The Golf Courses of Lawsonia (Links) | Green Lake, WI | Par 72

A lot about the Lawsonia Links takes you back to a simpler time, including its antique-like bunker rakes. It’s wide fairways and large, raised greens give you a feeling of comfort. On most places of the course, you can see everything that’s in front of you and what you may have to deal with. Trees are limited, so it’s a round played on a seemingly endless prairie of grass, with some occasional long grass popping up to punish a misplayed shot. Examining scorecards from the past few years show a slight lengthening of the course, as it reaches near 7,000 yards from the tips. The yardage doesn’t really explain the challenge of the course, and the length shouldn’t overwhelm players. There are just four tees and five total setups, so choose wisely. Lawsonia Links is a second-shot course, that requires you to hit to correct portions of the green, or, if you’re struggling to hit the green, avoid certain areas that will quickly inflate your score. Many of the greens are severely elevated and are protected on all sides with bunkers. The first hole will introduce you to what you are in store for, as any shot over the large, slanted surface drops of about 15 feet, leaving you with a blind chip or bunker shot to a green that is slanted away, and usually pretty darn fast. Blind shots are found more on those shots around the greens and on approaches, but there are a few tee shots that require you to commit to a line that you have no way of knowing if it’s any good. The back nine, which welcomes you with a par-3 that measures about 240 yards from the tips, is a 3-3-3 setup, and feels longer than the front. Maybe that’s because the longest par-3, par-4 and par-5 are all on that second nine. If it’s windy, it could be either a major deterrent or blessing, depending on the hole you’re on and the wind direction, but one thing for sure is that it will be a factor. The wide-open property doesn’t have much to shelter players.

Lawsonia was a little rough around the edges in my last visit, namely on some of the tee boxes. The greens had been aerated and sanded a couple weeks before my visit, too, so the greens were rather slow, though they still rolled quite well. It was difficult to get used to the slower putting surfaces, because nearly all of my previous visits had featured greens somewhere between very fast and incredibly fast. That speed is a real defense on such large greens. The fairways were in excellent condition, though not quite as firm as I would have expected. The bunkers are typically light on the sand, which can make some of the very challenging shots that arise that much more difficult. Overall, I left thinking the condition was mostly very good, not great, with some areas that, while mostly cosmetic, caught my eye in a negative way. I would expect the greens to get quicker and firmer, and the overall condition to trend upward.

The driving range at Lawsonia can only be described as disappointing. There aren’t a whole lot of hitting stalls, especially for a property with two championship courses, but they are fine. Unfortunately, you hit into a field of longer grass that is extremely uphill. You have no real targets and no perspective on how far your ball is going. There are more stalls on the opposite side of the range, near the 5th fairway of the Links, and while it looks a little better, I have never hit from that side. There is a moderately-sized putting green that offers good slope and undulation to get you prepared for the course. There is some room to chip, but not a lot. It would be nice if the short-game area was a little bigger and included some bunkers, because they are very likely to be part of your round’s future. I have said I don’t go to a golf course for its range, and at least Lawsonia offers players a place to loosen up, but it’s near the bare minimum and I wish it was a little nicer.

You can feel the age of the property when you step into the clubhouse at Lawsonia. They embrace it. There are several old pictures and clubs to look at that make you realize this place has been around for nearly 100 years. The pro shop is larger than average with a lot of apparel available, as well as all the other basics. Any course that has a reputation like Lawsonia should have plenty of trinkets available for a player to commemorate their visit, and that is the case here. Off the pro shop is a restaurant with a great bar area that also has plenty of quick snacks and drinks. If you’re having a meal between or after rounds, the food is quality and the service is quick. There’s an outdoor deck area that has some pretty nice views of the wide-open links. I have seen the restaurant get pretty packed on a Friday afternoon/evening, so keep that in mind if you’re planning to eat there after you play. There are locker rooms down a flight of stairs, but be careful if you’re in golf shoes. Follow those steps and there’s an exit to the putting green to save you a walk around the entire building.

The primary golf carts at Lawsonia are brand new, but they are a very basic model. No GPS, no cooler, no extras at all. They run really well and are in great shape, but one strong opinion I have is that a course that charges over $100 to play should have GPS in the cart. Maybe it’s a call to the nostalgia associated with the place, but GPS just helps everyone. One offbeat plus is that Lawsonia also offers individual motor bikes for those looking to add a little adventure to their round. So if you want to try one, ask check-in desk if any are available and you can be zipping around the wide fairways of Lawsonia Links in no time.

