Few courses on my journey have the necessary credentials to earn their own individual blog post here on pjkoenig.com. But today we have the pleasure of enjoying one of those golf courses. It is Lawsonia LInks and the Links course.
It was a rainy morning when I arrived at Lawsonia but the sun was intent on making an appearance. This mixture resulted in an unofficial “Rainbow Greeting” as I came onto the property. I found my crew of enthusiastic golfers and we hit the first tee.
The back nine gets most of the attention at Lawsonia Links but I am here to officially put that garbage to rest. Both the front nine and the back nine are equally impressive and It starts with the big bold curvaceous green on #1. It’s pretty easy to 3 putt this green if you don’t come out of the gate with focus.
The front nine picks up some steam as it heads down to the 3rd hole and plays along a rather impressive golf barn. The are several opportunities to score early and the big Langford Moreau greens provide most of the initial interest. The golfer eventually heads back up towards the clubhouse and into the corner of the property. The exciting 6-8 stretch eagerly awaits.
Golf Barn score: 9/10. Bonus points were awarded for strength of golf barn pillars.
Holes 6-8 have the potential to be considered the strongest stretch on the golf course. Since Lawsonia has several strong stretches of golf, this cannot be officially confirmed nor denied.
The 6th hole is a strong 439 yard par 4 that requires to well placed golf shots to find the green. Once you are on the putting surface, the journey has just begun with a boldly sloped green that will challenge even the finest of flat stick strokers.
The boxcar 7th
The 7th hole is a short par 3 that has an actual box car buried beneath the green. Anything right of the target will bounce down a tremendous slope allowing for a wildly fun and challenging attempt to save par. It’s unique, challenging, and fun.
The 8th hole is one of my favorite short par 4’s in the state. It’s a chance to pull out the big dog and try to put your drive on the green. Pull it off and they will call you a hero, fall short and they will call you a fool. However, a missed hero attempt doesn’t necessarily cost you a shot but will definitely put you in a tough spot. The smart player goes left off of the tee with an iron and finesses a wedge onto the green for an good look at birdie.
The tough par 4 7th hole
From behind the green on the short 8th hole.
As soon as the golfer arrives on the back nine, they are greeted by a stern test with the 240 yard 10th hole. A well struck tee ball doesn’t guarantee a par and only a fortunate few will head to the 11th tee with a 3 on the scorecard. As the sun begins to set, the golf starts to get scenic as we move away from the trees and into the heart of Lawsonia’s back nine. A splendid and varied batch of golf holes awaits the golfer with a collection of 3 par 4’s, 3 par 5’s and 3 par 3’s. Not sure why we don’t see this arrangement more often in golf. Nobody ever complains about the lack of par 4’s on a golf course.
The back nine at Lawsonia Links
After a birdie opportunity on the par 5 11th hole, the par 3 12th provides another dose of beauty and challenge. Depending on the day’s pin location, this can be an opportunity to score or to play it safe. Good green design does this. It allows for a number of different strategies to exist from day to day and the 12th hole is a great example of this theory in action. Regardless of the pin location, a well struck tee shot is required if you want to have a good look at birdie.
The green on the par 3 12th hole
Holes 13-16 provide the second strongest stretch of golf at Lawsonia Links. But again, this can be neither confirmed nor denied. The par 5,3,4,4 stretch provides opportunities for greatness and punishes poor play with a swift and just hand. Even at “second strongest stretch” status this is still some of Wisconsin’s finest golf.
The back nine at Lawsonia doesn’t really take it’s foot off of the gas until the 17h hole when you have two good chances to make a birdie and put an exclamation point on your round of golf.
The 15th cozies right up to the edge of the links land and demands a well struck approach
After my first visit to Lawsonia in 2016, it moved quickly towards the top of my Wisconsin list. After my second visit, the golf course appears even more impressive than originally thought. It is a favorite to make some moves on the Wisconsin Ten and WSGA Internship awards.
The 18th hole at Lawsonia Links