How To Golf Sand Valley in 2025: Tee Times Are Still Available By Brian Weis

How To Golf Sand Valley in 2025: Tee Times Are Still Available

Where To Stay For Traveling Golfers

By Brian Weis

While it's true that on-property lodging at Sand Valley is fully booked for the 2025 season, there's good news for golfers eager to play. Tee times remain available throughout the year, particularly in mid-morning and afternoon slots. So, if you're flexible with accommodations and tee times, you can still experience the exceptional courses Sand Valley has to offer.

Whether you're a Wisconsin local or a traveling golfer ready to explore nearby lodging options, a Sand Valley golf trip is still very much within reach. It just takes a little flexibility - and maybe a quick scan of the local map.

This guide takes out the guesswork, breaking down the best places to play and stay so you can focus on what really matters: teeing it up at one of America's premier golf destinations.

Where to Play

Sand Valley isn't just a golf resort - it's a pilgrimage site for golf purists and architecture junkies alike. With four distinct courses carved into the rugged central Wisconsin sand dunes, each layout delivers its own flavor of shotmaking, strategy, and storytelling. From dramatic elevation changes to minimalist design brilliance, every course at Sand Valley offers a completely unique experience - and together, they make this one of the most compelling golf destinations in the country.

Sand Valley Course
The course that started it all - a Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw masterpiece that captures the essence of inland links golf. With wide fairways, rugged bunkering, and rolling sandy terrain, the Sand Valley Course offers strategic options at every turn. It's a walkable, wind-swept adventure that feels like a slice of the British Isles, right in the heart of Wisconsin.

Mammoth Dunes
Designed by David McLay Kidd, Mammoth Dunes lives up to its name with jaw-dropping scale. Massive fairways, towering sand formations, and sweeping views create a playground for bold shotmaking. It's a course that welcomes players of all skill levels and encourages imagination, with multiple ways to attack each hole - and recover when things go sideways.

The Lido
This is where history meets obsession. Painstakingly reconstructed from C.B. Macdonald's original plans and brought to life with modern precision, The Lido is a reimagining of one of golf's most legendary lost courses. Every bunker, green contour, and strategic angle has a story behind it. Already ranked among the top 100 courses in the world, it's an architectural deep dive that belongs on every serious golfer's bucket list.

The Sandbox
Don't let the short yardage fool you - this 17-hole Coore & Crenshaw par-3 course is packed with character. Designed for fun, flow, and creativity, The Sandbox is perfect for settling bets, sharing laughs, or squeezing in one last loop before sunset. With holes ranging from 40 to 140 yards, it's accessible, addictive, and an essential part of the Sand Valley experience.

Now, let's talk tee times, again. While most of the prime morning slots have been scooped up by guests who already locked in on-property lodging, mid-morning and afternoon times are wide open. If you're not picky or a late riser, there are tee times to score. Book through https://www.sandvalley.com or call 888-651-5539.

Where to Stay

As the story intro states on site lodging at Sand Valley Resort is sold out for 2025. With a little driving and planning you might be in luck to cross Sand Valley of your bucket list.

* Lodges of the Lakes - Located in the Lake Arrowhead golf community just 5 minutes from Sand Valley, these upscale vacation rental homes are a prime option. Spacious, group-friendly, and surrounded by trees and fairways. More info: https://www.lodgesofthelakes.com

Beyond that:

* Lake Arrowhead Vacation Rentals - This neighboring golf community has private homes and condos available for rent. A great option for groups who want to be near the action - and maybe play a round or two at Lake Arrowhead while you're at it.

* Hotels in Wisconsin Rapids or Stevens Point - Both towns are within 20-30 minutes of Sand Valley and offer familiar hotel chains like Holiday Inn Express, Hampton Inn, and Sleep Inn. Hotel Mead is also a solid option located in the heart of Wisconsin Rapids. These options are not fancy, but it's a bed, a shower, and usually a decent breakfast.

Things to Do Along the Way

* Ho-Chunk Gaming Nekoosa - Small, friendly casino about 15 minutes from the resort. If your birdie putts aren't dropping, try your luck at blackjack.

* Lake Arrowhead - Quiet, scenic, and a good spot for boating, paddling, or just unwinding between rounds. There is also two courses on property if you are looking for additional golf, especially if you need to utilize a cart.

* Point Brewery in Stevens Point - Classic Wisconsin beer with roots going back to 1857. Swing through the taproom for a post-round refresher.

Getting There

Sand Valley is remote, but that's part of its appeal. You'll be driving in, like most do.

* 2.5 hours from Milwaukee

* 3.5 hours from Chicago

* 1.5 hours from Madison

Central Wisconsin Airport (CWA) is about 1 hour away and connects to major hubs

Don't let the sold-out lodging fool you. Sand Valley is still very much in play for 2025 - you just need to be a little flexible. Bring your clubs, find a bed, and go tee it up. Those afternoon rounds? They're waiting.

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Revised: 05/12/2025 - Article Viewed 693 Times

About: Brian Weis

Brian Weis is the mastermind behind GolfTrips.com, a vast network of golf travel and directory sites covering everything from the rolling fairways of Wisconsin to the sunbaked desert layouts of Arizona. If there’s a golf destination worth visiting, chances are, Brian has written about it, played it, or at the very least, found a way to justify a "business trip" there.

As a card-carrying member of the Golf Writers Association of America (GWAA), International Network of Golf (ING), Golf Travel Writers of America (GTWA), International Golf Travel Writers Association (IGTWA), and The Society of Hickory Golfers (SoHG), Brian has the credentials to prove that talking about golf is his full-time job. In 2016, his peers even handed him The Shaheen Cup, a prestigious award in golf travel writing—essentially the Masters green jacket for guys who don’t hit the range but still know where the best 19th holes are.

Brian’s love for golf goes way back. As a kid, he competed in junior and high school golf, only to realize that his dreams of a college golf scholarship had about the same odds as a 30-handicap making a hole-in-one. Instead, he took the more practical route—working on the West Bend Country Club grounds crew to fund his University of Wisconsin education. Little did he know that mowing greens and fixing divots would one day lead to a career writing about the best courses on the planet.

In 2004, Brian turned his golf passion into a business, launching GolfWisconsin.com. Three years later, he expanded his vision, and GolfTrips.com was born—a one-stop shop for golf travel junkies looking for their next tee time. Today, his empire spans all 50 states, and 20+ international destinations.

On the course, Brian is a weekend warrior who oscillates between a 5 and 9 handicap, depending on how much he's been traveling (or how generous he’s feeling with his scorecard). His signature move" A high, soft fade that his playing partners affectionately (or not-so-affectionately) call "The Weis Slice." But when he catches one clean, his 300+ yard drives remind everyone that while he may write about golf for a living, he can still send a ball into the next zip code with the best of them.

Whether he’s hunting down the best public courses, digging up hidden gems, or simply outdriving his buddies, Brian Weis is living proof that golf is more than a game—it’s a way of life.