From top to bottom, I found the Lawsonia staff to be excellent, friendly and helpful. I reached out via email and got a quick response to a question I had. The starters located at each first tee were friendly, and helped us move up our second tee time of the day. The people working in the restaurant were very nice, too, and generally seemed on the ball. It was just a really good vibe, and they did their jobs well. The friendliest person may have been the lady manning the snack shop just past the 9th green of the Links. It’s those little positive extras that make Lawsonia a great place to play golf.

For a long time, I considered Lawsonia one of the absolute best values in the state, especially if you can take advantage of any of their discounted rates or specials. In the last 10 years, Lawsonia Links has been a very trendy course and its name has really moved up in both state and national rankings for best public courses. With that rise, (along with other things) Lawsonia’s prices rose, making it less of a “deal”, but still a place that offers value. When you look at it through the prism of a top-75 ranked public course in the country, it is easily worth a greens fee in the mid-$100s. The best value is in the all-day play, which allows you to play both Lawsonia courses at a discount, and even more holes if you so desire.

The challenge of Lawsonia Links has a lot to do with where your misses are. Things can get pretty hairy if you’re missing greens on the wrong side, or missing fairways so badly that you find the long grass. The wind will also have a big impact on how difficult the course is playing, as there isn’t much to protect the player. Hitting fairways and greens – both are generous – shouldn’t be too bad once you figure out where to hit it, but managing the misses is the key to being able to handle Lawsonia Links. Once you’re on the greens, the challenge ramps up, as they are typically fast with a lot of undulation. Having greens this big might feel comforting from the fairway, but if you’re on the wrong side, it can mean a lot of ground to cover and a lot of variables to judge. Keep the ball below the hole whenever possible.

I prefer the links style of course that Lawsonia offers, so from the start I think the Links is a fun track. It will test you, but something about the wide-open venue and those big, raised greens that I enjoy. For the most part, you can get away with spraying around the driver, but as you get closer to the hole, you have to be more precise, and you might have to lean on your creativity around the greens quite a bit. Enjoy this piece of Wisconsin golf history.

It might be a tad on the cliche side, but how can you not love the par-3 7th hole, and everything that goes along with it. The green was built by piling dirt on an old box car, and it creates a very steep drop off and a visually daunting tee shot. Make sure, at least once, you drop a ball at the base of the incline near the green and see how you flop game measures up.

With my regards to the 450-yard, par-4 16th, I have to say the par-5 13th is the toughest hole on the course. Not only is it the longest hole on the course – it approaches 600 yards from the back tees – but it offers some real challenges from 150 yards and in. You’re probably not getting to this one in two, and your layup needs to be a little more precise than your everyday long par-5. Either commit to getting as far up the hill as you can, or try to hang back a bit and have as flat a lie as you can. That makes the shot totally blind, though, so you’re in for a challenge any way you cut it.

Lawsonia Links is revered as some of the best classic golf architecture, especially in the realm of American public golf courses. So who am I to quibble with any of the holes on such a gem? Well, I will say I am not referring to any of the holes here as bad. Nowhere near. My critique has to go to the layout of the par-3 10th, which plays well over 200 yards from the blue and white tees. The placement of the 11th tee box in relation to such a long shot on the 10th hole just makes me cringe. How many hooked long irons or fairway woods have made their way onto that tee box? And on a golf course that is highly utilized, there will often be people on that tee when people are hitting their shot from the 10th.

After skipping what had been an annual trip to Lawsonia in 2024, I made the drive to Green Lake to resume the tradition. Few days in the calendar can match playing 36 holes on the day before a three-day weekend, and this year’s visit lived up to the hype. The weather was great, with temps int he low 60s and mostly sunny all day. The course was everything I remembered, though I learned the greens had been aerated about two weeks prior, and that definitely made them play much slower than I ever remember. I played pretty well most of the day, making a very long putt for par on #3 and making birdie on the par-5 5th and par-5 13th. A couple of doubles coming in knocked the wind out of my sails, but I was very pleased with my entire game.