Rodeo Dunes, the next entrant in the Dream Golf portfolio of destination properties that includes Bandon Dunes and Sand Valley, has begun construction on the first of at least two courses scheduled to be built on the Colorado resort’s 4,000 acres of rolling sand dunes.

And for the design team of Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw, the inland site less than an hour from Denver International Airport is a return to their architectural roots.

Rodeo Dunes is sited in rugged land owned by one of the biggest rodeo production businesses in the U.S., an inland-links landscape reminiscent of the property upon which Coore and Crenshaw created their original minimalist masterpiece: the ultra-private Sand Hills Golf Club in rural Mullen, Nebraska.

“It’s hard to look at this site and not think of Sand Hills,” Crenshaw said of the duo’s 1995 design that’s been ranked among the best courses in the world and is often credited with launching the modern era of golf course architecture.

Thanks to the natural topography and pure sand base, including some dunes up to 85 feet high, there’s no need for heavy shaping on the first course at Rodeo Dunes. Coore, Crenshaw and their team will do much of the shaping work with small machinery or by hand.

The grand opening for the course is scheduled for 2026, with the possibility for limited preview play in 2025.

Rodeo Dunes is among the newest adds to the Keiser family portfolio, with the project overseen by Michael and Chris Keiser, the sons of Bandon Dunes and Sand Valley co-founder Mike Keiser.

It was Michael who first identified the site while scanning Google Earth during a flight delay in Denver, focusing his search just outside the small town of Roggen after coming across a series of sandy blowouts.

Over the course of several years, the Keisers developed a relationship with the landowners who were influenced by the success of the other Dream Golf properties. Mike Cervi, the patriarch of the family that donated the land for the project, is a member of the Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame and his two sons (about the same age as the Keiser boys) now run the rodeo business.

“The moment I set foot on this land, I knew this was the place,” says Michael Keiser. “The dunes are perfect – tall and rolling, with unlimited possibilities for great golf holes. I also knew that Bill and Ben had to work here. Luckily, it didn’t take much to convince them.”

In addition to the heaving dunes that some have also compared to Southwest Ireland, Rodeo Dunes also boasts long views of the Rocky Mountains and will help usher in destination golf to the historic American West.

The planned second course, designed by longtime Coore & Crenshaw associate Jimmy Craig, will begin construction next year, with grand opening currently slated for 2028. Locations for other courses have been identified, but the plan is to take them one at a time after the first two are built. A short course and a sprawling putting course are also being planned, and eventually there will be lodging for visiting golfers. With Coore and Crenshaw returning to their roots, Rodeo Dunes may well be Sand Hills for the public golfer.