Unfortunately, a course of this size, scale and terrain could never be done in California, or any other densely-populated state. There's too much demand for other uses of land.
I had the good fortune to play here a little over a week ago and although the pictures are good, they don't do the place its architecture justice. It's an exceptionally bold effort across a sizable canvas and deserves considerable recognition for its strategic interest. There are quite a number of truly exceptional holes that demand creativity and deft touch. 1-2 greens, and one might need some tweaking, but few, if any, modern courses open their doors without that.
Although, assured by Rob and Will that term bookings are full, I do have to worry a bit about their business model as it doesn't seem to be located especially nearby any large ardent playing population. I'd only cite Mike Keiser's theorem (now proven) that "one course is a curiosity, two course is a destination." I hope for everyone's sake that Landmand survives and thrives. It's most definitely a welcome addition to our golfing landscape!
Steve, I think you are suffering from East Coast population density bias. LOL. You're geographically golf spoiled but I still luv ya'.
The LGC is positioned well in relation to the Omaha, Des Moines, KC and Minneapolis Market. Also, it is a GCA focused public super course. There are plenty of private and GCA agnostic public courses within that radius, but there are few public GCA inspired super courses in that corridor of Landmand's magnitude. 100 Miles is not a thing in midwestern driving. We'll drive 100 miles for a milkshake. 3-4 hours drive is more of a realistic measure. There is a plethora of great private golf in the Midwest but very few architecturally minded public super courses and they are pretty well distributed. Even the list of public classics is pretty lean.
Just naming a few PUBLICs off the top of my head, Chaska Town, Lac Labelle, Sand Valley, Lawsonia, Ravisloe, Erin Hills, Marquette/Greywalls, Wild Horse, Spring Valley, Cog Hill, etc and now Landmand.
There are of course more and folks can feel free to fill this list out... but from a GCA perspective, given the population of the Mid West of Lake Michigan, the list is lean.
Folks will day trip 3.5 hours to Sand Valley from Minneapolis or Chicago, slam down 36 or 18 plus a Sandbox, and head home. Same for Landmand. The sheer scale will invite plenty of traffic within a 4-5 hour radius and there are only 4-5 Tee times per hour so you can expect it to run at capacity. It becomes part of an I-80 Golf trail. Folks in the Wisconsin/Illinois and western side of Lake Michigan are not afraid to hop in the car or drive cross country. It is already pulling in folks from Minneapolis. Shelman, Topp and Craig will attest they could be shoveling snow with in a week or two. Definitely within weeks of Labor Day.
Landmand's season will last at least a month longer on both sides.
Your 100 Mile line of demarcation is an East Coast limitation.
In the Midwest, we'll drive 100 miles for a Spotted Cow beer, a supper club dinner date with a fish fry, and a drive-in movie .