“I haven’t had anyone yet tell me they didn’t have fun (playing Mammoth Dunes),” Kidd said last fall, as the inaugural season was nearing an end. “I seem to have achieved what I set out to do, which is to accentuate that site … and let people have a blast playing golf.

“So far, it’s getting rave reviews.”

Right site, wrong track. Taking an existing golf course, abandoning it and draping over its terrain an entirely new layout — or at least one infused with completely new features — is a recurring theme in design these days. Perhaps it’s splitting hairs to label one course brand new as opposed to calling it a major renovation or redesign. But there’s no ambiguity about our best new course of the year: Sand Valley’s Mammoth Dunes, in Wisconsin. No design in memory so successfully melds strategy, playability and spectacular aesthetics. It’s tons of fun, too.

Drive for show, and putt for dough. But if you really want to test your full arsenal of shots, try playing a well-designed par 3 course. Augusta National has a pretty one. So does Pine Valley. But good luck getting on either. In the democratic spirit—and to demonstrate that size doesn’t always matter—we give you 12 of the finest public-access short courses in the United States.

The Sandbox at Sand Valley Golf Resort continues the trend of recently built par-3 courses that are family-friendly but compelling for all. Architects Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw, together with developer Mike Keiser, pioneered the “odd number of holes” concept at Bandon Dunes with their brilliant 13-hole, par-3 Preserve spread. There are 17 holes here and they’re all worthy. Designed to be tackled with just a few clubs, the holes unfold over a sandy tract dotted with native scrub and situated next to the resort’s lodge, so it’s extremely convenient to access—and inspiring to play.

Everyone likes Mammoth Dunes. It’s hard not to fall for the course at first sight. It is big, laid across stunning terrain and just plain cool. Players come off the 18th green with smiles on their faces having thoroughly enjoyed themselves, often beaming with the pride of posting their best number in years. We don’t blame them. We had the same reaction.

Once the afterglow has worn off though, we have noticed an interesting pattern. When asked which course at Sand Valley Resort is their favorite, higher handicappers and casual golfers favor Mammoth. Lower handicappers and architecture nuts favor Sand Valley. This is great news for the resort and the Keisers as they now have lovable offerings for all players. But it does make us wonder, how could it be that a man who was accused in the not-so-distant past of designing courses that are too difficult create one that consistently delights the average player? What is it about Mammoth Dunes that produces that effect?

Talk about making an impression.

Sand Valley Golf Resort, in the heart of Wisconsin, has certainly done that over the past two years uncovering the sand barrens of the region and adding to the Mike Keiser golf destination experience (see Bandon Dunes and Cabot Links among others in his portfolio). After the public opening of its original course (by Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw) in 2017, Sand Valley opened two new courses in 2018. It also announced that a fourth – projected as a par 68 on the scorecard – will soon be built by Tom Doak on a site already being hailed as one of the best inland for golf.

For a state roughly the size of noted golf hotbeds England and Scotland, Wisconsin has done a remarkably good job of producing special public golf resorts for its brief, but spectacular golf season, running from late April to October, possibly early November.

First came the Whistling Straits Resort, the Herb Kohler owned, four-course property and five-star American Club lodging which will host the 2020 Ryder Cup. Then Erin Hills Golf Resort, the site of the 2017 US Open, but the latest addition, the Sand Valley Resort in Central Wisconsin, might be the closest to the Scottish Idea.

Architect David McLay Kidd faced a tall order when tasked with creating the second course at Central Wisconsin’s Sand Valley Golf Resort. After all, its Coore/Crenshaw–designed track, Sand Valley, captured our Best New Course You Can Play award in 2017 and ranked No. 52 in the U.S. among all courses. How do you match or possibly top that? Easy. You craft a layout that checks every box—from its distinctive, sand-based setting and joy-filled appeal for both low- and high-handicappers, to its plethora of individually memorable, strategy-laced holes that unfurl on a massive scale.