Invitation & Access · Golf Trips from Chicago
The Lido at Sand ValleyNekoosa
Tom Doak and Brian Schneider's re-creation of C.B. Macdonald's lost Long Island Lido, at Sand Valley.
Par
72
Yardage
7,339
Rating · Slope
77.0 · 153
Holes
18
Green Fee
Contact for pricing
The Course
About The Lido at Sand Valley
The Lido is a walking-only course at Sand Valley Golf Resort in Nekoosa, in central Wisconsin's sand country, and a trip from Chicago to plan as an overnight stay. Access is the first thing to know: the resort offers limited tee times to its own guests, Sunday through Thursday only. Expect huge greens, deep cross-bunkers, blind shots and a 77.0 rating and 153 slope from the championship tees. Push carts are available.
History
The Lido at Sand Valley — History
C.B. Macdonald's Lido opened on Long Island in 1917 and was ranked by its contemporaries with Pine Valley and the National Golf Links before the U.S. Navy took the site in 1942. Working from Peter Flory's model, built from hundreds of old photographs, Michael and Chris Keiser had Tom Doak and Brian Schneider rebuild it with GPS-guided shaping. It opened in 2023, and in 2026 it hosted match play at the U.S. Mid-Amateur.
Design
The Lido at Sand Valley — Design
This is Macdonald's template catalog rebuilt on Wisconsin sand: an Eden, Biarritz, Alps, Punchbowl, Leven and Redan, plus originals such as the Channel and Lagoon, Tom Simpson's design-contest entry at the 15th and Alister Mackenzie's winning entry as the 18th. Greens average more than 12,000 square feet, and Golf Club Atlas notes cross-bunkers that make every player carry a hazard. Many targets are blind, so repeat play pays.
What Sets It Apart
Why Play The Lido at Sand Valley
It is a rebuilt Golden Age course rather than an homage, shaped to a model of Macdonald's 1917 original, and the USGA has chosen it for four championships, starting with the 2026 U.S. Mid-Amateur and including the 2029 U.S. Junior Amateur.
The Round
The Journey at The Lido at Sand Valley
I.
The Opening
The 418-yard 1st shares a broad fairway with the 10th and hides blind bunkers. The 456-yard 2nd raises the stakes with a blind tee shot over an abrupt hillside. The 173-yard 3rd is an Eden with water behind the green. The 602-yard 4th, the No. 1 handicap, is the Channel: a safer fairway left with water all along it, or a long carry to a second fairway right. The 371-yard 5th leads to the 500-yard 6th.
II.
The Middle
The 540-yard 7th, the front nine's third par 5, came from the same Country Life design contest as the 18th. The 257-yard 8th is a Biarritz, with a swale between the front pad and the green, and the 366-yard 9th is a Leven that bends right. The 455-yard 10th is the Alps, blind to a green tucked behind a hill; the 479-yard 11th is the Lagoon; the 472-yard 12th, the Punchbowl, doglegs right around water.
III.
The Finish
The 358-yard 13th is the Knoll, which AmateurGolf.com calls drivable, and the 153-yard 14th is the Short. The 427-yard 15th, Strategy, is Tom Simpson's contest hole. The 235-yard 16th is a big Redan that feeds the ball left around a front bunker. After the 624-yard 17th, the longest hole, the round ends on Mackenzie's 453-yard Home hole, blind from the tee with about 120 yards of options in the driving zone.
How to Play It
The Lido at Sand Valley — Playing Strategy
Beginner / High Handicap
At 77.0 and 153 from the championship tees, the Lido is severe, so pick a forward tee and consider a caddie on a first visit. Take the left fairway at the 4th, play left off the 9th tee, and treat the Punchbowl 12th as a three-shot hole rather than chasing the green in two.
Intermediate / Mid Handicap
Learn the lines before the round, because the course rewards local knowledge. At the 2nd, the left side adds length and brings the short-left bunker into play, so favor the larger right half of the green. On the 10th, a drive right can open a view of the green, and on the Redan 16th, start the ball right and let the slope feed it.
Advanced / Low Handicap
The par 5s are the scoring holes but punish force. Getting home in two at the Channel requires the long carry to the right fairway, and the 17th is 624 yards. At the Punchbowl 12th, hug the inside corner of the dogleg for the shortest approach over the bunkers, and on the 18th, know your line through the blind bunkers before you stand on the tee.
Signature Holes
The Lido at Sand Valley — Signature Holes
The Card
The Lido at Sand Valley Scorecard
| Hole | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Out | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | In | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Par | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 37 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 35 | 72 |
| Yards | 418 | 456 | 173 | 602 | 371 | 500 | 540 | 257 | 366 | 3,683 | 455 | 479 | 472 | 358 | 153 | 427 | 235 | 624 | 453 | 3,656 | 7,339 |
| Handicap | 11 | 7 | 15 | 1 | 13 | 3 | 5 | 9 | 17 | — | 6 | 8 | 2 | 16 | 18 | 10 | 12 | 4 | 14 | — | — |
Good to Know
The Lido at Sand Valley — questions answered
- How do I get on The Lido at Sand Valley?
- Limited availability to Sand Valley resort guests only, Sunday through Thursday.
- Who designed The Lido at Sand Valley?
- The Lido at Sand Valley was designed by Tom Doak and Brian Schneider (re-creating C.B. Macdonald's Lido) and opened in 2023.
- What is the par and yardage at The Lido at Sand Valley?
- The Lido at Sand Valley plays to a par of 72 over 7,339 yards from the championship tees, with a course rating of 77.0 and a slope of 153.
- Is The Lido at Sand Valley public or private?
- The Lido at Sand Valley is not open to general public play — access is by invitation, a member's guest, or a stay at the property.
- Where is The Lido at Sand Valley located?
- The Lido at Sand Valley is located at 597 Leopold Way, Nekoosa, WI 54457, in the Golf Trips from Chicago area of Chicagoland.
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How to Play It
How to Play The Lido at Sand Valley.
Limited availability to Sand Valley resort guests only, Sunday through Thursday.
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