[Keith OHalloran]

Didn't Tom Doak give Sand Hills a 10 before it was open?

Actually, I gave Sand Hills a 9 in the limited-edition Confidential Guide from 1994, based on walking it in the dirt.  I don't think that was an example of over-hyping a course, it was just an early recognition.


Note that architects are perhaps a bit more qualified than others to rate a course from what they see in the dirt, since it is our milieu when we are working on our own projects.  However, I would have to watch a bunch of people play a course before I gave it a 10.

Fair enough, my mistake. I was trying to make the point that it is possible to recognize a great course very early on.

[William_G]

Didn't Tom Doak give Sand Hills a 10 before it was open?

Actually, I gave Sand Hills a 9 in the limited-edition Confidential Guide from 1994, based on walking it in the dirt.  I don't think that was an example of over-hyping a course, it was just an early recognition.


Note that architects are perhaps a bit more qualified than others to rate a course from what they see in the dirt, since it is our milieu when we are working on our own projects.  However, I would have to watch a bunch of people play a course before I gave it a 10.

LOL....missed this earlier

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PdLIerfXuZ4

who are you?

even to the average goofer, the Sand Hills have 9's everywhere the eye can see

[William_G]

http://www.sandvalleygolfresort.com/

nuf said...let the golf begin!

[Jon Heise]

Yeah, I think we're going to like this place.  The first 9 are fully playable, with the need for a few rough spots to fill in, and some bunker work.  There's some long holes and short holes, but even now you're getting good run out on drives.  Here's a few snaps:


From the drive in... unlike most of the scenery along the way here



The first tee.  Interestingly enough, they have a full tennis court laid out just to the left of it.  Sorry, no pics!



First fairway, what will turn into a fine bunker.



And off to the left... a future hole



The behind the green bunker of the long par 5 Fourth hole.



The flexible par 3 Fifth... thank the clouds for the lighting, eh?



Up the hill to the short par 3 8th.  Like if #9 at Greywalls mated with #17 at Arcadia... so much wind up there.



And the 9th.




Off of the 9th is a small lake that the cottages will overlook.  Make your reservations now...

[David Schofield]

I believe the area "inside" of the front nine loop is going to be a driving range/short course combo.  Similar to the south range at Bandon.

[Jason Way]

I was up there yesterday.  I'll post some photos later.  The area left of the first hole is an additional/alternate hole that will come back to the start to create a 6-hole loop.  If I understood the explanation, players will hit their tee shots on the par-3 5th, and then their tee shots on that alternate hole, from the same high point teeing area (a la Olympia Fields North).  They will go play out the fifth, and then continue down the hill to their drives on the alternate "home" hole.


We also heard that the grass tennis court between the 1st tee and 9th green that they created for fun is going to stay (at least for a while).

[Jason Way]

On our visit yesterday, we played the front nine twice, and 10, 16-18 once.  We also got a peek at the work on the DMK course, which is starting to look really neat.


The way I would describe Sand Valley (that is what both the C&C course and the resort will be called) is:
The expansive feel of Colorado GC or Old Sandwich, with the color and texture contrast of Friar's Head or Streamsong. 


There are some familiar strategic C&C themes and features, but there are also holes (7 and 17 for example) that are unlike anything that I have ever seen.


When we finished playing, we ran into the Superintendent Rob (formerly the Assistant at Kingsley), and he mentioned that the 11th through 15th holes are his favorites on the course.  Those holes were in the rough shaping phase when I visited last fall, and we didn't walk out that way this time, so I don't know how they could be better than the others.  The holes that are open are that good. 


I echo the recommendations of others - go to Sand Valley as soon as you can.


Photos to come in next post...

[Jason Way]

The light wasn't the best for photos for much of the afternoon, but you'll get the idea.

#1 - Par 4













#2 - Par 4

















#3 - Par 3

[Jason Way]

#4 - Par 5














#5 - Par 3








#6 - Par 4

[Jason Way]

#7 - Par 5

















#8 - Par 3











#9 - Par 4

[Jason Way]

#16 - Par 4





#17 - Par 3














#18 - Par 5

[Phil McDade]

Jason:


Thanks for posting these -- obviously, pretty fascinating stuff. The 9th looks like a candidate as the course's "signature hole" (not necessarily the best one, but the most photographic). One question -- what % of holes would you say have an uphill approach? This is one of the few truly sand-based environments for a golf course in the Midwest, and I'm hoping the designers have utilized the ground game as an element in the overall scheme of building/routing holes.

[Eric Smith]

[Jason Way]

One question -- what % of holes would you say have an uphill approach? This is one of the few truly sand-based environments for a golf course in the Midwest, and I'm hoping the designers have utilized the ground game as an element in the overall scheme of building/routing holes.

Of the holes we played, 1,2,4,8,9,16,18 have uphill approaches.  Of those holes, the only green where it would be really difficult to run the ball in is 8, but that hole is 135ish from the back tees and 120 from the the regular tees, if I recall correctly.  The 5th is more of a drop shot par 3, but it is also not that long.


