Shifting Sands is the third course in Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour. It is a desert course that features a combination of expansive sand seas and rocky valleys. Ruins and cacti are found throughout the course, and its fairways are often bumpy or segmented. It has the fewest water hazards of any course in the game, only having one on the second hole in the form of an oasis. The course's name may be a reference to the "Shifting Sands", the enchanted deserts in L. Frank Baum's Oz books. It also bears superficial resemblance to Shifting Sand Land from Super Mario 64, being a desert area with ruins and Kleptos.
Two rows of columns are lined up horizontally near the green, with one of the columns standing right on this hole's bumpy fairway. The fallen head of a statue can be seen near the tee boxes.
2
5
537 yards
562 yards
This hole features a heavily segmented fairway with an oasis in the middle.
3
4
371 yards
411 yards
This hole curves to the right around a large cliff. Multiple large bunkers are found by the fairway where it bends.
4
3
152 yards
190 yards
The green is on top of some ruins in an area resembling Stonehenge. The green and the rough form a donut shape with sand in the middle.
5
4
418 yards
447 yards
This hole features a wide, bumpy fairway with a large bunker in the middle. Two smaller bunkers can be found near the green.
6
3
171 yards
194 yards
This hole takes place on some small clifftops. Three bunkers surround the green.
7
5
543 yards
576 yards
The fairway has many bunkers on it and curves to the left around a small cliff. Sufficiently powerful characters can reach a smaller segment of fairway on the left side of the cliff to get closer to the green.
8
4
384 yards
406 yards
This is a straight hole with a narrow, heavily sloped fairway with a bunker parting it horizontally through the middle. There is a large bunker and a cliffside behind the green, as well as a smaller bunker near its bottom right edge.
9
4
393 yards
429 yards
This hole has a segmented fairway that curves around a pyramid.
10
4
407 yards
443 yards
This hole has a bumpy, slightly winding fairway with some bunkers and columns in it. The green is on a mound with bunkers on its left and right sides.
11
4
412 yards
434 yards
The bumpy, segmented fairway curves to the left around a cliff toward the end.
12
4
405 yards
425 yards
This is a dogleg right hole taking place in a canyon. There is a large bunker and some cacti near the bend and some smaller bunkers on the left and right sides of the green.
13
3
166 yards
186 yards
This hole is surrounded by ruins. The green is surrounded by bunkers.
14
5
563 yards
593 yards
This hole curves twice around the right side of a canyon. Small, circular bunkers dot the fairway, which becomes segmented when it starts to bend. There is a break in the canyon wall near where the fairway begins to part that can be used to reach the green more quickly. It is also possible to hit the ball over the canyon and land on the green in one stroke.
15
4
389 yards
420 yards
This hole has a bumpy fairway that curves to the left. Two bunkers and a cactus are in the middle of the fairway. A narrow break in the canyon wall on the left can be used to reach the green after a short drive.
16
4
396 yards
432 yards
This hole is mostly sand and ruins. Its fairway is short and parted by waste near the middle.
17
3
180 yards
213 yards
This hole involves a downward descent into a narrow canyon. The green is bordered on the right by bunkers.
18
5
549 yards
605 yards
Ruins appear prominently on this double dogleg hole, with the fairway bending around two structures. The fairway is dotted with bunkers.
When playing in the Sands Classic, 29 other competitors will appear in the leaderboard at the end of each hole. The names consist of other playable characters, Mario characters, or generic nicknames. When playing in the Sands Star Classic, more names will be from Mario characters, and characters from other Mario series such as Paper Mario will appear, as well as characters from other Nintendo franchises such as The Legend of Zelda.
