The Sandbox
Certainly the popularity of short courses, par 3’s, and putting courses continues to grow. Count me in the group that LOVES anything out of the ordinary that I can do with my buddies when on a golf trip. So I was thrilled when I heard about the plans for The Sandbox at Sand Valley. I was lucky enough to be invited to the official opening round on The Sandbox in early May 2018. Not only was I able to meet Bill Coore of Coore/Crenshaw before I teed off, I was also on the tee when the group that contained Andy North and Aaron Rodgers went out to give the course a try. There was star power everywhere that day!
During my first journey to Bandon Dunes, I actually had the most fun on their par 3, Bandon Preserve. In an effort tor recapture some of the magic from the Preserve, I used a putter off of the first tee on The Sandbox. 100 yards over a bunker located square in front of you off the tee box? No problem. The course could easily be played with only 1 or 2 clubs if you have even the tiniest bit of imagination, and they have some custom Sunday bags to use on the first tee box. The Sandbox was such a huge hit in its first season that the Wisconsin State Golf Association held the first ever State Par-3 Championship on The Sandbox in July.