The ground game works well on every other hole we played and there are cool slopes, contours and mounds around the greens that allow for creative shot making.  We gave ourselves a rule that shots inside 100 yards could not be played with wedges, and it was a blast.


Once the fescue matures and the turf firms up, a player will be able to play whatever kind of approach floats their boat.

[Terry Lavin]

Looks very promising. 8 and 9 comprise a thrilling tandem.  I'll head up in August if all works out.

[DJohnson]

I played here twice last weekend. 

The Fried Egg has a nice review which I can find little to disagree with.

http://www.friedegg.co/golf-courses/sand-valley-review

Beginning with his intro picture "minimalism is a theme from the start at Sand Valley"



The drive in (for now) is about 1/2 mile down a gravel/sand road.  It is manned by some local kids sitting there with a tee sheet, allowing those with tee times to pass (the area loves this development as far as i can tell, because of the local employment in an area that could use some).  The entrance drive is through some dunescape, and that set the tone for me.  This was going to be some adventure golf. 

Since Jason Way's trip - it looks like they may have opened #10, pics and description from Fried Egg:

Hole #10 - Par 5 - 580 yardsOn to the back side and the downhill par 5 10th. A good drive must avoid the large bunker that sits in the middle of the wide fairway. From the fairway, a player is left with a downhill shot to the green protected by a massive bunker on the right side.  A good shot will funnel the ball down to the middle of the green and close to the pin with this punchbowl like green complex.



My comments:  this tee shot confused all of us.  You can see the left-center line bunker in the landing zone.  My first time through, I guessed that there must be some advantage to hitting it left of the bunker in the narrow cut of fairway.  So did my playing partners, so we all aimed there.  Some of them hit it into that slot, some others ( ) didn't.  In the end, none of us saw any advantage gained by threading that little needle, so next time through just wailed away to the right of that bunker.






At the end of the day:  most of us loved it.  The few that didn't preferred greener traditional U.S. parkland golf.  But not me.  From the very first tee, strategy was required (the better strategies weren't evident until after playing the holes).  Something always lured us into taking more risky lines than advisable.  Take #1 for instance:


With a right to left wind, most of us wanted to cut something off and head more directly towards the green.  After playing it, we turned back and said "there's 80 yards of fairway out to the right" which, while giving a bit tougher approach, was an obvious play that the visual from the tee concealed. 

Views, terrain, strategy, elevation change, ground game, seclusion - that's how I'd sum it up.  I'll be back there as often as I can.

[Andy Johnson]

Thanks for the kind words about my review on my site.


I love the way Coore & Crenshaw's design provides infinite shot options around the greens and is extremely playable for players of all skill levels. I am really looking forward to going back and seeing holes 11-15 and the rest of the course mature and grow in.

[John McCarthy]

I got an email yesterday that mentioned that all 18 will be open post labor day. 

I went up two weekends ago.  The course is a blast to play and the views are amazing.  The halfway house is open, brats are excellent and the beer is cheap. 

[Derek Holland]

Just played today and WOW    Played the front nine twice plus four bonus holes (10, 16, 17 & 18). Loved the front. Every hole offered a different challenge. Ground game in play all over the place    17, the punchbowl, was a blast!


That being said, surprised they are going all 18 on September 1st. Still a lot of grow in to go on 16. Maybe the other 5 on the back are closer but was a bit surprised when I heard about the 18.


Regardless, the course is a blast and can't wait for it to fully grow in and mature!

[Jim Tang]

For those who have been, how does the DMK course/site/land compare to Sand Valley?

[Dan Moore]

The DMK land is similar yet different. Similar in that it probably will have the same pine barrens look, different in that it is designed in and around a dramatic v-shaped dune that is 60' high and 200 yards long. I haven't looked at the land since they started working on it and know the routing has changed a few times as they have updated the overall infrastructure plan for the site in terms of where to put roads, the clubhouse etc. I suspect DMK will work to differentiate the look of the bunkers etc from the CC course to give his course its own personality. Next visit, maybe later this week,  I hope to take a much closer look at Course 2.

[John McCarthy]

Dan:.

Using the halfway house as the center of the compass, in which general direction is the second course?

[Dan Moore]

North and to the east of the current entrance road.

[Jim Tang]

Thanks Dan.  Would love to hear your thoughts/observations on the second course once you've had the chance to scope it out a bit.  Please post when you return!

[Mike Hendren]

Was there yesterday.  Played 14 holes and walked 4.    One word sums up the course - scale.  It's a very big golf course with extreme fairway width and large greens.  Passed the one ball test with ease.  I enjoyed it immensely and highly recommend a visit.

I will be interested in other opinions, but my main thought is an odd one:  Bandon Trails (a personal favorite) is two points better on any scale and perhaps one of the top ten modern courses in America. 

Mike

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