2026 Wisconsin.Golf Yearbook
This story is featured in the 2026 Wisconsin.Golf Yearbook, an annual WSGA publication featuring a detailed listing of Wisconsin golf courses as well as an in-depth review of the previous tournament season in Wisconsin and a preview of the year ahead. The magazine is distributed to WSGA members in February and March.
Given Bandon Dunes’ relationship with the United States Golf Association and owner Mike Keiser’s commitment to amateur golf, it was seemingly just a matter of time before Sand Valley Resort would welcome the USGA to Central Wisconsin.
That time has arrived.
Sand Valley, a multi-course facility in Nekoosa which is owned and operated by Keiser’s sons, Michael and Christopher, will make its debut on the national stage this fall.
Just three years after it opened to great fanfare in 2023, The Lido will be the host venue for the U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship, from Sept. 26 through Oct. 1. The original Sand Valley Course, which opened in 2017, will co-host the stroke-play qualifying.
FUTURE USGA CHAMPIONSHIPS IN WISCONSIN
YEAR
CHAMPIONSHIP
VENUE
2026
U.S. Mid-Amateur
Sand Valley Resort
2027
U.S. Amateur Four-Ball
Erin Hills
2028
U.S. Amateur
Whistling Straits
2028
U.S. Senior Women’s Open
SentryWorld
2029
U.S. Junior Amateur
Sand Valley Resort
2030
U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur
Sand Valley Resort
2030
U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball
Erin Hills
2033
U.S. Junior Amateur
Whistling Straits
2033
U.S. Women’s Amateur
Erin Hills
2034
U.S. Girls’ Junior Amateur
Sand Valley Resort
2034
U.S. Senior Open
SentryWorld
2035
U.S. Amateur
Erin Hills
2037
U.S. Girls’ Junior Amateur
Whistling Straits
2039
U.S. Junior Amateur
Erin Hills
It is the first of four USGA championships awarded to Sand Valley in December 2023. The 2029 U.S. Junior Amateur, 2030 U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur and 2034 U.S. Girls’ Junior will follow.
“We’re trying to give back to the game and it’s wonderful that (the USGA) considers us worthy of their tournaments,” Michael Keiser said. “It’s just a great partnership.”
Bandon Dunes, on Oregon’s rugged southern coast, has hosted nine USGA championships, including the 2020 U.S. Amateur, with plans to host many more amateur events through 2045.
“It was always a goal of Mike Keiser Sr. to support amateur golf,” said Brandon Carter, the director of marketing at Sand Valley. “With the number of USGA events happening at Bandon, it kind of felt inevitable that Sand Valley was going to be next in line.”
The Lido may be new to national championship golf, but it proved itself a worthy venue last year when it hosted the Wisconsin State Amateur, won by 17-year-old Vince Sigl of Seymour in a playoff. Sigl and University of Wisconsin golfer Charlie Erlandson tied at 2-under-par 286 before Sigl won on the first hole of sudden death. They were the only two golfers to finish 72 holes under par.
Vince Sigl tees off on the first playoff hole – Hole No. 9 – with Charlie Erlandson at the Wisconsin State Amateur Championship at The Lido.
WSGA photo / KRISJANIS KAUGARS
“There was specific data that we collected that I shared with (the USGA),” Michael Keiser said. “You can set The Lido up so that it’s as hard as you need it to be. It defended par, but there’s still a lot of room in the set-up to dial it up. It confirmed what we thought, which is we can make it a pretty challenging golf course, particularly when there’s wind.”
Carter agreed.
“The Lido can bite back quickly,” he said. “You can have a good game plan, but you can find yourself in some awkward positions and have some tough angles and then, given those hole locations, you really have to think and execute around that golf course.”
“There is nothing to block the wind out there, so if Mother Nature decides to bring some wind I expect to see some interesting shots and interesting scores.”
The Lido is a faithful re-creation of the original Lido course on Long Island, which was designed by Charles B. Macdonald and opened for play in 1917. The course was repurposed by the U.S. Navy during World War II and closed in 1942. Architects Tom Doak and Brian Schneider utilized historical surveys, engineering records and photographs to guide the project at Sand Valley.
The par-72 course measures 7,047 yards, with a course rating of 74.5 and a Slope rating of 148.
The U.S. Mid-Amateur is the USGA championship for amateur golfers 25 and older whose handicap index does not exceed 2.4.
The field of 264 will play 36 holes of stroke play, one round on each course. The low 64 scorers qualify for match play, which begins Sept. 28 and concludes Oct. 1 with the 36-hole final match.
The Lido opened at Sand Valley Resort in 2023 as a private club.
Photo / The Lido
Pull Quote
“There is nothing to block the wind out there, so if Mother Nature decides to bring some wind I expect to see some interesting shots and interesting scores.”
– Brandon Carter, Sand Valley director of marketing
Despite its relative infancy, Sand Valley Resort already has twice played host to the State Amateur. In 2022, Tyler Obermueller of Hudson won the title on the Sand Valley Course. The resort also has annually played host to the WSGA’s Par-3 Championship on the 17-hole Sandbox.
Sand Valley’s other courses — Mammoth Dunes, Sedge Valley, The Commons and the Sandbox — will remain open while the Mid-Am is contested on The Lido and Sand Valley.
“It will be fun for resort guests to go and watch,” Keiser said. “The team is so excited. I mean, they are pumped. They’re up for it and they’re excited and this means a lot to all of us.”
The U.S. Mid-Amateur was first played in 1981 and twice has been held in Wisconsin, most recently in 2022 at Erin Hills, where Matthew McClean beat Hugh Foley, 3 and 1, in an all-Irish final match. In 2008, Milwaukee Country Club hosted the event, won by Steve Wilson.
Including the Mid-Am at Sand Valley, Wisconsin golf courses will play host to 14 USGA championships over the next 13 years.
“Honestly, what I love so much about where Wisconsin golf is at, I feel like from my visits and my relationships with people at the other facilities and resorts, it’s such a supportive culture,” Carter said. “I don’t feel like we’re trying to compete with other resorts in the state. I honestly feel like we all root and support each other because we know it’s for the greater good.”