Last summer, Sand Valley in Wisconsin unveiled its fifth course, Sedge Valley, a sub-6,000-yard design whose scale and style was inspired by the famed heathland layouts outside London.
Now comes word that the resort has a sixth course in the works. It, too, has ties to British golf tradition.
The new project, Sand Valley announced on Monday, will be a 12-hole layout called The Commons, a name that nods to UK courses built on common, or public, land. It will be the first solo design by Jim Craig, a longtime associate of Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw who worked on many of that duo’s best-known projects, including Friar’s Head, Sheep Ranch and Bandon Trails.
Many common ground courses in the UK double as grazing ground for livestock. That will not be the case at The Commons. But the course will be used for community events, a Sand Valley spokesperson told GOLF.com. Situated on what used to be the driving range between the main resort and the new Sedge Valley neighborhood, the course will stretch some 4,000 yards and feature several holes along newly created Lake Luna, including a par-3 with a Redan green.
This is the third year in a row that Sand Valley has announced a new course. Prior to Sedge Valley, the resort cut the ribbon on the Lido, a replica of a fabled lost Long Island course, adding to a roster that already included the eponymous Sand Valley, Mammoth Dunes and the par-3 Sandbox course. News of The Commons comes as Sand Valley’s founders, Michael and Chris Keiser, continue to expand their portfolio elsewhere, with new resort destinations in Colorado and Texas — Rodeo Dunes and Wild Spring Dunes — also underway.
The Commons, which has been shaped and grassed, will be ready for play in 2026.
