Lawsonia’s Links Course
When one thinks of the state of Wisconsin, likely the first things that come to mind are beer, brats, cheese and cheese curds, or the “frozen tundra” of Lambeau Field in Green Bay as the Packers battle an NFL rival and the snowy conditions.
But the state known as America’s Dairyland is also one of the nation’s top places for golf, rife with great courses on tap in both famous destination resorts and in lesser-known, far-flung locales.
You’ve heard a lot about Kohler (with its four splendid courses), Erin Hills (which hosted the 2017 U.S. Open), and the trio of otherworldly tracks at Sand Valley, all staples of the Wisconsin golf experience. You might even be familiar with the courses in Wisconsin Dells, the family-friendly destination about an hour north of Madison in the south central part of the state, or Sentry World, where the flora and fauna rival the golf course for incredible beauty.
The Travel Caddie dug even deeper for the following feature, drawing from a pair of areas a little more off the beaten path while profiling five courses around Lake Geneva and four others near Green Lake.
Lawsonia’s Woodlands Course
Lake Geneva has serious history, and great golf
This region, which is about an hour’s drive from the Milwaukee airport and known as “Chicago’s Playground,” has a spirited and varied list of course options.
Leading the roster are the three tracks at the Geneva National Golf Club. The courses here were designed by Gary Player, Arnold Palmer and Lee Trevino, and all are fabulous and challenging in their own way.
The Player Course is, for this golfer’s money, the best on the site. The South African Hall of Famer is a master at turning a difficult site into a memorable golf test, and he’s done it here in spades. Player’s course combines scenery of Lake Como, with risk-reward challenges, forced carries – both off the tee and on the approach – and a wonderful combination on par 3s and five par-5s.
The Palmer Course runs a close second, with its memorable closing stretch – the 218-yard par 3 16th hole that plays directly over the lake and usually into the wind followed by the winding par-5 17th, on which the tee shot is through a chute of trees and the approach is to a cape green with the lake at the left.
The Trevino Course is great as well, with most of the par-4s and 5s moving left to right per the Merry Mex’s preferred shot shape. It’s the toughest of the three tracks here despite the fact that its parkland routing moves away from the winds of the lake.
Two others to mention in the region are the bookend courses at the Grand Geneva Resort, The Brute and The Highlands. In the late 1960s, 70s and early 80s, the property was known as the Lake Geneva Playboy Club Hotel. These days, you will still see the occasional bunny but that will likely be a rabbit along the edges of the courses.
The Brute is aptly named, with length aplenty, massive bunkers dotting the hilly, tree-lined routing, and huge, rolling putting surfaces – many of which are raised from the fairways – adding to the difficulty. The Brute is widely considered one of the best and toughest courses in the Midwest and deserves every iota of that reputation.
The Highlands is the polar opposite from its better-known sister course, with a links feel and wide fairways that end in some demanding approaches. Originally designed by Jack Nicklaus and Pete Dye and renovated in 1976 by Bob Cupp, The Highlands is a shot-makers course, lush on the edges with scenic hills and trickling creeks to the aesthetics.
Lawsonia highlights Green Lake golf
Green Lake is known as the oldest resort town west of Niagara Falls and boasts 27½ miles of shoreline along Wisconsin’s deepest natural inland lake. It’s a wonderful, remote destination and the home of one of America’s best Golden Age golf courses, the Links at Lawsonia, as well as three other noteworthy tracks in the area.
Everything that’s good about classic golf course architecture is on display at the Links Course, which was built in 1930. Designers William Langford and Theodore Moreau traveled to Scotland to sketch and photograph famous golf holes at links-style courses before laying out The Links at Lawsonia, and the finished product has multi-tiered putting surfaces, some 90 bunkers and deep rough.
The Links is predominantly treeless so wind comes into play amid the open fairways. It features gently rolling terrain, Bentgrass fairways, multi-tiered, unusually elevated and moderately fast greens.
Despite being a shorter length (6,853 yards) compared to most newer courses, the design of the Links is challenging and holds golfers accountable for misses inside 100 yards. The green complexes are unique with deep, penalizing greenside bunkers placing a premium on decision and shot-making.
The signature hole at the Links is the 161-yard, par-3 seventh with an interesting story; there is supposedly a box car buried underneath the green, creating an extreme elevation. The only relief for a miss off the tee was a small area to the left, anything that is played right, short, or long creates a 40-foot, uphill battle just for bogey.
Lawsonia also offers the Woodlands Course, the newer of the property’s two tracks and stunning contrast to its older sister. The Woodlands, playing at 6,586 yards from the back tees, is highlighted by densely tree-lined fairways, upwards of 80 sand bunkers and large Bentgrass putting surfaces. There are elevation changes aplenty – the 169-yard, par-3 third hole drops 65 feet from tee to green – and water comes into play four times during the round.
Considered by many to be among the top five toughest courses in the state, The Woodlands is a modern, target-golf masterpiece that asks the golfer to strike each and every shot with conviction and a wonderful complement to The Links.
The Green Lake area is also home to Tuscumbia Country Club, which is the oldest course in Wisconsin. Founded in 1896, the 6,514-yard, par-71 layout is constantly ranked as one of the best manicured courses in the state. The course is in a compact, park-like setting of majestic evergreens and century-old hardwoods, thick rough, tight fairways and a rolling landscape and plays much longer and tougher than its rating (71.0) and slope (127) would indicate.
Finally, but not taking a back seat, there are 27 holes at Mascoutin Golf Club, which bills itself as Wisconsin’s best kept golf secret. It might be time for a new catch slogan because the word is out on the quality and variety of golf on the facility’s Red, White and Blue nines.
The course’s original Red and White course is routed through century-old trees and on a gently rolling setting and opened for play in 1976. The very popular Blue nine, quite different in its challenges, was designed by Rick Jacobson, and debuted in 1999.
Mascoutin GC is more bark than bite if you can hit quality shots, and there’s more than enough golf here for any level of proficiency and verve.
Recommendation
As you can see here, Wisconsin has become a golf mecca for golfers looking for top quality golf in the Midwest. You simply cannot go wrong with the big name destinations like Erin Hills, Kohler, and Sand Valley, and a state that is known for exceptional bucket-list golf also delivers some incredible golf resorts that bring a ton of value and are a little more affordable for the budget-conscious golfer. Make sure you keep Wisconsin on your golf destination radar as you won’t be disappointed with your decision to visit here.