Sand Valley September trip booked...tips/advice/experience please!

[sabram]

7 hours ago, aiyyer said:

65/45 October weather is just the November Bandon and February Pinehurst trips our group does.

Going as a single and will carry. Tip a caddie that’s helpful. Are the pro shops comparable to Bandon? Very little stuff on Lido online. 
 

 

The main pro shop is large with mostly Mammoth and Sand Valley merchandise, but they do have some Lido items. The Lido pro shop is smaller but has a good selection of Lido merchandise.

Edited September 30, 2024 by sabram
Fix typos

[StudentGolfer4]

14 hours ago, aiyyer said:

65/45 October weather is just the November Bandon and February Pinehurst trips our group does.

Going as a single and will carry. Tip a caddie that’s helpful. Are the pro shops comparable to Bandon? Very little stuff on Lido online. 
 

 

Sedge has its own shop too. Not large but good selection and more than adequate. At this point, Sand Valley doesn’t sell Lido stuff online. 

[zer0]

On 9/26/2024 at 11:05 AM, aiyyer said:

Lawsonia has a $135 day pass to get 36 in. Erin Hills is close to 500 after caddies, etc! And on the last day before it closes - 10/13.

 

Not sure if they still have it, but back when I was still a member at Lawsonia 2019 the all day pass could get you a lot more than 36 holes.    One year me and a few friends on a golf trip managed to squeeze in 54 holes in a day.  We went Links/Lunch/Woodlands/Links in that order.

[aiyyer]

Not enough daylight though 

[Jetsguy1792]

Just got back from sand valley and I think the Lido is the best course there and maybe my favorite I’ve ever played. I can see how someone who didn’t have a good caddie would hate it but ours was great (Craig) and gave us some super fun lines. 

[aiyyer]

For those that have played Bandon also:

Can you just drive to the different courses like Bandon rather than shuttle? 

Also assuming the drive from Milwaukee is easier than the foggy “marine layer blind ride” from Eugene/Portland to Bandon?? 

[Jetsguy1792]

I’ve done both. You can drive to the courses but they are much closer together at SV than Brandon so there really isn’t any point to driving. The only course you are not allowed to drive to is Lido because there is a gate. 

[Guest]

On 9/30/2024 at 9:16 AM, zer0 said:

 

Not sure if they still have it, but back when I was still a member at Lawsonia 2019 the all day pass could get you a lot more than 36 holes.    One year me and a few friends on a golf trip managed to squeeze in 54 holes in a day.  We went Links/Lunch/Woodlands/Links in that order.

Not happening anymore after the magazine ranking.

[zer0]

2 hours ago, ode said:

Not happening anymore after the magazine ranking.

 

that's too bad, but understandable.   Paying $135 to play all day when you can get around 3+ times is way too good a deal for courses that nice.

[eboettne]

20 hours ago, Jetsguy1792 said:

Just got back from sand valley and I think the Lido is the best course there and maybe my favorite I’ve ever played. I can see how someone who didn’t have a good caddie would hate it but ours was great (Craig) and gave us some super fun lines. 

 

Agreed, we had terrible caddies and I still loved it

[aiyyer]

Temperatures next week in the 70s and Erin Hills is closing!!

[Santiago Golf]

21 hours ago, eboettne said:

 

Agreed, we had terrible caddies and I still loved it

 

curious what made your caddies terrible?

[aiyyer]

Same issue at Bandon. Resorts located in remote areas with limited labor pool usually rely on maybe 40% traveling “professional” caddies and the rest just locals that can carry a bag. It’s a crap shoot who you get. 

[ESOX ZO]

We had a mixed bag of caddies who were really good and not so good. Had Connor at the Lido and he was awesome! 

[TBD203]

How are the dining options at Sand Valley? We did 5 days at Bandon this past April and are looking at Sand Valley for next October. Might expand it to 8-12 guys and get a Ryder cup style match going. 

[eboettne]

2 hours ago, Santiago Golf said:

 

curious what made your caddies terrible?

 

Immediately seemed like the didn't want to be there all that much, out of shape so out of position on almost every hole(we're left raking bunkers, getting pins, etc), gave us wrong yardages about a dozen times, had 2 of our players hit to the wrong green on hole 2, felt way too comfortable with some of their language, the list goes on and on.

[ESOX ZO]

3 hours ago, TBD203 said:

How are the dining options at Sand Valley? We did 5 days at Bandon this past April and are looking at Sand Valley for next October. Might expand it to 8-12 guys and get a Ryder cup style match going. 

