The Golf Courses of Lawsonia

The Woodlands course definitely plays second fiddle to the Links course at Lawsonia. With that being said it is not a bad course by any means. The course has a few very dramatic and demanding holes along with several that are very awkward and not in the best way. The course is also in the process of grassing in just about every fairway bunker on the course because they have been difficult to maintain over the years. I believe this will help the course overall as it still contains enough intrigue with sharp doglegs to maintain interest throughout the round. I always tell people that it would probably have a better reputation if it didn't have the Links course right next door, but alas it does and often gets overlooked. I do think it's a bit overpriced if you play a stand alone round, but you can find rates to make the cost more manageable through GolfNow. It's worth the play if you live in the area, but if you are traveling from somewhere else, I would advise sticking to the Links course.

Got there over an hour early to hit balls on the range. Range had no grass and you couldn't see past 50 yards over the hill. Club house bathroom was unusable, place was a mess and both toilets plugged. We had 3-some all driving carts and they stuck a walker with us. First two holes you couldn't see where your drive was going. Some sand traps had sand in them, Some where like hitting off concrete. Cart paths all torn up. Rough hard as rock and not long enough. Not a links course, most greens elevated. Needs some TLC.

The Links course at Lawsonia is one of the absolute best courses in the entire state of WI and can be played for a cost that makes it an absolute steal . The routing is phenomenal and difficult, but it is still playable for all skill levels. Regardless of season, the course is always in great shape. I always make a point to play out here several times every year as it never gets old for me. I've introduced several people to Lawsonia for the first time and the look on their faces playing the back nine never gets old.

Beautiful course, unique and challenging, always love to play here.

Lawsonia Links is truly one of the great golf courses in the United States. It was designed in 1930 by the legendary architectural pairing of William Langford and Theodore Moreau. Langford and Moreau believed in "maximalism" -- in other words, this is a BIG golf course. Fairways are wide, greens are roller coasters, bunkers are 10-15 feet deep, cross bunkers in fairways, blind tee shots, knee high fescue rough, big ups and downs. Very few trees. The seventh green (par 3) has such a steep bank that Langford and Moreau needed to bury a railcar underneath to support it (the scariest 8 iron you'll ever hit on a hole without water...don't go right!). Even though its under 7,000 yards, this is a course for big, strong, power players. Slow swing speed players might never get their ball out of the greenside bunkers! Or reach some of the par 3's (for example, #4 is 200+ yards straight uphill; #10 is 240 yards!).

With that said, the course is tough but fair. Conditioning, especially the greens, was at private course level. Near perfection. If you missed a putt... your fault, not the green.

They allow walking, but its not an easy walk. No shade and some steep hills to climb.

Some negatives... clubhouse isn't much to speak of, but totally adequate. Driving range balls were surprisingly old and in bad shape (lots of cracked balls in my bucket).

And here's the best part... the cost. I paid <$70 walking for a world class golf course in mid-summer. They could definitely get $150 out of me and it would still be worth it.

Always good to play golf with my relatives. The course was in great shape and it was a beautiful day. The pace of play was a little slow, but it didn’t matter.. Got a great rate on golf now, thanks!

Woodlands course was undergoing renavations of all bunkers. No sand. Should have reduced Green Fees.

Aside from that course was in great shape and staff extremely friendly!

I’d like to start off by saying I believe this is a top 5 36 hole facility in Wisconsin. I was very disappointed with my last round here. As a nice quality course, I believe it’s your responsibility to make sure people are abiding by pace of play. We were stuck behind a group of drunk people who were absolutely pitiful( I can guarantee you no one in the group shot under a 110) not only were they screaming every swear you could think of on every (yea, not just 1.. this was an every hole thing and I mean screaming) hole they also left clubs behind more than 4 times and would not let us play through. It honestly wrecked one of my more enjoyable rounds typically. Also, I’m not sure what’s going on with the bunkers but they were in awful shape. More mud than bunker and it seemed like they’re getting rid of a lot of them? Overall a great facility but that was unacceptable imo and if I experience it again I will not be going back. There are plenty of other courses that are high quality and low on shenanigans.

Played the all day rate, once from regular tees and once from senior tees. A unique fun experience with few trees to annoy you.

Just relax, hit the ball, and enjoy the honest roll. That's true for both fairways and greens.

I will go back.

I am surprised to find that the links course at Lawsonia was ranked number 64 on the golf digest top 100 public courses in United States. While the course is nice and well-maintained, it isn’t particularly unique or appealing. Maybe that is why it is no longer on the top 100 list. By comparison, the Hawkshead course in South Haven Michigan, which is a links course, should be ranked well above the Lawsonia links course. And Hawkshead is not even rated in the top 100.

The bunkers were less than optimal too. They have stones in them, and many were hard packed and ungroomed . We were told that a major amateur tournament had been played just a week before. Presumably the course was in peak condition for that tournament. If these were peak conditions, I wouldn’t want to play it in less-than-peak conditions.

We played on a Saturday afternoon. Unfortunately, they had allowed a group of five on the course. That group’s pace of play was appalling. There were three holes open in front of them, and we were waiting on every tee box on the back 9 because of them. On one par five we had four groups on one hole. At that point we decided to skip two holes and move over to number 15. Had we not skipped 13 & 14 we wouldn’t have finished anyway before dark. And we would’ve missed the last two holes. So better to sacrifice two holes in the middle and finish before it got dark.

That is just poor management. It’s all about the revenues.

The Woodlands is an awesome course and is in excellent condition. The staff is very nice. I can’t wait to go back again.

It’s been 15 years since I last played. And 15 years ago, the course was unbelievable and I had always wanted to come back. Today, I was impressed with some holes on the woodlands but some tee boxes were rough, and the sand traps, thankfully I didn’t see many, were poorly maintained. For what I am paying, I’d expect more. I was not impressed with the driving range at all. The clubhouse was fully stocked and the staff was incredibly helpful and very kind.