Shuttered sand mine to reawaken as championship golf course

Judith Munson

Contributor

November 2, 2026

WHITEHALL – The Whitehall Sands golf course is just starting to take shape about halfway between Eau Claire and La Crosse. 

Its exact location is a little out of the ordinary: a hollowed-out pit left behind by what was once one of the state’s largest frac sand mines. 

So, rather than breaking ground, the project is artfully refilling it. 

From heavy equipment roads to cart paths  

Trempealeau County in West Central Wisconsin, along with Chippewa County to the north, served as the epicenter of the U.S. frac sand mining boom in the mid-2010s, according to a 2018 NASA Earth Observatory report. 

The region’s rich sandstone deposits contain extremely high amounts of pure silica, which was crucial to the oil industry’s modernized use of hydraulic fracturing (or fracking) drills at the time.

At one point, it was reported that more than 20 sand mines were active in Trempealeau County during the sand mine boom. 

The new golf course is reclaiming a mine located near the city of Whitehall which, at its peak, produced 3 million tons of sand annually.

But like all booms, the bust hit as oil producers developed new ways to use lower-quality sand closer to home, ending the need for costly cross-country shipping.  

When completed, Derrick Bushman – one of the leaders spearheading the project – said Whitehall Sands will be the first golf course in the state with a sand mine origin story.

“The company was inspired by the Streamsong Golf Resort in Florida, which was built on an abandoned phosphate strip mine.” 

Unfortunately, Bushman said, the mine’s owner – Hi-Crush, Inc. – declared bankruptcy in 2020, but the project gained new life thanks to two retired potato farmers. 

Bushman said he and his brother Mitchell were the second generation to operate their family’s potato farm, Bushmans’ Inc., before their retirement.

Toward the end of its run to help them reclaim the massive pit as a golf course, Bushman said Hi-Crush approached a golf course architect and Wisconsin native Jay Blasi, who also happened to be a friend of his.

“I’m sort of a golf course architecture nerd, so I know people in the industry, and he approached me,” Bushman said. “He said, ‘Hey, if you can acquire the land, there’s a chance to do something incredible here.’”

Bushman said he is an avid golfer and is well studied on what makes a great course. 

“As a hobby, I rate golf courses for Golfweek Magazine,” he said. “When Sand Valley was being built in Central Wisconsin, I was involved with that.” 

After meeting with Blasi and visiting the abandoned mine, Bushman said he and Mitchell approached the city of Whitehall, proposed acquiring the land, and using 220 acres of it for the golf course. 

The sale, he said, closed earlier this year. 

“The city has been fantastic to work with,” Bushman said. “The county’s been very good. Everybody’s been very positive.”

Bushman said Whitehall Sands will feature an 18-hole championship course, nine-hole short course, driving range, clubhouse, lodge, cabins, and restaurant. 

As Whitehall Mayor Jeff Hauser noted, “There is nothing like this in this area.” 

“It has the potential to benefit the whole region,” he said. “The city is very on board with it. The Bushmans and their whole crew have been very good to work with, very transparent.”

Years ago, when Whitehall annexed the land for the Hi-Crush mine, the city was told it would be a 60- to 70-year mine, Hauser said. 

“So, now I joke that I envisioned this all along – but no, it’s been a pleasant surprise.”

The reclamation fund from Hi-Crush will contribute to the project’s funding, Hauser said. 

Sandscape lends dramatic design 

Walking the site today reveals deep swaths of carved out sand surrounded by miles of woods and rolling hills, Bushman said, so the daunting amount of work required before it’s time to tee off seems daunting and begs the question: Why build on a former sand mine at all?

“The sand mine site is a huge advantage for us,” Jase Baldauf, General Manager for Whitehall Sands, said. “The pure sand sub-base allows for instant drainage and firm, fast-playing surfaces. Displaced sand is kept on site and reshaped into the subgrade and course contours.”

Baldauf explained that the course’s design was driven by a walking culture, although carts will be allowed on a limited basis. 

He added they are working with several regional contractors on this project, including Gerke Excavating of Tomah.

A major feature of the golf course, Bushman said, will be a 90-foot-high sandstone wall created by the mine’s excavation. 

“It’s kind of the center of attention,” he said. “We had all the engineering done, and it’s stabilized.”

The entire wall will remain exposed when the course is completed, Baldauf added.

“It’s a defining feature of the property and brings an incredible amount of beauty and drama to the golf course,” he said. “Pictures really don’t do it justice; it’s something you need to stand next to and see in person to fully appreciate. The scale of it, the exposed sandstone, and the way it frames the golf create a pretty special setting. It also keeps the history of the property front and center.”

The mine’s history is one reason the developers are describing the course as “industrial inland links” – with “industrial” speaking to the property’s past as a working sand mine, Baldauf said.

“The exposed wall, sand corridors, and landforms left behind by mining are all part of the course’s identity,” he said.

“Inland links” describes the style of golf, Baldauf added. 

“Open, sandy terrain, generous playing corridors, firm conditions, and opportunities to use the ground to play different shots,” he said. “Width and angles give golfers choices, and the wind can change how a hole plays from one day to the next.”

Bushman said Hi-Crush approached Blasi about designing the course because he used to work for Robert Trent Jones II. 

Jones has designed more than 300 courses across the world, including Chambers Bay in University Place, Wash., which was also built on an old quarry, Blasi said.  

“The course is being designed to move with the property, using sand corridors, exposed edges, elevated ridgelines, and broad playable ground to create golf that feels discovered rather than imposed,” he said.

Continuing Wisconsin’s rich golf history

Bushman said Whitehall Sands will align with Wisconsin’s “unofficial golf trail” that’s dotted with Sand Valley, Whistling Straits near Sheboygan, Erin Hills in the Kettle Moraine region, the Lawsonia courses in Green Lake, and Lac La Belle in Oconomowoc.  

The new course will likely host high school, college, and amateur golf tournaments, he said, adding community members have shown a lot of interest. 

A recent Chamber of Commerce visit expecting 10–15 people ended up hosting a crowd of roughly 75. 

“We had to move the gathering from the conference room to the shed,” he said. 

Whitehall Sands is expected to employ up to 80 people during its peak season, Bushman said, and – regarding its target market – he said “80% of our customers will come from the west, including the Eau Claire area, Rochester, La Crosse, and Minneapolis.” 

“It’s going to be that good,” he said.

Bushman said he began receiving calls from industry watchers well before they had announced the new project. 

“It’s just how word of mouth works in the golf world,” he said. “We had like 20 followers, then the next day it was up to 200, and the day after that it was 2,000.”

That number, Bushman said, has since doubled as the golf world gets excited – knowing Whitehall Sands “will be the first great public golf course on this side of the state.”

Although he loves golf, Bushman said he “had no desire to own a golf course.” 

“I’ve known Jay for several years, and he said, ‘It’s not just a golf course – it’s special; you’ll never get a chance with land like this again,’” he said. “So, we came out, looked at the land, and we were sold on it. The views here are incredible – you can see for miles.”

The fact he’s now in the golf course business despite being “retired,” Bushman said, is a complete surprise. 

“So, now this is my retirement project,” he said. “It’s going to be that good of a course.”

For updates on the Whitehall Sands project, visit whitehallsands.com.