 

Aldo's Steakhouse didn't hold its weight for the menu prices - although the Pork Shank was the best item we had all week. 

The Gallery portion sizes were plentiful and everyone enjoyed their entrees, pizza was really good to and a more affordable option.

 

Id pick The Gallery 10/10 times, great atmosphere just off the putting green and tennis courts at Sedge Valley. 

 

[sabram]

2 hours ago, ESOX ZO said:

 

Aldo's Steakhouse didn't hold its weight for the menu prices - although the Pork Shank was the best item we had all week. 

The Gallery portion sizes were plentiful and everyone enjoyed their entrees, pizza was really good to and a more affordable option.

 

Id pick The Gallery 10/10 times, great atmosphere just off the putting green and tennis courts at Sedge Valley. 

 

 

I don't know where you're from, but as native New Yorkers , we thought the menu prices at Aldo's were not bad at all.

 

5 hours ago, TBD203 said:

How are the dining options at Sand Valley? We did 5 days at Bandon this past April and are looking at Sand Valley for next October. Might expand it to 8-12 guys and get a Ryder cup style match going. 

 

As for the overall food options, this is from a message I sent to another poster recently:

 

Aldo's, located in the main club house,  is a nice full service restaurant open for all meals. They have a breakfast buffet for $16 (all you can eat) as well as a menu for each mael. Food quality was excellent. Prices were moderate. The Mammoth Bar (located next to Aldo's inside the club house),  has breakfast sandwiches, a lunch menu, snacks and a full bar.

 

The Gallery is a nice moderately priced Italian Restaurant located next to the Sedge Valley pro shop. On the other side of the Gallery main sit down dining room there is a room where they serve breakfast cafeteria style and have a full bar.

 

Bill's Barbeque is a small new BBQ place that was walking distance for our accommodation. I wanted to try it, but we didn't fit it in to our schedule.

 

Craigs Porch is located as the half way house situated on a hill overlooking holes 1,9, 10 and 18 of the Sand Valley course. It has food and snacks. They are most famous for their $1 Tacos. Everybody loved them. They also have $1 ice cream, but we didn't try it. They have some good inexpensive choices like $5 chicken salad sandwiches. People go there to eat  even if they are not playing. There are chairs where you can eat and watch the golfers come up #18. It's a short shuttle ride from the main club house to the Sand Valley course

 

Sedge and Mammoth have half way houses for snacks during the round

[Santiago Golf]

10 hours ago, eboettne said:

 

Immediately seemed like the didn't want to be there all that much, out of shape so out of position on almost every hole(we're left raking bunkers, getting pins, etc), gave us wrong yardages about a dozen times, had 2 of our players hit to the wrong green on hole 2, felt way too comfortable with some of their language, the list goes on and on.

 

yeah, that doesn't sound great 

[mshills]

10 hours ago, eboettne said:

 

Immediately seemed like the didn't want to be there all that much, out of shape so out of position on almost every hole(we're left raking bunkers, getting pins, etc), gave us wrong yardages about a dozen times, had 2 of our players hit to the wrong green on hole 2, felt way too comfortable with some of their language, the list goes on and on.

Ex caddie here, dude wouldn’t last 9 holes on my bag. Catch 🔥, you’re outta here!

[ESOX ZO]

20 hours ago, sabram said:

 

I don't know where you're from, but as native New Yorkers , we thought the menu prices at Aldo's were not bad at all.

 

 

As for the overall food options, this is from a message I sent to another poster recently:

 

Aldo's, located in the main club house,  is a nice full service restaurant open for all meals. They have a breakfast buffet for $16 (all you can eat) as well as a menu for each mael. Food quality was excellent. Prices were moderate. The Mammoth Bar (located next to Aldo's inside the club house),  has breakfast sandwiches, a lunch menu, snacks and a full bar.

 

The Gallery is a nice moderately priced Italian Restaurant located next to the Sedge Valley pro shop. On the other side of the Gallery main sit down dining room there is a room where they serve breakfast cafeteria style and have a full bar.

 

Bill's Barbeque is a small new BBQ place that was walking distance for our accommodation. I wanted to try it, but we didn't fit it in to our schedule.

