
β‘οΈ Love the template holes and how they included on the scorecard which ones they were. Fun convo's with the 7 year old about what we were playing and where it came from.
Trying to direct the madness.
β‘οΈ Everyone was a huge fan of the $1 tacos and ice cream sandwiches. We might have made a stop up to Craig's Porch a couple times to partake.
The youngest even got involved :)
β So, what's the analysis? I have to get back to Sand Valley!
I really want to play the other courses.
Incredible spot, great experience. Definitely doesn't feel like your in Wisconsin anymore.
But I'll be honest, I can't wait to get to Bandon this December. I don't know if that spot can be matched or rivaled. π¬π¬
Chipping convo with Dr Luke Benoit
β I was up at Interlachen CC with Dr Luke a little bit ago and we talked chipping and chipping drills. Fun chat on some technique changes you might want to make.
Disclosure: Some things in this newsletter may be a sponsored post, or Golfwell may be getting a small commission if you sign up / fill out their form, or Golfwell might own a percentage of the business. In particular, but not always, those sponsored, commissioned, or owned posts, or they might have an * in the subject headline.
β