 

Craigs Porch is located as the half way house situated on a hill overlooking holes 1,9, 10 and 18 of the Sand Valley course. It has food and snacks. They are most famous for their $1 Tacos. Everybody loved them. They also have $1 ice cream, but we didn't try it. They have some good inexpensive choices like $5 chicken salad sandwiches. People go there to eat  even if they are not playing. There are chairs where you can eat and watch the golfers come up #18. It's a short shuttle ride from the main club house to the Sand Valley course

 

Sedge and Mammoth have half way houses for snacks during the round

I'm from a place where a $68 Filet should be seared and seasoned properly haha

 

 

 

[Jetsguy1792]

Aldo’s was fine but you can get most of the food from Aldo’s at the mammoth bar. The gallery was great and you should definitely eat there. You could honestly get away with just eating at the mammoth bar and be fine. 

[dfwgolfer92]

1 hour ago, Jetsguy1792 said:

Aldo’s was fine but you can get most of the food from Aldo’s at the mammoth bar. The gallery was great and you should definitely eat there. You could honestly get away with just eating at the mammoth bar and be fine. 

Agree, Mammoth Bar is perfectly fine for almost all meals, great food, tons of TVs

[Roody]

On 10/3/2024 at 10:53 AM, TBD203 said:

How are the dining options at Sand Valley? We did 5 days at Bandon this past April and are looking at Sand Valley for next October. Might expand it to 8-12 guys and get a Ryder cup style match going. 

I enjoyed both Aldo's and The Gallery. But I will say I think they're still kinda figuring out the dining out there. It's almost as if they don't know what they want to be. It's somewhere between casual and fancier dining. That's just the impression we got. 

Mammoth Bar was fine for most things, especially for grabbing a quick bite and beers after a round. With the high ceilings, the acoustics in the place weren't great. But that's a very minor complaint. 

[NewGuy412]

We ate at Mammoth Bar a lot, lunches and dinners, was a good spot for us to watch college and NFL games. Being able to get Aldo food there at dinner is clutch too.

[aiyyer]

Next Friday gets up into the 80s.  Pro shop still suggested pants and q/zip!

A friend who’s been there warned  me about cops targeting out of towners for mild over speeding  tickets? 

 

Edited October 5, 2024 by aiyyer

[aiyyer]

Got in yesterday and got 2 loops in at Sandbox. Crazy hard greens but a lot of fun. 

[Mullenboy]

Just returned yesterday from 3 days at Sand Valley.  I have little to add to what has already been posted!  But here's my take anyway:

 

Lido is fantastic... just an incredible golf course... absolute feast for golf architecture nerds. It IS the original Lido - just no ocean.  It's tough for sure but fun to play (I thought) - it's crazy links golf really.  I find that fun.  Others do not.  It is polarizing.  My caddie was awesome, and needed... many holes we had zero idea where to hit it.

 

Sand Valley is beautiful... to me reminiscent of Bandon Trails - and similar quality.  In my world that is high praise because Trails is my favorite course at Bandon.

 

Mammoth is great fun - balls funnel INTO greens and fairways - opposite of the other courses, which repel.

 

Sedge to me was OK but... outside the incredibly weird and awesome 18th hole, really a respite course.  Meaning a good one to play in a second round of the day.  The fairways are MASSIVELY wide - more so than Mammoth - but that being said, there are advantageous lines each time.  It's a good course.  But clearly my least favorite of the four.

 

Sand Box is good fun, but goofy golf to the max.  Play with several beers and a sense of humor.  We did so twice.

 

As for the food.... it's all been said.  To me Gallery was the best restaurant by miles.  But it's all good.  And the prices for this Californian were very very reasonable.

 

In the end... what also struck me is the great similarity to Bandon in look and feel of the resort.  It's as if Bandon was the template (which maybe it was!).  SV is indeed a midwest Bandon - very similar quality.  It's worth going to for sure.  But unless golf travel is your thing and you have unlimited money and time, to me there is little need to go to both of them.  Pick the one that's easier to get to.  SV will be a little less expensive on the overall.
 

 

[sabram]

49 minutes ago, Mullenboy said:

(Lido) is polarizing.  My caddie was awesome, and needed... many holes we had zero idea where to hit it.

Nice post. You hit the nail on the head re: Lido. 

 

My only disagreement is that I liked Sedge more than you. I preferred Sedge to the original Sand Valley course. I also prefer. C&C's  Brandon Trails to their  Sand Valley course.

[doc52]

1 hour ago, sabram said:

Nice post. You hit the nail on the head re: Lido. 

 

My only disagreement is that I liked Sedge more than you. I preferred Sedge to the original Sand Valley course. I also prefer. C&C's  Brandon Trails to their  Sand Valley course.

+1, I preferred Sedge over Sand Valley. I may be biased as an Oregonian, but the resort feels like a mid-tier version of Bandon.